Some children may be coming home with an unwanted companion this holiday season: lice. It’s a common childhood ailment with an estimated 6-12 million infestations each year in the U.S. among children 3-11 years old, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The Harbor’s Choice Laundry and Dry Cleaning in Boothbay Harbor is trying to educate locals on how to help combat the spread.  

“I've had a number of families come in with their entire house in garbage bags to wash,” said owner Terri Herald.  

Heat is essential to killing off lice and nits. So Herald recommends first placing dirty laundry in a dryer set to high heat, before transferring to the washer. In the wash, the highest heat the fabric allows should also be used.  

While lice don't live long once off the human body, Herald emphasized the importance of following the proper decontamination steps so the machines and future users aren’t affected. 

Herald explained, “My machines are used regularly all day long ... I want to make sure that the next person in line isn't bringing home anything that they don't want.”   

So, where are the lice coming from? While many would point to local school systems, Boothbay Region Elementary School Assistant Principal Kim Dionne said it is less likely than people may think, writing in an email to the Register: “Lice is not typically transmitted in the school setting and is mostly transmitted during sleepovers or other places where children have direct, physical contact with each other.” 

Protocols around lice management in schools have also changed in recent decades. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC recommended the discontinuation of whole classroom screening protocols, student exclusion due to live lice and nits, and the notification of others except the guardians of the affected child, according to a document from the National Association of School Nurses.  

This is because classroom screenings were deemed inaccurate, not cost-effective and notification may pose a confidentiality breach. Since the child has likely been infected for 30 days before lice identification, they pose little risk of transmission and should remain in the classroom.  

“The burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice,” per the document.