At The Nit Nanny we like to inform Pediatricians how successful, non-toxic treatment of head lice can be. Most days it's a pick me up, since we have found that most nurses want to hear about better solutions. It ends up being a nice visit and we leave feeling like we had a really positive interaction with another person. Recently we had a disturbing visit with a nurse and it made us realize why dispelling myths about head lice is such an uphill battle.
"Well, they jump from person to person, don't they?"
((GASP))
"No, they don't jump or fly. They are wingless insects, they just crawl."
"OH! Really?"
So, is this why pediatricians don't want children with lice coming into the office? Because their staff members suffer under the delusion that lice are airborne? A child with lice walking into the room is not going to give anyone else lice unless they have contact with them. There is a possibility that a child can deposit a bug in the environment by having contact with furniture, but that is a remote risk. The fact is that this is a common misconception about lice that leads to some of the panic people have about it.
