Lice Alert: Centennial Lane Gives Notice Of Lice Reports

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Families at one Ellicott City elementary school received notice on Wednesday that there had been reports of lice from some parents. Despite the reports, school health officials said all checks came up clear.

"The students have been checked in the health room, and we have seen no live lice on any children at Centennial Lane," the health room staff said in a note.

Parents were encouraged to check their children for lice by separating sections of hair with a comb and looking for the bugs.

Lice are tan or grayish insects the size of a strawberry seed, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms may include itching of the scalp, head or neck, which happens in an allergic reaction to the louse saliva. Eggs, or nits, stick to the hair shaft and hatch after 9 days, the Mayo Clinic advises.

The bugs can only crawl; they can neither jump nor fly, and may be transmitted when people are in close contact with one another.

They may spread through indirect contact such as when hats or scarves are hung on the same hook in school, the Mayo Clinic advised.

"Remember, head lice do not carry disease and are in no way a reflection of a person or family’s hygiene or cleanliness," Centennial Lane health officials said. "This condition is found whenever large groups gather and can be picked up in any place upon contact with a person having such a condition. This letter is to make you aware rather than alarmed."

Centennial health officials said that the county policy was to notify a class once 10 percent of students had lice, which was not the case. "Again, this letter is being sent as a precaution and to let other families be aware," the Dec. 6 letter said.

Northfield Elementary, which had several cases of lice reported in late October, offered guidelines for treatment of lice.

Here is the letter sent to families from Centennial Lane:

December 6, 2017

Dear Parent/Guardian:
We have been given notification by parents of a few cases of lice. The students have been checked in the health room, and we have seen no live lice on any children at Centennial Lane. This letter is being sent as a courtesy. County guidelines are for notification of the entire class and/or school once a 10% threshold has been reached. This is NOT the case for Centennial Lane. Again, this letter is being sent as a precaution and to let other families be aware.

Please carefully check your child’s hair every day for this next week to 10 days to be sure your child was not affected. Use a comb to look for any sign of lice, small eggs or nits (hatched egg casings). Divide the hair into sections and examine each section of hair close to the scalp.

In addition:
•Pay special attention to areas around ears and nape of neck.
•Lice are about the size of a sesame seed and are grayish/brown. They will
scatter when you expose them to light. So, if you think you saw one, you did.
•Lice eggs are white, yellow, brown or tan in color and are about the size of a
poppy seed. They typically attach to the hair shaft and are not easily
removed when you run your finger along the hair shaft. The closer to the scalp the newer they are.
•Be aware of persistent head scratching by family/household members.

Your pharmacist or health care provider can recommend a suitable product if you suspect treatment is necessary. It is important to notify the health room if your child has undergone treatment. Identities are kept confidential. We can assist with further instructions and are available to answer any questions and provide resources. I would suggest the Center for Disease Control web site:

www.cdc.gov/lice/ for more pictures and more information.

Remember, head lice do not carry disease and are in no way a reflection of a person or family’s hygiene or cleanliness. This condition is found whenever large groups gather and can be picked up in any place upon contact with a person having such a condition. This letter is to make you aware rather than alarmed.

Thank you for your cooperation and feel free to call the health room at 410-313-1710.

Health Room Staff
Siobhan Zarek, RN
Kathy Will, CNA/CMT

Image via CDC.