Los Alamitos Unified School District: Notes from Nurse Erin’s Letter-Head Lice Checks After Breaks
As we prepare to return to school following a long break, it is a good opportunity to educate families on the benefit of making periodic head checks in the home, a part of your school aged child’s healthy routines. Ideally, students should be screened for head lice at home prior to returning to school following a school vacation, such as after summer, winter, or spring break. This is the most common time (during vacation from school), that children develop an infestation.
Head lice do not transmit disease, but they are a nuisance. Parents can find it upsetting to learn that their child or a classmate has become infested with lice, but having head lice is a fairly common problem and has nothing to do with hygiene or good parenting. In fact, good health and hygiene habits or a clean house or school have nothing to do with getting head lice.
Check the scalp around 1) the nape of the neck, 2) behind the ears, 3) then across the scalp from side to side
If you or your child has head lice, it is important to treat right away.
- Your child may return to school when live lice are no longer present
- Children are allowed ad school with nits, but nit removal is advised to reduce social stigma
If you discover that your child has head lice, please notify the school heath office by selecting option 5 when you call the office. This will enable us to remind families to check their children for head lice.