In the school setting, head lice can spread easily from one child to another. This sometimes worries parents, especially for females, who may fear that they would have to cut their hair to get rid of lice.

The head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic insect that lives among human hairs and feeds on tiny amounts of blood drawn from the scalp. Lice (the plural of louse) are a very common problem, especially for kids. They’re contagious, annoying, and sometimes tough to get rid of.

But while they’re frustrating to deal with, lice aren’t dangerous. They don’t spread disease, although their bites can make a child’s scalp itchy and irritated, and scratching can lead to infection.

It’s best to treat head lice quickly once they’re found, because they can spread easily from person to person.

Lice are highly contagious and can spread quickly from person to person, especially in group settings (like schools, childcare centres, slumber parties, sports activities, and camps).

Though they can’t fly or jump, these tiny parasites have specially adapted claws that let them crawl and cling firmly to hair. They spread mainly through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothing, bed linen, combs, brushes and hats also can pass them along. Kids are most prone to catching lice, because they tend to have close physical contact with one another and share personal items.

Medicated shampoo, cream rinse, or lotion can be used to kill the lice. These may be over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications, depending on what treatments have already been tried. Medicated lice treatments usually kill the lice, but it may take a few days for the itching to stop. For very resistant lice, an oral medication (medicine taken by mouth) might be prescribed.

If your child is two months old or younger, you should not use medicated lice treatments. You’ll need to remove the nits and lice by hand.

To remove lice and nits by hand, use a fine-tooth comb on your child’s wet, conditioned hair every three to four days for three weeks after the last live louse was seen. Wetting the hair beforehand is recommended, because it temporarily immobilizes the lice and the conditioner makes it easier to get a comb through the hair.

There’s no need to buy electronic combs that claim to kill lice or make nits easier to remove. No studies have been done to back up these claims.

Make sure you remove nits carefully every week for at least three weeks in a row, and watch your child closely to see if any live lice return.

Dr Rosmond Adams, MD is a medical doctor and a public health specialist. He is also an ethicist with training in research ethics and medical ethics. He is the head of Health Information, Communicable Disease and Emergency Response at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

He is also a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Coordination Mechanism (GCM) on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

(The views expressed here are not written on behalf of CARPHA nor the WHO)