Collin County's Health Care Services folks are advising parents not to over-react should the approaching head lice season make a stop in their children’s hair.

The public perception is that head lice are associated with poor hygiene, says Janet Glowicz, Collin County epidemiologist: “That's just not the case. Head lice actually prefer the clean hair of social people."

Head lice are spread by direct contact with infested people or materials. They don’t jump or hop, and parents often consider schools to be the prime locales for transmission of the parasites. But other public places are just as popular with head lice, including movie theaters and slumber parties.

"Parents shouldn't panic," said Dr. Mike Merchant, entomologist for Texas Cooperative Extension. "Many children become infested with head lice at some point during their school years. Whenever kids come together in a classroom setting, especially after the carefree months of summer, head lice are going to happen."

In fact, having head lice is as common as having a cold. However, a common cold does not carry the social stigma or cause the emotional reaction that comes with head lice. Health officials say the parasites don’t have to be good cause to disrupt school or wreck childhood friendships.

The county's health care staff offers the following information and advice on the matter:

• Parents should periodically check their child's hair for nits.
• School districts may exclude children with head lice from attendance until one treatment has been administered.
• One treatment is not likely to remove all nits, so parents should expect that they will need to check the child's hair nightly for one to two weeks until all nits have been removed.
• A child with nits that have been treated may be allowed to return to school depending on the school's policy regarding lice.
• Blaming the school or other parents is not an effective method of stopping the spread of head lice and can be very harmful to children who may feel stigmatized.

For more online information on this parasitic disease, visit www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth. For individual school policies on head lice infestations, look for information from the school nurse or contact the school district.

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