Just the mention of them makes you scratch your head.

Head lice.

"They are tiny insects that live on human hair and feed
on blood," said
Beverly Sparks, a University of Georgia Extension Service
entomologist. "They inject
saliva into the skin that causes itching."

For many Georgia school children this spring, they’re a very
real itch. For parents,
they’re a nightmare.

Head lice are usually more prevalent among smaller children
because they’re transmitted
by direct contact. Smaller children usually have more close
contact with each other than
older children or adults.

"Lice can also be transmitted through contact with
clothing or other personal
items," Sparks said. "If a person had head lice and
had on a hat, and you put
the hat on right after they wore it, you could get them.

"Head lice can survive off of a host for only about 48
hours," she said.
"So it takes pretty close contact to get them."

African-American children are usually spared the agony of
head lice, thanks to
genetics.

"Head lice have front legs that look like a fish hook.
That’s how they hold
on," Sparks explained. "Caucasians have round hairs
that make it easy for them
to grip and hold on. African-Americans have more oval, flat
hairs, and the lice can’t
anchor themselves."

How do you know if your child has head lice? And how do you
stop them from spreading?

"In school situations, when we identify head lice we
recommend that everyone be
inspected. We treat those who are infested," Sparks
said.

"Some schools have a ‘no-nit’ policy," she said,
"meaning a child can’t
come back to school until no nits, or eggs, are
visible."

If your child comes home with head lice, don’t panic. The
cure is simple and can be
taken care of overnight.

"Use shampoos containing insecticides to kill the
lice," Sparks said.
"In addition, you can physically remove them with a lice
comb, or use a combination
of insecticide-containing shampoo and combing. Repeat the
shampoo treatment in seven to 10
days.

"We recommend that along with the hair treatment you
treat the materials the
infested person contacts, like pillows, bed linens, towels,
brushes and combs," she
said. "Wash linens with soap and hot water and dry them in
a dryer. Clean combs and
brushes with boiling water or lice shampoo."

There’s really no season for head lice.

"Lice outbreaks occur when large numbers of kids come
together," Sparks said.

That makes schools the perfect breeding grounds.

If you think your child has come into contact with head lice,
Sparks said,
"Inspect, use the comb and shampoo treatment and follow up
with daily hair
inspections for 10 days. It’s no big deal."