| HEAD LICE POLICY
Children with HEAD LICE OR NITS Will Not be permitted to attend
school until they have been treated ** and ** ALL NITS removed from
the hair. This policy follows guidelines provided by Kansas State
Law- K.S.A. 65-122 Schools and child care facilities; non-admissions
and exclusions; readmissions, when.; and Kansas Classroom Handbook of
Communicable Diseases, April 1995, KDHE.
Your Student(s) may return to school when the following items have
been completed:
1.) The hair has been shampooed with the recommended preparation.
2.) The hair must be FREE of lice and nits.
3.) You MUST accompany your child to the School Office on the
first day your student returns to school and bring a note
as outlined in #4 & #5 below.
4.) The student(s) will bring a note from the Sumner County
Health Department, which states that they have been checked, and that
Health Department personnel to verify that they are free of
nits/lice. Sumner County Health Dept. will check your student &
other family members free of charge. Health Dept. hours are 8am to
5pm Monday through Friday.
5.) OR Your child may obtain a note from your doctor that they
have been checked and are free of nits/lice.
(#4 & #5 above are necessary as the school nurse is not available in
each school every morning.)
Absence Policy related to Head Lice:
1.) If a child misses 8 days per semester or 10 days per year they
will be referred to the proper authorities.
2.) Children under the age of 14 will be referred to SRS.
3.) Children age 14 and older will be referred to the County
Attorney.
Policy approved: 10-09-97, Wellington School Board.
If your student still has nits, they will be sent back home until
their hair is nit free.
The detection of lice or nits requires careful inspection of the hair
and scalp. The first sign is often intense itching. Lice hatch from
eggs called nits, which are very small--about half the size of a
pinhead. The nits are visible to the naked eye. They are oval in
shape, yellowish-white or sometimes brown in color, and are firmly
cemented to individual hair strands usually 1/2 to 1 inch from the
scalp. Generally, nits are found in the hair on the back of the head
especially behind the ears and the base of the neck. They hatch in 7
to 10 days, and the young louse that emerges becomes an adult 8 to 10
days later.
The average adult louse is dull gray or brown in color, it
cannot fly or hop. When full grown, it is about the size of a half
grain of rice. A louse will normally live about 30 days-- long
enough to lay 50 to 150 eggs. Because lice mature and multiply
rapidly, they can infest an entire family in a very short time. They
live on the human head only and obtain their meals by stabbing the
scalp and sucking blood with their mouths. They cannot survive over
3 days without a meal of human blood.
Head lice are acquired by personal contact with an infested
individual or from infested garments such as coats, caps, and
scarves, etc. or articles such as combs, brushes or other hair
items. They may also be acquired from infested carpets, upholstered
furniture or bed clothing if a live louse is present and moves onto
another person’s head.
The health threat is not serious but requires special
treatment. General treatment is outlined below or follow those
recommended by your physician. Examine all members of the family and
treat those with infestation.
Hair:
Follow all package directions, DO NOT use more frequently than
recommended.
1. Remove clothing.
2. Shampoo with a pediculosis shampoo that will kill both lice and
eggs. Apply shampoo to dry hair. Follow directions on package.
Rinse.
3. There are now enzyme treatments available that loosen the nit
glue. This makes the removal of the nits easier. Follow directions
on package.
4. Using the metal fine tooth comb that came with the shampoo,
divide hair into one inch sections and comb through each section
until all nits are removed. It may also be necessary to remove nits
using fingernails to pull them from the hair shaft.
5. Do not share combs, brushes, caps, or other hair related items.
Soak all combs, brushes, and other hair care items for one hour in a
louse shampoo solution, or for 10 minutes in water heated to 130
degrees fahrenheit.
Clothing and Linens:
1. Machine wash clothes and bed linens in hot water and detergent
(130 degrees Fahrenheit).
2. Dry in dryer at high temperature for 20 minutes.
3. Non-washable clothing (coats, headgear, scarves, backpacks, etc.)
must be put into dryer for 20minutes at 130 degrees, dry cleaned, or
placed in a sealed plastic bag for 10 days, as outlined in #4 below.
4. Other items that cannot be washed or dry-cleaned must be placed
in a sealed plastic bag for 10 days. At the end of the 10 days, take
bags outside, and shake out items before returning them to use.
Furniture:
1. Mattress-- vacuum thoroughly.
2. Pillows, cushions, stuffed toys may be hung on clothesline to
expose to sunlight for 3 days or placed in a sealed plastic bag for
10 days.
3. Upholstered furniture and carpeting-- vacuum thoroughly.
4. Dispose of vacuum bag immediately.
Recheck the family member(s) who were infested every 5-10 days to
detect and prevent excessive reinfestation.
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