Pediculosis (head lice)

Introduction

Scenario: You are at school in class and you can't stop scratching your head. That night at home you check out your scalp in the mirror and notice lice crawling on your scalp and white spots throughout your hair. You try to brush them out with your mums hairbrush but they won't budge. You don't tell anyone because you are embarrassed and believe people will think you are unhygienic and tease you. 

Description: Pediculosis (head lice) are small, wingless, blood sucking insects. People get head lice from direct hair to hair contact with another person who has head lice. Students will be creating a report on the different forms of headlice, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. 

Grade Level: 6

Curriculum: Investigate the role of preventive health in promoting and maintaining health, safety and wellbeing for individuals and their communities (ACPPS058)

Keywords: Disease, communicable, spread, prevention

Author(s): Bronti Cooke

Task

It is your task to create a report on pediculosis (head lice) to inform yourself and your peers about the condition and suggest ways of future prevention in the classroom environment. 

Include information on:

  • The three forms of headlice
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatment
  • Prevention
Conclusion

As a conclusion, lets summarise some of the new information we have discovered. 

  • Head lice only survive on humans. If isolated from the head they die very quickly (usually within 24 hours).

  • People get head lice from direct hair to hair contact with another person who has head lice. Head lice do not have wings or jumping legs so they cannot fly or jump from head to head. They can only crawl.
  • Head lice are found on the hair itself and move to the scalp to feed. They have six legs which end in a claw and they rarely fall from the head. Louse eggs (also called nits) are laid within 1.5 cm of the scalp and are firmly attached to the hair. They resemble dandruff, but can’t be brushed off.
  • Lice can crawl and hide.

  • Head lice eggs are small (the size of a pinhead) and oval. A live egg will ‘pop’ when squashed between fingernails.

    Dead eggs have crumpled sides and hatched eggs look like tiny boiled eggs with their tops cut off.

  • Combs with long, rounded stainless steel teeth positioned very close together have been shown to be the most effective, however, any head lice comb can be used.
  • The department recommends a child with head lice can be treated one evening and return to school or children’s service centres the next day, even if there are still some eggs present. There is no need to miss school or childcare because of head lice.