It seems like over the past few years the head lice game as taken a drastic turn. No longer are parents able to simply talk to kids about not sharing hair brushes, or using their friend’s bedtime pillow. It takes a more proactive approach to keep kids protected against head lice, and even than sometimes it still happens.
Ever wondered what you could do to help prevent it? Here are a few items to think over.
Ideas to Prevent Head Lice:
Help Kids Understand What Head Lice Are. Sometimes children come up with ideas in their minds and their imagination can take over. Do your kids even really know what head lice are? Many children think head lice eat hair or can fly. Do they know how they are contracted? Take a little bit of time and educate them. Here’s a fun science website full of information for kids about head lice called Easy Science for Kids. Check it out together!
Explain How Head Lice Infect the Scalp. Children need to understand that the most common way head lice are transferred is through direct head to head contact. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tell us that it is often transferred through clothing, sharing headphones, hats or another such way. However, ultimately direct contact is the most common way. Talk to them about laying on bean bags, sharing beds, or any such activity that can transfer head lice.
Learn The Signs and Symptoms of Head Lice. Do you know what to look for when checking for head lice? Children with head lice will show many symptoms, but remember, they can take up to three full weeks to fully manifest. It starts with a single louse or nit and escalates from there. Symptoms will begin with itchiness, red bites on the scalp, or irritation on the scalp from fecal matter and saliva. Other signs include difficulty sleeping or concentrating from tingling feeling on the scalp. Nits, or lice eggs, will be clearly visible at the base of the scalp. They are translucent in color and are stuck to hair strands with a secretion that glues them on. Therefore, they will not flake off easily like dandruff or dry skin.
Check Scalps for Symptoms Often. If you are not actively looking for signs or symptoms of head lice than the problem can literally creep up on you! Take a few minutes every couple of weeks to simply nitpick through your child’s hair. Lice Clinics of America have exceptional nitpicking combs that can help make this process very easy. They also offer head lice screenings at the clinic if you are not sure what to look for.
Staying on top of the problem could save you so much headache in the future. Be diligent about head lice protection. Lice Clinics of America is here to offer any expert advice or resolve concerns you may have. Contact us today to speak with a head lice professional.