Bed bugs

So a bug was never actually found at your school??

I know this isn't what you are asking. I'm not a school nurse and have never been one. However, I thought I would add some practical advice. I had bed bugs several years ago when a neighbor decided to bring in a suspect mattress that he got from who knows where. It is very, very worth your effort to contain this problem, whether it really should be on you or not. Turns out I am very reactive to their bites. I'd scratch past bleeding and the only thing that helped was a hot shower, and that was only for a few minutes (probably should have tried benadryl, lol). I slept like I was a ninja, with every bit of skin covered as I could manage. I cleaned my apartment thoroughly and threw out a lot of paper and cardboard, etc etc. What really helped though, was that I put rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle and hunted them down. When I found them, and even when I didn't, when they are little they are hard to see, I saturated the crap out of them with the alcohol and let me tell you, they died right there. THAT is what got rid of my bed bugs. So, if you can get away with a spray bottle and lots of rubbing alcohol, anytime someone suspect comes in, spray the seams of furniture and maybe the clothes too. It was a life altering experience getting bed bugs, really. I never wish to go through that again. Horrible. I'd take lice or fleas any day over bed bugs.

For public schools here in NYC, the nurse's task is to assess the student, clean off any bites and apply an ice pack for comfort (swelling, itching). We have bed bug info sheets that we could send to the child's parent that includes what they are, where they hide, etc. If a bed bug is found, it must be placed in a sandwich bag and sent to Pest Control so they could determine if it is indeed a bed bug. (The custodial staff is usually in charge of that.) If it is, they'll schedule a date where exterminators can come in.

There was a bug found on a child in my school recently. The staff wanted me to send the child home but the policy states that a child cannot be sent home as bed begs don't transfer disease. If the teacher or principal wants to send the child home, THEY can. Not me. We're here to assess and care for the child. Not do strip searches and inspect possessions. A teacher bagged all of the child's possessions and everything in her cubby and dropped it off in my office when I turned my back. She came by at dismissal asking me if I searched everything...including the teddy bear! No...have several seats.

Follow your guidelines and don't let unlicensed personnel try to bully you. Everyone thinks they're experts and will push on you the tasks that they don't want to do.

Cheers!

No...have several seats.

I love this saying!