The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its "no nit" policies for schools dealing with lice. Surprisingly, if a student has lice, they no longer need to be sent home.
"Students with lice can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after beginning appropriate treatment," according to the CDC.
Here's their rationale for the change that many parents will likely denounce as, er, lousy policy:
* Many nits are more than ¼ inch from the scalp and are unlikely to hatch to become crawling lice, or may in fact be empty shells (i.e., casings).
* Nits bond to hair shafts and are very unlikely to transfer to other people.
* Unnecessary days off cause a burden to the students, families, and communities, and far outweighs the risks associated with head lice.
* Misdiagnosis of nits is very common during nit checks conducted by nonmedical professionals.
Meanwhile, some folk remedies that likely won't win the battle against the bugs:
- Mayonnaise: It's believed that covering the scalp in mayonnaise can suffocate lice. While it might slow them down, it generally doesn't kill all the lice or their eggs (nits).
- Vinegar: Some people think that vinegar can loosen the glue that holds the nits to the hair, making them easier to comb out. However, it is not effective in killing lice or removing all nits.
- Olive Oil: Similar to mayonnaise, olive oil is thought to suffocate lice. Although it might make combing easier by conditioning the hair, it's not a reliable treatment on its own.
- Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline): Applying petroleum jelly to the scalp is supposed to suffocate lice. However, it can be extremely difficult to remove from the hair and does not reliably kill all lice or nits.
- Essential Oils: Some essential oils, like tea tree oil, lavender oil, and eucalyptus oil, are believed to repel or kill lice. While some oils may have mild effects, they are not a surefire remedy and can sometimes cause skin irritation.
Previously:
• Head lice treatments in US are failing
• Oldest known sentence ever written found on a comb meant to combat beard lice
