ST. STEPHEN’S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 3669 HIGHLAND AVE., HFX., NS B3K 4J9 TEL: 493-5155 FAX: 493-5158 www.st.stephens.ednet.ns.ca [email protected] PRINCIPAL VICE PRINCIPAL Makiko Chiasson Rebecca Campbell November 19, 2013 Dear Parent/Guardian : We are noticing with more frequency, cases of head lice in the school. As head lice can be spread from person to person, we recommend that you carefully check your child’s head to see if he/she has head lice. If your child has live lice or nits close to the scalp (within ½ inch), he/she needs to receive treatment. For information on how to check for lice and nits and how to treat head lice, please obtain the Head Lice pamphlet “How to Find, Treat and Prevent Head Lice’ from the school office, Public Health Services or at your neighbourhood pharmacy. Please take the following preventions with your own child:
Encourage children not to share personal items such as combs, scrunchies, hats, etc.
Remember lice spreads rapidly in crowded conditions and can occur at any time or place during the year (e.g. camps, sleepovers)
Encourage your child to place his/her hat in the sleeve of his/her coats rather than with other hats
If your child has lice or nits, notify any family or friends with whom your child has had close contact
Halifax Regional School Board Policy states:
1.1.4 A student with head lice, may return to school after the first treatment outlined by Public Health, How to Prevent, Find and Treat Head Lice, is completed.
This information can also be seen on the Public Health website at: http://www.novascotia.ca/hpp/publications/07135_HeadLicePamphlet_En.pdf You may contact the school nurse, Nicole Wallot at 481-5817. Thank you. Ms. Makiko Chiasson Principal
How to Treat Head Lice What you need • head lice treatment Public Health Services recommends using treatments with the following ingredients: – permethrin, found in products such as Nix or Kwellada-P OR – pyrethrins with piperonyl butoxide, found in products such as R&C, Pronto, Equate, or Licetrol. Other products may be available, but some do not have the ingredients that Public Health recommends to kill head lice. Please check for the above ingredients. • lice comb, a special fine-tooth comb available at any drug store • regular comb • clean towel What to do—10 steps 1 Comb hair with a regular comb to remove tangles. 2 Apply the treatment as follows: – Shake the bottle. – Apply the treatment to dry hair, even if the product directions says, “towel dried hair.” This will make sure the product is not watered down. – Put the lice treatment all over the scalp and rub in well. – Be sure that the treatment covers all of the hair, from the scalp to the ends. – Leave the treatment on the hair for as long as the package recommends. 3 Rinse out the treatment over the sink. Don’t rinse in a bathtub where the product could get onto other parts of the body. Dry the hair with a clean towel. 4 Comb the hair with a regular comb to remove tangles. 5 Comb for lice with a lice comb. 6 Continue daily lice combing every day between the first and second treatment. It is described in the next section. Do not skip this step! 7 Use the lice treatment a second time, 9 to 10 days after the first treatment. Use the same product, and follow the same steps you used for the first treatment. The first treatment kills the live lice and the second treatment kills any lice that have hatched since the first treatment was done. No product currently available will kill all of the nits. 8 Continue checking household members at least once a week for 3 weeks after the second treatment is done to make sure everyone is free of live lice. There are no short cuts 9 If you find live lice after the second treatment has been done, then repeat steps 1 to 8 using a different product (with a different ingredient) to kill the lice. For example, if you used a product with permethrin, then choose a different product that has pyrethrins with piperonyl butoxide. Make sure to do 2 treatments with the new product. 10 If you continue to find live head lice after following these steps, contact Public Health Nurse Nicole Wallot at 481-5817.
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