What's Going Around: Lice, Scabies, Stomach Flu

Every Thursday, we check in with our doctors and nurses from the Muscogee Creek Nation Department of Health to find out what's going around.

Sapulpa's Dr. Kathryn Zackery is seeing head lice. Lice can be passed from person to person, especially kids. You'll feel itchy and likely see eggs or lice clinging to your hair. That includes lashes and eyebrows.

If you have lice, clean all your furniture, linens and pillows, and check everyone in the family with a lice shampoo and comb. And kids--don't share hats, clothes, or hairbrushes.

Kendra Round, a nurse practitioner at the Eufaula Indian Health Center, is seeing scabies. That's a highly contagious skin infection caused by a microscopic bug known as the human itch mite.

With that, you'll get a rash that itches like crazy and the itching gets worse at night. You may see red burrows between your fingers and on wrists and ankles. Scabies can be passed by skin-to-skin contact, shared clothing, towels, and bedding. To treat it, you'll need a prescription from your doctor.

And nurse practitioner Kim Jenkins said the stomach flu has struck Okmulgee. This is different than the flu, or influenza. The stomach flu is Gastroenteritis and comes with watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and sometimes fever.

The stomach flu can also lead to dehydration. It usually just has to run its course. The key is to prevent it through frequent hand washing and sanitizing your home.