ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996 TAG: 9608270161
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Health Notes
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KERLLY
A "nitpicker" is defined as paying too much attention to petty details. But the many parents who have had to really pick nits, or lice eggs, from a child's hair, know it is a painstaking, frustrating, but necessary, task.
And a task that more and more families are facing. Lice are a nationwide issue although certain groups tend to get lice more than others.
Most lice victims are between ages 5 and 12 and in all races except blacks, who almost never get lice.
Head lice (pediculosis) have become a major problem in public schools, said LaVern Davis, school health coordinator with Roanoke County.
This year, Roanoke County and other area school systems included head lice letters in the back-to-school information packets sent to homes. Parents were told that elementary children's heads would be checked for lice during the first month of school. Children who have lice or nits will be sent home for treatment. If they still have lice when they are rechecked, they will have to stay home until the problem is solved.
Lice are often associated with dirtiness, but that's misinformation. Lice thrive where a large number of people live in close quarters, but lice even prefer clean heads and will hop on one at any opportunity.
Head lice are spread mainly by head-to-head contact, but also by sharing combs or hats with an infested person.
Even current fashion encourages their dispersal, Davis said. Elementary school girls often often trade ponytail binders or move them from their hair to their wrists, making it easier to transfer lice to others.
No one, she stresses, should feel too smug about head lice.
Ditto to that, said a 22-year veteran of the education system. This woman often encountered children with head lice, but believed it couldn't happen in her household.
Until the day she sent her daughter for a routine visit to the hairdresser.
"I was called at school by the hairdresser who asked me if I knew my daughter had lice," the educator said.
"I thought I was going to die. I could feel the embarrassment going up my neck," she said. "My child was like Miss Beauty Queen, always styling her hair."
No matter, the child had lice, and the follow-through to the situation was difficult.
"I had to call her friends to see if they had lice. They didn't, or didn't admit it to me," the educator said.
She treated her daughter's head with NIX, the recommended lice-buster medication that sells for about $10 an application.
NIX kills the live bugs, but it doesn't make the lice eggs fall out. Nits have to be picked by hand, or by using cuticle scissors to remove the strands of hair where the nits are clinging.
Next, she sprayed the child's room, washed all the linens in the house, and vacuumed.
The second week, she did it all over again.
Lice eggs can cling to blankets and quilts; it takes a lot of energy and time to eradicate the pest.
The experience was devastating to her daughter, the educator said.
"She was in seventh grade, and she felt everybody knew about the lice."
Her brothers didn't help, either. They kept referring to her "cooties."
Embarrassment about lice is even worse for older students. They almost never say anything about it. But teachers sometimes find cases of lice among high school students after they notice the students scratching their heads a lot, Davis said.
"They always say, 'Please don't tell anyone at school.' It's such a stigma," Davis said.
This school session, lice eradication has been formalized. If parents fail to eradicate lice in their children's hair and the children become carriers, the families will be reported to the local health department.
The health department will then try to help the family work up a plan for getting rid of the lice.
Some families seem to be plagued with lice year after year, Davis said.
Families who have a problem affording the NIX treatment might be eligible to purchase it from the Roanoke and Alleghany health departments, which sell it for $4 a bottle.
If a whole family gets infested, the cost of NIX can be considerable, said Malcolm Pace, pharmacist for the health department. The treatment isn't always effective the first time, either, he said.
"People are having to repeat more and more," Pace said. "I hope we'll be able to smite the little bug." There also are prescription medications used to treat lice, including Kwell Shampoo. Families need to consult a doctor about it.
Here are 10 steps to keep lice out of your life:
nWatch for signs of head lice, such as frequent head scratching
nCheck all family members for lice and lice eggs at least once a week.
nDo not confuse nits with dandruff; nits are grayish white, always oval shaped and glued at an angle to the side of the hair shaft. Dandruff is easily dislodged
nConsult pharmacist or physician before applying or using lice treatment
nWash bedding and recently worn clothing in hot water and dry in hot dryer. Combs and brushes may be soaked in hot (not boiling) water for 10 minutes or cleaned with an old toothbrush and soapy water.
nStuffed animals that can't be washed should be enclosed in a plastic bag for two weeks.
nVacuum the car.
nPets do not harbor lice, but can be temporary carriers like anything else a child touches.
nOn airplanes, make certain the white paper napkins folded over the headrest are clean; they're there for a purpose.
nAlso, be aware that movie theater seats can be licey. The first show of the day is safest because lice left over from day before will have died or wandered off. Otherwise, brush off your seat and cover the back of the chair with a scarf, sweatshirt or jacket that you don't plan to wear immediately.
You can reach Sandra Brown Kelly at (80) 346-1234, ext. 393, outside the Roanoke Valley, at 981-3393 inside the valley or at biznews@roanoke.infi.net.
LENGTH: Long : 112 linesby CNB