Preventing Head Lice: Tips for Parents & Teachers

Up to 12 million children are affected by head lice each year, according to statistics. This is a contagious condition, requiring intensive care and treatment to prevent an outbreak. Since children spend the majority of their time at either school or at home, both parents and teachers can take a few steps to prevent a head lice infestation.

Tips for Teachers

There’re plenty of ways for the teaching faculty and staff members to prevent a head lice outbreak in the classroom. Through careful monitoring and observation, the school faculty can be extremely helpful in detecting signs of head lice in kids and avoiding a large-scale infestation. The most common way for lice to be transmitted from one person to another is through head-to-head contact. This means that you should take the necessary steps to avoid children sitting too close to each other such that lice may crawl from one head to another. Have their desks spaced apart so that they’re not seated in too close a proximity, minimizing the chances of lice crawling from student to student. Secondly, encourage children to avoid sharing items that make close contact with their heads, such as hats, helmets, and hair ties. It’s also a good idea to have individual lockers for each of your students to store their belongings in, and separate coat pegs. This will prevent lice from spreading. In case one of your students is infected with head lice, use plastic bags to contain each person’s belongings for at least a few days. This will help in killing off the lice and prevent it from being transmitted to other children. Also speak with the parents to encourage them to have regular lice screenings at home.

It Starts At Home

While the school may take several preventative measures against lice infestations among kids, it’s the parents and caregivers who’re ultimately responsible for looking out for any signs of lice. If you have a child at home, there are quite a few steps you can take to ensure that they are free from lice and aren’t a risk to those around them. First and foremost, make head inspections a weekly activity where you can carefully examine your child’s scalp and hair for nits and eggs. If you come across signs of lice, don’t waste time trying to follow a DIY method; call a professional lice removal service immediately! You should also notify your child’s school so that the staff there is on high alert about the possibility of a lice outbreak, and can confirm if or when your child can attend school during this time. This is to ascertain that their fellow classmates aren’t affected by it and to check whether another kid may have lice as well. Other ways you can prevent your child from having a lice infestation is by encouraging them to tie their hair in public spaces and crowded areas. Also make it a point that they don’t share their hair accessories such as combs and barrettes with other people, even siblings. Lice Troopers provides in-house lice treatment as well as salon treatment in Coral Gables, Miami. Call us at 800-403-5423 to get in touch!