Dear Parents/Guardians:
Two cases of head lice have occurred at MEMSS, which have been treated. Head lice do not carry disease and do not have anything to do with cleanliness. Please check your child’s hair carefully for head lice and nits. Check all other members of the family for head lice as well. Treat only those who have lice or nits, following the directions posted below. Let the school know if you do find any head lice or nits. You should now increase head lice checks of your family from weekly to daily. Thank you for helping stop the spread of head lice.
You can buy different kinds of products to treat head lice from the drugstore without a prescription. These are in the form of shampoo, crème rinse or lotion. You may with to talk to the pharmacist, your doctor or public health nurse about these products. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE TREATING ANYONE WHO IS PREGNANT OR NURSING A BABY.
The most important step is use the product exactly as the label says. Remove all nits(eggs) by hand or with a fine toothed comb. Pull them off the end of the hair. Put them into a paper bag and then into the garbage outside. Check the hair in 24 hours. Remove any nits that are found. Check the hair in 7 days. If there are any live nits left they will be hatching now. Re-treat if any are found. DO NOT TREAT MORE THAN TWO TIMES. DO NOT SEND A CHILD TO SCHOOL WITH LICE OR NITS!
Home & Clothing: soak hair brushes and combs in very hot water for 10 minutes or in a disinfectant solution for one hour. Wash all clothing, towels and bed linen used by the person with head lice in hot water and soap. Dry at high heat for at least 20 minutes to kill any nits. (eggs). Dry clean items that cannot be washed or put in the freezer for 24 hours. Vacuum carpets, furniture, mattresses and pillows. Avoid using insecticide sprays as they are unnecessary.
