1 in 10 Children has Head Lice

VHi Healthcare
September 7, 2007

Parents are being urged to check their kids for head lice as part of a big effort to stop infestations in schools.

The Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) estimate that 1 in 10 children suffer from head lice at any one time. However, preventing head lice is easy, they say, and offer the following advice:

• Check children?s hair for lice once a week.
• Wet comb the hair every week.
• Tie up long hair in a pony tail to avoid hair coming into contact with infested hair.
• Treat hair only if live lice or unhatched eggs are present and then treat as soon as possible.
• Always seek advice from your pharmacist on the most appropriate products to use.
• Inform the school, contacts and friends if your child has head lice.

Liz Hoctor, Vice-President of the IPU said: "We are urging parents to take a pro-active approach in learning what to look out for in the first place, to check their children?s heads for head lice and nits regularly and to know how to effectively get rid of the lice in a safe way."

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