A concern for parents whose kids are heading back to school may be a new super lice bug.
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A new strain of lice is becoming more resistant to traditional treatment.
“Now that we’ve heard through social media that lice has been found at her school, I’m going to start combing every night before we even find anything”, said Hannah. Girls are more likely to get head lice than boys, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
She added, “Tell you child that if he or she takes their coat or sweatshirt off during recess, don’t make a pile of jackets”. If a student has lice, the school district notifies all the classmates parents. So the best way to prevent would be to wear your hair high and tight to the head, buns, braids, ponytails those kinds of measures.. If a child has had lice found on his or her head, a note will be sent home with the child stating that they have head lice.
It’s typically spread with head to head contact among kids three to twelve years old. Look closely at the hair behind the ears and around the nape of the neck, common places where adult lice and nits can be found.
Sometimes lice can look like dandruff, but dandruff flakes off. Lice are different, because when they lay their eggs, called nits, there is a glue-like material that sticks to the hair. Kathy Barton is a spokesperson for the Houston Health Department.
Sara Heineman, the immunization clinic supervisor at the health department, says you have to use a special cleanser.
The heat dries the eggs up and then they can be combed out and the problem eliminated without worrying about using chemicals. You have to vacuum the area, wash bedding and bag everything up. It can be hard for people to fit it into their busy schedule, but health officials say it’s only effective if it’s done thoroughly, and it’s time well spent if it keeps the bugs away.
What are super lice?
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“Not only do you have to treat the head”, Barton says, “you have to treat the pillows and the hair brushes and all of those other things where you might have contamination”.
