Addressing Head Lice in Children

Based in Coppell, Texas, Dr. Anne Georgulas delivers a broad range of care to pediatric patients. One of the conditions Dr. Anne Georgulas addresses in her practice is head lice. This is an extremely common issue among school-aged children who interact with others in classroom and preschool environments.

Head lice are tiny insects between two to three millimeters in length (the size of a sesame seed) and have a pale grey color. They feed on minute amounts of blood in the scalp and are able to live for up to 2 days with no blood intake. They lay eggs called nits near the scalp and attach them to hair shafts. Yellow or white, nits can be hard to see on some hair and may be mistaken for dandruff.

If left untreated, lice will go through a 28-day life cycle on the scalp and lay new eggs that will repeat the process every 3 weeks. In many cases, lice are not noticed for some time, as it can take up to 6 weeks of lice infestation for the scalp to start to itch. In most cases, this itching is felt at the back of the neck or behind the ears.

One way of treating lice is the “comb-out” method, with the parent wetting the child’s hair and using a fine-tooth comb on the hair, section by section. Be sure to wipe the comb using a wet towel after every go through. Even more effective, head lice medicine can be combined with combing out over a 2- to 3-week period. It is not necessary to consult with a physician before beginning a head lice medicine regimen, as long as the child is over 6 months old.