Some schools have a no-nits policy. This means that children are sent home if nits (shells of head lice eggs) are spotted in their hair. A child cannot return to school until he or she is free of nits and head lice.

The idea is that this will help get rid of head lice in schools. But some specialists don't think this policy works.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Pollack RJ.
Head lice: information and frequently asked questions.
2007. Available at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice.html (accessed on 22 January 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

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Research carried out by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health shows that children are often wrongly diagnosed with head lice, and many are treated when they don't need to be.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Pollack RJ, Kiszewski AE, Spielman A.
Overdiagnosis and consequent mismanagement of head louse infestations in North America.
Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2000; 19: 689-694.

 

 

 

 

 

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The scientists collected more than 600 samples of what parents, doctors and nurses said were head lice or nits. But when they examined the samples, the scientists found that less than two-thirds were actually what people thought they were. More than a third of the people had sent in dandruff, scabs or clumps of skin cells.

And only about half of the samples that were found to be nits contained baby head lice capable of hatching. The rest were either empty or contained a louse that would not have hatched.

Because head lice are so often wrongly diagnosed and because they are generally harmless, the researchers concluded that the no-nits policies are not working and should be abandoned. They argued that it's much easier for a child to catch a cold or the

 

 

 

 

 

flu
The flu is a bad infection that gives you a headache, sore throat, aching joints and a fever. Flu is caused by infection with a virus called influenza.

 

 

 

 

 

flu in school than to catch head lice, yet a child who turns up at school with symptoms of a cold or flu is rarely sent home.

In England, government guidelines say there's no need for a child with head lice to be kept out of school.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Health Protection Agency.
Headlice: factsheet for schools - wired for health.
December 2008. Available at http://www.hpa.org.uk (accessed on 22 January 2009).

 

 

 

 

 

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