Head liceare everywhere. If you have kids and they are around other kids, they are at risk of getting head lice. They are in every community and school district, from the richest to the poorest.
Although the focus of parents and pediatricians is usually ontreating head lice infestations, with more lice being resistant or hard to treat, it is probably even more important to teach your kids to avoid head lice. Since head lice can’t jump from child to child or crawl into your home, preventing head lice infestations isn’t as hard as it may sound.
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Tips to Prevent Head Lice
Use these practical tips to prevent your child from getting lice.
Be extra vigilant for head lice if there have been frequent reports of head lice at your child’s school or in your child’s classroom.
Preventing the Spread of Head Lice
If your child gets head lice, these tips can help prevent a recurrence or spreading it to others:
A Word From Verywell
Kids most commonly get head lice through direct head-to-head contact with other children. Watching school-age kids play and interact with each other, you know that can’t be eliminated. Concentrate on catching lice infestations early and do what you can to encourage your kids not to share objects that touch their heads. That said, sharing a helmet or other protective gear rather than going without one is not a big risk, and could potentially save your child from having a serious injury.
Head Lice Doctor Discussion GuideGet our printable guide for your next doctor’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.Download PDFEmail AddressSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
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1 SourceVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nolt D, Moore S, Yan AC, Melnick L; Committee on Infectious Diseases, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, Section on Dermatology.Head lice.Pediatrics. 2022;150(4):e2022059282. doi:10.1542/peds.2022-059282
1 Source
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Nolt D, Moore S, Yan AC, Melnick L; Committee on Infectious Diseases, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, Section on Dermatology.Head lice.Pediatrics. 2022;150(4):e2022059282. doi:10.1542/peds.2022-059282
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Nolt D, Moore S, Yan AC, Melnick L; Committee on Infectious Diseases, Committee on Practice and Ambulatory Medicine, Section on Dermatology.Head lice.Pediatrics. 2022;150(4):e2022059282. doi:10.1542/peds.2022-059282
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