Head lice bans from school outdated

Sending children with head lice home from school doesn't "have sound medical rationale," Canada's pediatricians say, but a few school boards in major cities haven't updated their exclusion policies.

The Canadian Pediatric Society changed its policy on head lice in 2008 to no longer bar children from returning to class until the pests are gone.

Pediatricians believe it isn't necessary to send children home to contain spread of lice because once a student is found to have lice, other students likely already have the pests, so sending one child home likely won't make a difference to ridding the school of the problem.

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"Very uncommonly do they cause any disease," said Dr. Joan Robinson, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton and chair of the society's committee that wrote the guidance. "They're really not dangerous in any way. It's more of the ick factor," as to why parents and sometimes teachers don't want a child with head lice in class.

"We think what should happen is the child should be the treated that evening with the proper solution and then return to class the very next day."

Most school systems from Victoria to St John's have adopted the society's advice. A few public boards, such as in Toronto, Halton and Regina, still say a child needs to be lice free to return to school.

Lice ban being reviewed

The Toronto District School Board is now reviewing its lice ban.

There's no evidence of lack of response to classical lice treatments so far, Robinson said. Newer treatments that work differently are available.

She suggested that concerned parents:

• Examine their children's heads.
• Parents ensure they know what they're looking for.
• If needed, speak to a pharmacist to get an over-the-counter lice treatment.

Eggs or nits are not contagious, and parents and teachers need to know how to distinguish those flecks from lice themselves.

Karin Kutasewich runs a lice removal service in Toronto. She predicts adopting a more lax policy may lead to more people getting lice.

"I don't think that any child who has live lice in the hair should go to school, regardless if you've treated or not. They will spread to the next person," Kutasewich said.

Ava Mahoney, 9, suspects she picked up lice a few weeks ago when she touched heads with a friend. She is now free of lice and following Kutasewich's advice to tie back her sandy brown hair.

"It hurts when they bite you and you itch them," Ava said.