Head Lice & Bed Bugs
About Head Lice:
Facts:
Head lice are small blood-sucking insects that can cause severe itching. Lice can be difficult to get rid of and are easily spread from one person to another, especially children in schools and child care facilities. Head lice do not transmit disease. Anyone can get lice, regardless of cleanliness. Lice are white and about the size of a sesame seed. Lice move by crawling; they cannot fly or jump. Lice glue their tiny eggs, called nits, to hair about ¼ of an inch away from the scalp. Nits are difficult to kill and must be physically removed from hair with a nit comb.
How It Is Spread:
Lice is spread with direct contact with the head of any infected person’s hair (head to head) or something their hair has touched, such as clothing, brushes, combs, hair accessories, hats, carpets, pillows, toys, upholstery and furniture. A person is contagious as long as they are infested with live lice or nits close to the scalp that have not yet hatched.
Signs / Symptoms:
Itching is the most common symptom of lice. The only way to tell if someone has lice is to find live lice or nits in their hair. Lice and nits are usually found on hair near the scalp, behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. Because adult lice are very small, move quickly, and avoid light, they may be difficult to find. Use of a fine-tooth comb and/or a magnifying glass can be helpful in locating lice. Dandruff and hair spray droplets can be mistaken for nits.
School Consideration for Students with Head Lice:
Per District Policy 5440, students found with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and then return to class after appropriate treatment has begun. Once a student has completed their first treatment they can return to school even if nits are present. For further information or questions contact your District Registered Nurse.
About Bed Bugs:
Facts:
Bed bugs are tiny blood-sucking insects that feed on humans, pets, chickens, and other animals. They feed at night or in the dark. Although not painful at first, bed bug bites usually become red, swollen and itchy. Reactions to bites range from mild to severe. Bed bugs are not known to spread any diseases. Bed bugs are 4 to 5 mm long (less then ¼ of an inch) and have a flat head and flat, oval body. Young bed bugs are yellow-white in color and change to a light reddish brown as they mature. Bed bugs can live in furniture, cushions, mattresses and walls in your home.
How It Is Spread:
Bed bugs can enter your home when you bring in infested furniture, bedding, old books, laundry and suitcases. They may also enter your home through water pipes, gutters, window seals and walls. Proper sanitation in your home will help keep bed bugs out. If you notice signs of bed bugs in one area, it is likely they are hiding in other places to. Bed bugs can be hard to get rid of because they hide in small places like the cording around mattresses, under buttons and in the seams of cushions. Check for bed bugs in your bedding, draperies, furniture, cracks in the walls and behind loose wall paper.
Signs / Symptoms:
Indications of a bed bug infestation may include, small blood stains on walls and sheets (stains are from bed bug excretions not bites), skins shed from early life stages of the bed bug and an odor similar to the smell of fresh raspberries. Bed bugs multiply rapidly and can quickly infest your home.