FACTS ABOUT HEAD LICE

The bane of many parents, the head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic insect that lives among human hairs and feeds on extremely small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp. Although they may sound gross, lice (the plural of louse) are a very common problem, especially for kids ages 3 years to 12 years (girls more often than boys). Lice aren't dangerous and they don't spread disease, but they are contagious and can just be downright annoying.

In Center Cass District 66 many procedures are in place when an incident occurs. These procedures go above and beyond what the county and state health departments require for school districts. These procedures are listed below:

1. When a parent notifies the school that a child has lice we check the classmates of that child to insure that the lice have not spread to other students.
2. If a child is found to have lice at school, the child is sent home immediately with instructions on how to eliminate the lice. Once the child has been treated he/she may return to school.
3. Mrs. Heckman, our school nurse, checks all students who have been treated for lice after seven days to insure that they are free of lice.
4. When a child is confirmed to have lice in school, the classroom is vacuumed and desks and chairs cleaned in the event that a louse has jumped off the infected child.

Mrs. Heckman remains current on all new treatments and preventative measures available and implements them accordingly. We need parents to do the same. Please tell your students not to share combs, brushes, hats, headbands, etc. with other students. For more information please click on the following link http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/factsheet.html .

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 630-783-5200.