Please email your child’s teacher, raquia.lawrence@dc.gov, and Janney.Attendance@k12.dc.gov if you discover your student has lice.
Head lice are parasitic insects that feed on blood from the scalp of humans. While lice do not spread disease and are relatively harmless, they should be treated immediately to reduce the spread.
Head Lice Fact Sheet (DC Health)
DCPS Communicable Diseases and Pests
Anyone! Lice spread by crawling from one head to another. They can be found on all lengths, colors, and textures of hair. They are very common, affecting 6-12 million people worldwide each year.
Long hair should be tied up. Braids and similar hairstyles that keep the hair close to the scalp can prevent lice from traveling from one head to another. Allow your child to choose fun hair ties or clips to make hair styling more exciting.
Families can use oils, which are natural deterrents, on the scalp. Tea tree oil is inexpensive and readily available at any drugstore. Depending on activity levels and personal preference, some families will choose to wash hair less frequently as natural oils make it harder for lice to crawl up the hair shaft.
Be mindful of play dates, sleepovers, and going to others’ homes when there is an outbreak in the community. Refrain from sharing pillows, blankets, etc. If possible, have participants check for lice before the event.
Remind children not to share hats or hair accessories and to be thoughtful about where they store their items while at school. Clothing and accessories should be stored in their cubby or backpack where they are unlikely to touch items from other students.
Get in the habit of checking your school-aged children for lice every few weeks or more regularly when there is an outbreak. Regular checks are key to preventing the spread.
Itching or tickling on the scalp is a common symptom, though not all children with lice will itch. Some children will have red bumps, a rash, or scratches, especially behind their ears or at the nape of their neck. These are the most common areas for spotting lice and nits. Your child may be more resistant to brushing their hair because their scalp is irritated.
As lice are most active at night, some children with lice will have trouble sleeping. The discomfort may cause irritability.
The only way to know for sure is to check their scalp thoroughly.
A lice comb is useful, particularly for removing lice, but you can use a regular comb or your fingers to check for lice and nits.
A flashlight and magnifying glass can make it easier to find lice and nits as they are small and blend in with many hair colors.
This process can take time, especially on children with long hair, and may make a child anxious. Choose a comfortable spot and calm time of day and have distractions or comfort objects ready before you begin.
Begin at the nape of the neck and behind the ears.
Using a lice comb or other comb, look closely at the scalp and hair shafts within an inch of the scalp for lice and nits.
Continue to check hair and scalp in sections until you’ve checked the entire head.
Adult lice can grow to the size of a sesame seed and blend easily into hair. Nymphs, young lice, will be even smaller. They can range from nearly transparent to brown in color.
Lice cannot fly or jump, but they do crawl quickly along the shaft of hairs and can be difficult to spot. Because of this, you are more likely to find nits (egg sacs) before you find lice.
Nits, or lice eggs, are extremely small, teardrop-shaped sacs that are attached to strands of hair near the scalp. Empty egg sacs may appear white or translucent, while egg sacs that have not hatched may be darker.
Though sometimes mistaken for dandruff, nits will not flake off of the hair when touched – nits need to be scraped off the hair, typically down the entire shaft of hair to which they are attached. The photo below shows nits (left) and dandruff (right) for comparison.
Please email your child’s teacher, raquia.lawrence@dc.gov, and Janney.Attendance@k12.dc.gov if you discover your student has lice.
Lice can be treated with over the counter medications available at most pharmacies. Families should use lice treatment kits on all members of the household at the same time. If one person in the household has lice, the entire household should be treated at the same time.
After treating with a kit, you will still need to carefully comb each family member’s hair to remove any remaining nits. Most kits will only kill hatched lice – and only when applied correctly following all instructions. Some kits will recommend reapplying within a few weeks.
Dispose of lice, nits, and kit materials carefully and clean all tools.
Wash all linens, fabrics, and laundry in the household and dry on high heat, if possible. Vacuum carpets thoroughly. Nits take approximately two weeks to hatch, so some families choose to place stuffed animals or other fabric items that cannot be placed in a dryer in sealed plastic bags for a few weeks, shaking out or vacuuming the items before returning them to play.
To ensure treatment was successful, use a lice comb to carefully check for nits on the scalp of every member of the household for several weeks after treatment. Nits not removed from the scalp can hatch, even after treatment. Keeping a close eye on treated scalps is crucial to being certain the lice are gone completely.
Per DC Municipal Regulations, DC Public Schools does not exclude students from school when they have lice.
If a school nurse determines that a child at school has head lice, the family will be notified and asked to begin treatment at home. The family should confirm with the school that treatment has begun, and, after treatment has been initiated, the student can return to school and the school nurse should check the child’s head for lice.
Upon return to school, individuals must show proof of treatment by submitting a note from the parent and/or picture of treatment kit to michael.barnhart@k12.dc.gov and nurse@janneyschool.org.
While Janney does not provide treatment kits, we do sometimes have a limited supply to offer. If you are in need of a lice treatment kit, please contact Mr. Barnhart.
If you’d rather call a professional, there are plenty of groups in the area that offer treatment, such as:
– Lice Centers of America
– Lice Happens