As exciting as it can be to embrace fall and back-to-school season, no one wants lice-related drama in their life. Whether your kids are going to high school, or middle school or even preschool for that matter, you need to make sure you’re ready for it.
Taking preventative measures is the key to staying ahead in the game. Lice infestations can cause your children to skip out on school and miss learning opportunities that can help them grow. However, classrooms are the number one place where lice tend to spread really fast because of the sheer number of children who interact here. Other common places in schools where lice tend to spread are playgrounds, community centers, sports fields, etc.
It’s important to remember that lice do not carry infectious diseases and cannot transmit them to others. When they sting the scalp to suck blood, it can trigger an allergic reaction, which is what causes the itching. But other than that, they do not thrive in filthy hair or create more filth. However, they can be very annoying and disrupt sleep and that’s why seeking treatment from a professional is so important.
Here are the most common practices that can cause lice to spread in school.
Putting their heads together
Head to head contact is the only way that lice can spread because they don’t have wings and can only crawl. Children engage in various activities in school which requires them to sit closer. Hugging, sharing secrets, group assignments and many others are innocent acts but can give lice the opportunity to make a home in another scalp fairly quickly.
Swimming Pool
Chlorine in swimming pools has little to no impact on lice and doesn’t kill them. However, exposure to a damp environment and swimming caps are a great place for lice to breed. Swimming too soon after getting treated for head lice can cause the treatment to become ineffective in some cases.
Sports activities
Children who are active in sports and other after-school extra-curricular activities have to work in groups. They often huddle together, which is especially true for some contact sports like lacrosse and wrestling. Lice cannot survive for more than two days on their own without feeding. Which is why it’s not likely that sharing clothes, headgear or other equipment can spread lice but it doesn’t hurt to be careful.
So, does this mean you should discourage your children from participating in these useful activities? Absolutely not! Lice prevention and treatment from certified centers is the answer.
For the best lice treatment in
Woodmere and
Lynbrook, NY, Lice Troopers is the place to go! You can book an appointment at our lice treatment clinics and let your kids have a lice-free school year! Call us at 800-403-5423.
