PARENT HOMEWORK Winter Break Activity

Check the Entire Family For Head Lice

Families PEASE check for head lice.       Yes - you can do it!

What You Need:

• Good light (outdoors, close to a sunny window, or even better, bring in a shop light from the garage)
• A comb to completely detangle the hair and to section the hair for those with very thick or long hair (clips are helpful too to hold the hair in sections)
• A head lice comb.  A stainless steel head lice comb is preferable. The best is the TERMINATOR LICE COMB available through Amazon.  The nit combs in the kits do not work well.
• Any type of white conditioner diluted with water
• Optional: A magnifying glass, magnifying/reading glasses and/or a microscope

How to head check:

• Go to the well-lit area
• Use your regular comb to detangle the hair
• Look at the areas on the head called the "hot spots" - behind ears, nape of the neck, above the forehead and at the crown.       Look for teeny tiny - even smaller than poppy-seed sized eggs, stuck to the hair shaft close to the scalp (you need to use your fingernails to loosen them). They can be dark in color or light in color but in general, viable nits are plump and darkish (especially on dark hair.) They can also be amber. They resemble chubby commas. Things like dandruff that are easily dislodged are not nits.       Little nits are tiny and hard to see. It is not likely that you will see actual bugs unless it's an advanced case.      
• If you've found nothing, put some water-diluted conditioner through the hair.
• Next, with the head lice comb, start combing small sections of hair from scalp to ends. The individual being combed should "feel it." After four swipes through the hair section with the lice comb, wipe the comb (front and back) on a piece of white paper towel or tissue. Bugs and nits will be evident - gray brownish in color. Be methodical. Nits can be anywhere on the hair shaft so you need to comb from underneath and from the sides until you've lice combed the entire head. With long/thick hair, you might want to use hair clips to section the hair.

• If you perform a thorough lice combing and find nothing, it's unlikely that a case of head lice is present.
• If you pull adult lice or maturing nymphs, they will be crawling a bit on the paper towel. You can use your magnifier if you can't tell what's a bug or nit. After you pull a couple of bugs or more than two nits, there's no need to continue with the head check. The individual can be treated. If you find only a nit or two in combing the entire head and no bugs, we'd recommend just a nightly head lice combing for two weeks (using the diluted conditioner referred to above only.)
• Lice Treatment products only kill the hatched lice, so you can't get rid of lice by using only a treatment product. YOU HAVE TO COMB THROUGH THE HAIR AT LEAST ONCE A DAY WITH THE LICE COMB TO GET RID OF THE NITS THAT HAVEN'T HATCHED YET!!!   If the comb isn't getting all of the nits, you can also scrape them off with a fingernail or cut out that piece of hair with small scissors.
• Only stop checking when you haven't found anything for a week. If you have missed even one little nit, the whole thing can start again.

Education will be the hot topic at a January 10 Bellevue Legislative Forum hosted by the Bellevue School District Board of Directors. School Board members have invited area legislators from the Bellevue area to brief parents and community on the issues facing lawmakers in Olympia in the months ahead, and answer questions from constituents.  Rep. Ross Hunter, Sen. Steve Litzow, Rep. Marcie Maxwell, and Sen. Rodney Tom are planning to attend to give a candid and insightful perspective of the climate at the Capital including revenue for schools, implications of the McCleary decision and other issues related to public education.   Save the date for this timely event to hear the latest on what's ahead in Olympia.  January 10 at the Wilburton Instructional Service Center (WISC) from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Rainier Room where school board meetings are regularly held.   Coffee will be served.