Blog by Mrs. Berg, School Health Aide:

We have had an increase in the number of parents finding lice in their children’s hair.  Please report any incidents of lice to the school clinic (Mrs. Berg 703-506 7810) to enable us to see if there is a pattern or particular facilities that may need special cleaning. Also please buy a product that is FDA approved and includes the following chemicals:

Permethrin 1% (Nix) available over the counter

Pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide (Rid) available over the counter

Malathion .5% (Ovide) Prescription only

Benzyl alcohol 5% (Ulesfia) Prescription only

Spinosad 0.9% (Natroba) Prescription only

Ivermectin 0.5% (Sklice) Prescription only

The American Academy of Pediatrics has good data that the above products are effective in killing lice.  Unfortunately there is no such data for most of the natural products on the market.  If the over the counter products are not working well , please contact your health care provider for treatment.  Also continued vigilance and careful combing in the weeks following treatment is extremely important.

Valerie Berg

School Health Aide

Freedom Hill Elementary

(703)506-7810