About National Bug Busting Day

DESCRIPTION:

National Bug Busting Day occur three times per year in the United Kingdom: January, June and October. It is a concentrated effort to stem the tide of lice infections within schools and the general population. The government, through the registered charity Community Hygiene Concern, teaches parents, educators and pharmacists how to detect and stop the spread of head lice and provide affordable Bug Busting kits.

Community Bug Busting Days was started by the late Dr. RJ Donaldson, affectionately known as Paddy. Dr. Donaldson demonstrated in the 1970s that an intensive detection/treatment campaign can dramatically cut the prevalence of head lice. He was the tireless mentor of the Bug Busting Days organized by Community Hygiene Concern, taking a personal interest from 1986 in our development of wet methods of detection in preference to less effective dry or damp methods. Today Bug Busting Days are organized in partnership with the Department of Health.

Lice are a big problem in schools. These parasites, once they infect an individual, can be very difficult to get rid of. The following are some facts:

The eggs of head lice usually take 7 to 10 days to hatch.

Combing dry or damp hair with a fine-tooth comb is not a reliable way to detect lice.

Metal combs are not suitable for louse detection because these combs are primarily nit combs. Lice caught between the tightly spaced teeth remain unnoticed against the metal and can be combed back into the hair unharmed at subsequent strokes.

There are no studies proving that wet head lice grasp hairs more tightly, thus hampering their removal with a fine-tooth comb.

It is not scientifically proven that head-to-head contact must be prolonged to catch lice - close contact is enough.

Head lice are a community problem. Approximately 20% of head lice cases occur in people over 16 years of age or under 4 years old.