by Bailey Schildberg and Brandon McConkey

Parents of students were notified about the finding of head lice at AHS last week. According to AHS nurse Kelli Evans, a student came to her office on Tuesday, Oct. 14, asking her to search their head for head lice. The nurse confirmed that she had found head lice.

Our school abides by the student confidentiality rule, which means the name of the student who has the head lice will not be released. The student cannot be treated differently than any other student here at AHS. The school’s policy years ago stated that they would send a student home who had head lice. Now, Iowa Public Health says that the school can not send a student home since the head lice doesn’t cause any diseases.

According to “Lice Lessons,” a person could get head lice is by direct head-to-head contact, sleepovers, or sharing of brushes, clothing, hats, scarves, and coats. Unlike fleas, head lice do not jump or fly; they only crawl. One cannot simply just get head lice spontaneously; they are transmitted from another source.

“Certain shampoos can be purchased to get rid of the lice,” said Evans. They are sold at pharmacies. The Atlantic High School also provides the shampoo if the student can’t afford it. A nit comb could also be purchased, which is a comb that makes it much easier to remove the lice. Evans said, “A student or anybody who has it should be treated.” She also reminded students that “other people should not use other combs, hates, etc.”

This is not the first time that Atlantic High School has had a student with head lice. Last year there was a student that had come to the nurse with the same situation. There has only been one confirmed case this year. Washington Elementary nurse Laura Freund said, “I do not have a real specific number, we see cases monthly here and it is not unheard of to see more than one a week depending on the time of year. I can recall 5 cases I have seen so far this year at Washington.”

Further information on head lice and its treatment can be found on the Center for Disease Control website.