Summer is here and we are all loving it, especially our kids. Summer means no school, water parks galore and best of all… summer camp! Summer camp is an $18 billion industry and is a great way for kids to make new friends and learn new skills while having fun. According to acacamps.org, More than 14,000 day and resident camps exist in the U.S. 8,400 are resident (overnight) and 5,600 are day camps. More than 14 million kids and adults attend camp per year in the U.S. and Camps employ more than 1.5 million camp staff to work in various camp positions. It’s safe to say that summer camp is very popular among children and parents shell out a lot of money for it. We hope our children come home with good memories and don’t fall victim to a head lice outbreak. Summer camps are a high-risk place for head lice infestations because of the abundance of children. Anywhere with lots of kids is a prime place for head lice.
Taking Care Of It Before Summer Camp
We recently worked with a summer camp and had the opportunity to go to the camp on the very first day and perform a head check on every child as well as supply treatment for anyone who had a head lice infestation. By doing this, we eliminated the chance of an outbreak at the camp. Lice spread through direct head-to-head contact as well as the sharing of items. If there are no lice in the first place, there’s no way for them to spread. They don’t just come out of nowhere. This is one of the most brilliant ways to make sure there aren’t head lice outbreaks in the middle of the week at camp. This is a great and affordable preventative method. Eradicating the lice before camp starts is key, but we know that not every camp will be up for that. We did happen to be very successful when we did it so if you want to work something out with us and your child’s camp, we’d be happy to come to camp with you.
Being Informed And Prepared
As a parent, we encourage you to be prepared and informed in case of a head lice outbreak. Different camps have different policies and procedures when it comes to head lice. That information would be good to know ahead of time. Does the onsite nurse know how to identify head lice? How do they handle a head lice outbreak? It would be a good idea to know exactly what would happen if there were a lice outbreak at your child’s camp. Sending a lice shampoo to camp with your child will not work because those store-bought shampoos don’t kill super lice and most lice in the U.S. are super lice these days.
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend treatment and prevention of further infestation, then allowing those afflicted to remain in group settings. Other organizations, such and the National Pediculous Association (NPA), recommend temporarily removing those afflicted from the group setting until all signs of nits and lice are gone. Determine your camp’s philosophy before your camp season so you will be prepared should lice and/or nits be detected
Summer camp is definitely a high-risk place for a head lice outbreak. Lice love summer camp because they can easily go from head to head as kids get close to each other. We can definitely come to your summer camp to screen and treat. Let us help prevent a massive outbreak.