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Lice Information

LCR3 Lice Procedure

This policy is based on best practices involving lice detection, transmission, and treatment. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in all of its published journals & articles, state that head lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. Head lice are spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. Therefore, anyone who comes in head-to-head contact with someone who already has head lice is at greatest risk. Spread by contact with clothing (such as hats, scarves, and coats) or other personal items (such as combs, brushes, or towels) used by an infested person is uncommon. The CDC also states that nits are "very unlikely to be transferred successfully to other people," — which has led to many schools across the nation dropping their no-nit policies. Another intention of the policy is to help keep children from missing class, shield children with lice from embarrassment and protect their privacy. Our policy is based on current research around best practices along with ensuring the social/emotional well-being of our students.

  1. Students with live lice (bugs) will need to be picked up by a parent at their earliest convenience. Students may go back to class until they are picked up. When live lice are found, the school contacts the parents via phone that day and informs them of the findings.
  2. Students may return to school as soon as proper treatment has begun. Students will need to stop at the nurse’s office before going to class each day for 3 days and then every other day for 7 days. Parents are NOT required to bring their student to the nurse’s office for these checks. Students will be allowed to ride the bus to and from school
  3. Students with nits are allowed to stay at school for the remainder of the day. Parents will be notified of the nits, via phone or a letter sent home with the student
  4. The Lincoln County R3 School District does NOT do whole class or whole school lice checks, nor will a parent request to check another student (unrelated to the parent) from their student’s class be granted.
  5. Parent handouts will be sent home to the entire class when a student is found to have an infestation of lice (live lice found). If multiple kids in the same class are found to have an infestation during the same week, the parent handout will only go out once in that week.

 

MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT HEAD LICE

Myth: Any nits left in the hair can cause lice to come back.
FACT: Any nits farther away than one quarter to one half on the hair shaft are ALREADY HATCHED and pose no risk to others.

Myth: Eggs or nits can fall out of the hair, hatch, and cause lice in another person.
FACT: Nits are cemented to the hair and very hard to remove. They cannot fall off. Newly hatched lice must find a head quickly or will die. 

Myth: Lice can live a long time.
FACT: Lice live only 1 to 2 days off the head. Each louse only lives about 30 days on the head.

Myth: All members of a family should be treated if one person has lice.                                         

FACT: Only the person with lice should be treated. Lice shampoos are INSECTICIDES and can be dangerous if used incorrectly or too frequently. Household members and close contacts should be checked, but only treat those who actually have lice. The house should NOT be sprayed with insecticide, nor used on clothing or other items.

Myth: Checking a classroom when one student has lice can prevent lice from spreading.
FACT: Classroom transmission is EXCEEDINGLY RARE and checking students is a waste of valuable teaching time. Checking family members and close playmates is much more appropriate.

Myth: Avoiding lice is important as they spread disease.
FACT: Head lice do not spread any known disease. They are annoying and irritating, but not dangerous.

 

 

 

Myth: Head lice are easy to get.
Truth: Lice are spread only mainly by head-to-head contact. They are much harder to get than a cold, flu, ear infection, pink eye, strep throat, food poisoning, or impetigo.

Myth: You can get lice from your dog, guinea pig, or other animal.
Truth: Lice are species-specific. You can only get human lice from another human. You cannot get another animal’s lice.

Myth: You can get head lice from hats and helmets.
Truth: Rarely, but possible. Hairbrushes, pillows, and sheets are also uncommon modes of transmission.

Myth: School is a common place for lice transmission.
Truth: School is an unlikely source of transmission. Much more common are family members, overnight guests, and playmates who spent a large amount of time together.

Myth: Poor hygiene contributes to lice.
Truth: Hygiene makes absolutely no difference. You get lice by close personal head-to-head contact with someone else that has lice, not by being dirty.

Myth: Lice can jump or fly from one person to another.
Truth: Lice can only crawl. They can neither fly nor jump. They must crawl from one person to another.