Preventing Lice in Public Spaces

1. Ensure belongings stay separate from each other

Whether you're a teacher at a school or working in an office with many others, it's important to keep your belongings separate from others. This decreases the likelihood head lice or any other pest or illness is spread through touching jackets, hats, or bags.

• If you are a teacher or building a classroom, ensure that your classroom's cloakroom or closet allows for plenty of space between each student's belongings. This might mean spacing out clothes hooks or assigning individual cubbies or boxes for students to stow away their things.
• Avoid hanging your jacket or storing your bag in a communal closet. Some places like restaurants, bars, and hotels offer you a coat check. Rather than checking your things, you could bring your things with you, or ask that your jacket be stored away from others.

2. Store belongings in plastic bags

Things like hairbrushes, hats, scarves, and jackets could be placed in plastic bags when you go out in public, especially if you're sending your kids to school. This keeps the lice out and plastic bags are easy to throw away before going home.

• To be extra cautious, you can throw in your belongings in the freezer after coming home. Head lice cannot survive in low temperatures.

3. Clean your belongings when you get home

Use disinfectant or soap to kill germs and prevent lice from crawling into the home. Wipe down your bag or backpack and throw the clothes you wore outside into the washing machine.

4. Educate others about head lice prevention

It's not only important to do your part in preventing head lice from invading your home and your family, but it's also important to educate others on how to prevent and treat head lice.

• Urge your school or community to make head lice prevention and education available. It's as easy as making an announcement about what head lice is and how to prevent it or making flyers and directing others to resources or treatments that they can access.