Head lice have been reported in several primary and secondary schools – and even some university students are scratching their heads.
If people have been knocking their heads together at the library, then everything is possible
“We’ve been having several university students buying treatment shampoo and saying there’s a bug outburst,” one pharmacist told The Times.
The tiny insects, that live on the skin covering the top of the head, are contagious but not dangerous.
The Education Department, however, said there was no cause for alarm, with the incidence of head lice not noticed to be above the norm.
University communications director Patricia Camilleri said: “I am not aware of it, although that does not mean to say it is not the case.
“If people have been knocking their heads together at the library, then everything is possible.”
Health Department director Charmaine Gauci explained there is no age limit for head lice. “Nits can’t fly or jump but are passed on by direct, prolonged contact,” she said.
Small children – sociable, tactile, constantly tumbling over each other – are a perfect source of the close contact they need to spread from head to head.
She stressed that there should be no stigma attached to nits, and that it is “a myth that they like dirty hair”.
However, it helped if students with long hair tied it back for school and parents did a weekly comb to catch invaders early, she said.
Dr Gauci urged parents to talk to doctors and pharmacists for advice once they discover any unwanted visitors nesting on their children’s heads.
“It’s very important that they do not use shampoos unless there are lice, as otherwise nits will become resistant to treatment.
A mother whose children both got nits from school said that many of the lotions and potions “don’t work.”
“The cheapest solution is going through wet hair with a nit comb, a generous dollop of conditioner and a beady eye,” she said.
Another mother has resorted to applying natural remedies such as tea tree and lavender oil, which are said to stave off any interested nits.
The Education Department regularly carries out preventive programmes and sends head lice screeners to schools.
Sandra Cortis, service manager at the Education Department, said there had been no noticeable increase in head lice cases above the usual incidence.
“Usually a tactful note is sent to the parents of the child, so they seek the advice of the family doctor to start treatment,” she said.
“We always get full cooperation from parents, and once treatment starts then lice are no longer contagious.”
What are head lice?
Head lice are a problem as old as humanity itself. Archaeologists have dug up nit combs carved from wood, bone and ivory dating as far back as 1500BC, while two specific strains of Pediculus humanus can be traced back more than a million years.
The speed of their life cycle makes them very successful. Newly laid eggs hatch within 10 days and a female louse can be ready to lay her own eggs as soon as she is seven days old.
How to delouse
• Wash your child’s hair and comb it thoroughly with a special nit comb;
• Rinse with hot water;
• When you start an anti-head lice treatment make sure you read the instructions carefully;
• Check regularly to make sure that all the eggs are out.