FILE IMAGE - A person removes head lice and nits from a customer using a lice comb. (Photo by Britta Pedersen/picture alliance via Getty Images) A head lice diagnosis is neither a health hazard nor a sign of poor hygiene, and children should not miss school because of it, new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics states.Instead, being sent home from school because of head lice "can result in significant stigma and psychological stress."The new guidance, published online this week and in October 2022 Pediatrics journal, is an update on previous recommendations shared in 2015.
In the United States, head lice are most common among preschool and elementary children, and the household members of those children, according to the U.S.