Two thirds of kids in UK will catch head lice before finishing primary school, study finds

Two thirds of children can expect to catch head lice at least once during childhood, new research by the Institute of Mums has revealed.

Over 1.6 million head lice infestations occur every year in the UK among children aged 4 to 11 years, with a peak at the age of 7-8 years.

Treatment is big business. According to the Institute of Mums, who conducted the survey on behalf of Clear Hair International, the head lice treatment market is worth in excess of £40 million in the UK.

Of the 650 parents of primary school-aged children surveyed by the Institute of Mums, 69% had experienced head lice in their children, with an average of 2.2 infestations per child.

“Parents tend to blame other parents when their child comes home from school with their second or third case of head lice in as many months,” said Isma Javid, who runs a chain of Head Lice treatment clinics in the South East.

“But when you leave one single egg in the hair – and they are tiny – they just come back. It’s not always caught from other kids.”

While there are no reliable studies on the effectiveness of various treatment methods, the survey did uncover some unusual practices.

One in seven parents had resorted to home remedies such as lemon juice and mayonnaise to eradicate head lice, with some even attempting to burn the lice with hair straighteners and other heated hair products.

Conditioner and wet-combing was another popular treatment method, as was covering the child’s hair with hairspray.

Others turned to essential oils, such as lavender and tea-tree oil. Despite no scientific evidence to support claims of its use as an anti-parasitic agent, 61% of parents surveyed believed tea tree oil to be as effective at eliminating and preventing head lice as chemical-based products.

“There is a great deal of confusion about the best way to deal with head lice,” said Jessie Wilson, founder of the Institute of Mums. “Add to that the stigma attached to catching head lice, and the fact that parents don’t want to talk about it with fellow parents, and it’s easy to see why they are so prevalent.”

Only half (53%) of parents admitted to alerting other parents about an outbreak of lice in their family, with many feeling it is the responsibility of the schools to spread the word and encourage greater vigilance.

“Parents are very quick to warn others when their child contracts Chicken Pox,” said Ms Wilson. “Unfortunately, when it comes to head lice, most are too embarrassed to tell others, and prefer to leave it up to the schools to alert parents to outbreaks.”


BRING BACK THE NIT NURSE, PARENTS DEMAND

Only 16% of parents surveyed by the Institute felt that schools are doing enough to address the problem, with many calling for the government to reintroduce the so-called ‘nit-nurse’ into schools.

Nit nurses were phased out in the 1980s and 1990s, as their efforts were seen as embarrassing and humiliating for children, shifting the responsibility for identifying and treating head lice back to parents.

But many parents now say that this has led to an increase in the number of head lice outbreaks, and are urging the schools to take a greater role in head lice prevention and elimination.

Ms Javid agrees. “Although I can’t see nit nurses making a comeback, I do think schools could do more to educate both parents and children,” she said.

“Schools could teach children about head lice in lessons, for example, so that when they go home, they ask their parents to check their hair.”

“They could even set ‘nit-checking’ as part of their weekly homework.”

HEADLINE FINDINGS:

• The head lice treatment market in the UK is worth more than £40 million

• There are over 1.6 million head lice infestations every year in the UK, peaking at age 7-8 years.

• Two thirds of children will catch head lice during childhood.

• One in five parents has had to take time off work or miss a social event due to an outbreak of head lice in their family.

• 25% of parents surveyed didn’t know that it’s possible to have head lice without feeling itchy

• One third of parents surveyed (32%) failed to identify a head louse when presented with images of 6 common bugs. 24% mistook a flea for a head louse. The remaining 8% were split between woodlouse, bed bug, silverfish and mosquito.

• Even talking about head lice makes people itchy – 69% of all survey respondents said they felt itchy while taking the survey!

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NOTES TO EDITORS
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NOTES TO EDITOR

Case studies and quotes from survey respondents are available to support the stats.

About the research

The survey was conducted on behalf of Clear Hair Ltd by the Institute of Mums. 650 parents of school-aged children from across the UK were surveyed online in March 2017. The survey was conducted using a representative and purposive sampling method (CI 95%, CL 5).


About Clear Hair International

Clear Hair Ltd is a world leader in lice-treatment services and is dedicated to the eradication of head lice. It has built the world’s largest network of lice-removal professionals. Its flagship product is the FDA-cleared AirAllé® device (formerly called LouseBuster).

www.clearhair.com


About Institute of Mums

Institute of Mums is a full-service market research firm, specialising in baby, child and family research. They also run one of the UK's fastest-growing parenting pages on Facebook. IOM takes a modern approach to research, soliciting research participants through social media using contextual and purposive targeting. By leveraging their strong social media presence, Institute of Mums enables companies to gain access to parents who would not normally take part in market research, leading to a more representative sample.
http://instituteofmums.com/marketresearch
facebook.com/instituteofmums

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For more information contact:

Jessie Wilson
IOM Research Ltd
07515433606
jessie@instituteofmums.com