Publication
Head lice: Information for parents (reprinted 2011)
| Contents: | Detection Treatment Alert letters from schools Tips Facts about head lice |
Alert letters from schools
You may find that your child’s school no longer sends out letters to alert parents that a child in the school has head lice. There are a few reasons for this. Most schools are likely to have a few pupils with head lice at any one time. On that basis, ‘alert’ letters could potentially be required every day of the school year. ‘Alert’ letters also frequently lead parents to attempt to treat their children preventatively, which is neither effective nor advised. Head lice infection cannot be prevented, and over-use of insecticide treatments may lead to resistance.
Schools should, though, provide helpful information for parents about the detection and treatment of head lice infection on a regular basis, for example at the start of a new term.