please collect your child and treat with head lice solution, then have your child checked at the Health Department -- also bring a clearance note that will allow your child to return to school. It all has an all familiar ring.

It is an unfortunate fact that many children will contact head lice during their school years.

In order to keep on top of the situation, care givers must make it a part of their weekly routine to check every family members head for head lice, that includes you and your spouse.

You are looking for a flea size insect. No -- it won't hop onto you -- they crawl fast! The lice live on the blood they suck from the human scalp. They lay their eggs, called nits, and cement them onto a hair shaft. They are greyish or brown in colour. The nits are usually found one to two inches inside the hairline. The child may complain of intense itching and may develop small glands at the nape of the neck. There are several brands of head lice solutions available in pharmacies throughout the Island. Please read the instructions carefully and retreat the hair in seven to ten days to ensure complete elimination of the infestation. When a school child is found to have head lice, the case may be reported by parent to school or clinic or school to parent or clinic. The school nurse will check the class of the infested child and also check the heads of siblings who may attend other schools or nursery schools.

If head lice are found -- treated early, the nits removed, hair checked at the Health Department, a clearance note given for school -- the whole process will take one to two days. If head lice are found, treated and nits are removed half-heartedly or not at all -- the child can be out of school for as long as the care giver takes to remove the nits. They all have to be removed before a note is issued.

Head lice have always been here and probably always will be -- we just have to be ready to deal with them.

If your child gets head lice or nits, it is not his or her fault. You have to play the role of a detective to find the source of the problem.

1: Find out who your child plays with.

2: Inform parents so they are aware of the problem.

3: Inform the school -- they will send notes to parents informing them that head lice are present in school and students need to be checked.

Happy hunting -- thank you for listening.

HEALTH HTH