Head Lice Information
NEW!! American Association of Pediatrics releases new guidelines on head lice:
Columbus ISD Head Lice Protocol
According to the CISD Elementary School Student Handbook:
Head lice, although not an illness or a disease, is very common among children and is spread very easily through head-to-head contact during play, sports, or nap time and when children share things like brushes, combs, hats, and headphones.
If careful observation indicates that a student has head lice, the school nurse will contact the student's parents and inform the parent that a live louse has been noted. The nurse can also offer additional recommendations, including subsequent treatments and how best to get rid of lice and prevent their return.
More information on head lice can be obtained from the TDSHS Web site at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth/lice.shtm
CISD's protocol regarding head lice is designed to protect the integrity of the school day and to minimize embarrassment and unnecessary isolation of students with pediculosis. Evidence-based practices and recommendations from the Texas Department of State Health Services, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of School Nurses, and the Harvard School of Public Health have concluded that entire classroom evaluations and routine screenings are generally not productive and result in a potential loss of privacy, embarrassment for students, and decreased instructional time due to classroom disruption.
As a result, mass screenings of students (including entire classroom screenings) will not be conducted. The school nurse will screen students for pediculosis on an individual student basis as the preferred method.
Screening is performed in the health room in a confidential manner, upon referral of a student or students by themselves, their parents, and/or school personnel. A referral is based on these symptoms of pediculosis:
- frequent scratching of the head and/or back of the neck
- pink to red marks on the scalp and/or back of the neck
- unexplainable sores and/or scabs on the scalp/back of the neck
- yellowish-white or brown eggs (nits) attached to strands of hair that can't be washed out or flicked off with the finger
- white to gray crawling forms about the size of a sesame seed
The best treatment for lice is prevention. Parents play a critical role in this process. Some recommendations are as follows:
- Throughout the school year, check your child's hair weekly and after overnight visits with others.
- Educate your children to avoid the spread of lice by head-to-head contact, sharing hats, combs, brushes, etc.
- Keep in mind that no treatment has been found to be 100% effective.
Parent, Teacher, and Community Information Regarding Head Lice
CDC Web Site on Lice: http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/index.html