Steps on How To Prevent Head Lice
| 1. Teach and Practice Good Habits To reduce the chance of you or your child contracting a case of head lice, start by not sharing items that touch the head. Though it may be tempting to share personal belongings (especially for kids), doing so can lead to the spread of head lice. |
| 2. Avoid sharing: Combs, brushes, hair clips and hair accessories. Hats, bike helmets, scarves and hoods. Towels, headsets and headphones. |
| 3. Don’t Go Head-to-Head When kids play, they may naturally place their heads close together. (Think about when they pal around with their arms around each other’s shoulders.) But if your child’s friend has head lice, your young one may come home with it. Ask your child to avoid games and activities that lead to head-to-head contact with classmates and other friends. Adults—especially those who work with children—would be wise to follow the same principle. |
| 4. Space It Out Shared spaces as well as shared belongings can be breeding grounds for lice. Closets, lockers, drawers, and common clothes hooks can create an easy opportunity for lice to pass from one person’s things to another’s. Ask your child to keep their belongings—especially hats, coats, scarves, and other clothing—out of common areas. For safety’s sake, adults should take similar precautions. |
| 5. Early Actions Schools may at times report a head lice infestation so that parents can take preventive measures with their families. If this happens, take these actions as soon as possible: – Look in your child’s hair for small white nits, the eggs of lice. – Inspect your child’s clothes—particularly hats, shirts, scarves, and coats—that have been worn during the past 48 hours, looking for lice and eggs. |
| 6. Other Ideas When your child’s school reports a head lice infestation, you can also: – Check household items that are more likely to get infested with lice and their eggs, such as towels, bedding, and rugs. – Be sure your child knows the importance of not sharing any items that touch the head or ears. – Explain to your child what lice is and that they should avoid touching heads with other children until the school has contained the problem. |