[Campnurse123]

I was wondering if anyone has ever used a "Nurse-O-Gram" at their camps. I have been a camp nurse for the past 6 years at a church camp for only one week during the summer for 9th-12th grade kids. I read somewhere last year where ACN was recommending using a form that was a cabon copy form to send home with each camper which was "treated" at the nurses station - so parents will know what happened with their kids while away from home. It sounds like a great idea but I can't find any type of pre-printed form to order. Any suggestions? Or how do you communicate with parents when its not a "run to the ER" situation.

Also, has anyone ever dealt with "head lice" in any cabins? this happened to me last year & I wanted to know how anyone else handled this

[Wendy79]

I fill out a form for each camper that lists all their health center visits and what treatment they received. I can definitely see the advantage of a carbon-paper system--I have a lot of writing to do at the end of each session--but I can also see it getting unwieldy. Ideally, I would figure out a way to keep track of it all on the computer, and then print off a list for each camper, but I haven't gotten around to it.

Like most camps, we check our kids for head lice the day they arrive. If they have lice or nits, we call the parents for permission to treat (especially because the parents may have treated them recently--the shampoos aren't supposed to be repeated in close succession), shampoo and comb hair, and wash all the clothing and hair accessories. The kids are back to their groups after a couple of hours, no big deal.

If you found it later, that might be a bit more complicated, depending on how close the quarters are and whether any sharing has been going on. I'd probably recheck each head, though. (Including staff!)

[Campnurse123]

Thanks for the input - as of last year we didn't have a computer in the nurses station. - but is to be remolded this spring or next - that's a great idea.

As for the head lice - it was found on Tuesday in a GIRLS cabin - Wednesday was "sleep in" morning so I woke the cabin early & took them all to the bath house. Gave them each a bottle of NIXX shampoo. While the staff of camp - washed hair brushed in bleach, threw away all hair rubber bands, took bed linens to the laudry & put them in the dryer on high heat for 1 hour, wiped down all the mattresses. It was like a big secret mission. The girls laughed & their counselors actually said at the end of the week it brought them closer - no one else in the camp knew about it & I didn't single out the girl with the nits.

But what a chore - after that ordeal I knew I could handle about anything at camp

Being a camp nurse is so rewarding - I go every year - No pay but the experience is PRICELESS

[nurse_wannabe]

jogmom posted a fantastic "natural" lice treatment that she learned in a camp nurse seminar:

Saturate hair with vaseline & cover with shower cap for 4 hours. Wash with Prell shampoo and rinse with vinegar. Use comb to remove all nits.

Of course, this is more complicated than just giving each girl a bottle of Nix shampoo, but is the shampoo itself enough to eradicate the lice?

[SouthernLPN2RN]

I have to thank you for your professionalism. My child was sent home from an out of state church camp last year and they never called me about it. They notified my grandmother. Anyhow, DD had been treated for headlice one month prior. Two weeks prior to camp, she had her cpx and I requested that the NP check her head and she saw nothing but dandruff, I saw nothing. I went ahead and treated her again three days before camp even though she had no nits or symptoms. She has had a dandruff/dry scalp issue for several years. The camp nurse singled her out in front of her peers and really devastated her. It's been a year and I still haven't gotten over how angry she made me. They used a UV light and supposedly nits showed up. Anyone who's ever laid in a tanning bed can tell you that any white fuzz glows white under UV light. Two other people at the camp checked her and saw nothing. This one woman really ruined what could have and should have been a great experience.