Headlice now a year-round struggle

A pesky pest problem that used to be seasonal is now causing trouble all year round for primary schools.

Headlice have become the new common reason for keeping children away from class, as schools struggle to rid their students of the increasingly chemical-resistant little critters.

At Manaia primary school, principal Allan Forsyth said he regularly had to put something in the newsletter to ensure parents checked their children's hair and didn't let them come to school with nits.

"There's always one or two with the infection – it seems to be worse after the holidays when they've been away," he said.

The situation was made worse by the fact that schools no longer got a regular nit-picking visit from the public health nurse and were reluctant to go through the children's hair themselves, Mr Forsyth said.

"If we touch a child's head to look for lice, for various reasons we could be up for assault. School are very wary about touching children, especially touching their heads."

Although the school would supply treatment to those who asked, it wasn't its core business to check children for nits, he said. "But some children, mainly girls with long hair, really struggle with them. It puts schools between a rock and a hard place in dealing with it," he said.

Merrilands School principal Graham Wilson, among others, said his school had the problem year-round too, where as before it used to be seasonal – more with the warmer weather and in swimming season.

He had heard of people using the chemical treatments on the lice, only to have them come back straight away, a sign they were growing more resistant to the products.

In severe cases, the school would just refer the family to the health nurse, Mr Wilson said.

The schools all agreed checking for nits shouldn't fall to teachers – a better role for them to take was one of prevention and education.

Public health nurse co-ordinator Sandi French agreed and said her staff were always available to help out.

"But the onus is really on families to treat the kids," she said.

The lice would become resistant to a product, but there was always a new one on the market.

She suggested the best method was old-fashioned combing, but would not recommended using pet products on children.

"Headlice have always been with us, since pre-Egyptian times. We just have to keep trying and saying the same things to the parents over and over," Ms French said.

How to get rid of nits

* Check your child on a Friday night and treat any nits during the weekend to avoid exclusion from school.

* Either use nit shampoo as directed on the bottle or for those who don't want to use chemicals, use a nit comb.

* For children with long hair, brush regularly and tie up to avoid contact with other pupils.

* Do not use products such as Frontline or kerosene as it is too harsh for children's scalps.

* Check the whole family at once but do not treat those without nits as this can cause louse-resistance to the medical shampoo.