Can Kids Go in the Pool With Lice?

Few developments panic a parent as much as the discovery of head lice on their child's hair. Not only do you have to clean everything in sight, but you also have to worry about spreading it to other people. If your kids are involved in swimming or if you belong to a pool, you might think about quarantining your child until you're positive the little buggers have all been eradicated. But you can't catch head lice -- or spread them -- in pool water, although you can once you get out of the water.

  1. Head Lice 101

    • Although head lice might make you feel itchy and creepy, they're not really dangerous -- and they are pretty common. Head lice feed on human blood and attach themselves to human hair. They move fast and can be hard to spot. They lay their eggs, called nits, along the base of the hair shaft. Nits look like small yellow or white specks attached to the hair and are extremely difficult to remove. Head lice have claws that have adapted to holding onto human hair; they're not able to hold onto hard plastic, metal or other shiny, smooth surfaces.

    The Effects of Water

    • Head lice can't swim and, apparently, don't move while under water. In an Australian study published in the November 2007 "International Journal of Dermatology," head lice submerged in water became immobile until removed from the water and for a period of one to two minutes thereafter. No head lice were killed or transferred from head-to-head in infected individuals. You can't wash off head lice -- which is why you have to pick them out of hair with a fine-toothed comb. Even if head lice get into the water, they will most likely get washed out in the filter or remain immobile and unable to attach themselves to another head. Chlorine won't kill them, however.

    Ways to Transmit Lice at the Pool

    • If your children and their friends sit with their heads together or hair touching, the lice can move from one head to another. You can also catch head lice at the pool -- or share them with someone else -- by sharing objects that have touched your head, such as hats, bathing caps, hair brushes, hair ties or bands or towels. So if your children and their friends freely trade bathing caps when you're not watching or pick up and use the nearest towel, regardless of whose it is, to dry their heads, it's better to avoid the pool until you know the head lice have been completely decimated.

    Swimming After Treatment

    • After treating your child's hair for head lice, keep him out of the pool -- or any water, including the shower or tub -- for one to two days afterward. Water might make the anti-lice shampoo chemical treatment less effective, which means it could take longer to reach a louse-free state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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