Caught my first louse today!

Published

He's in a medcup. Can't quite make it up the side. Poor dude. This was mom's "worst nightmare". Really? I have many nightmares involving my children, but headlice doesn't even make the top 10.

Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.
Grabbed the closest thing to me - clear med cup. He only moved around about 30 minutes and hasn't moved since. Either he isn't the hardy type, or I squeezed him a bit too much with my tweezers. :dead:

i'm calling PETA... or should i be calling PETL:roflmao:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
Can't from work. And I'm not taking him home!

I tried to calm her. Told her there was no health risk. She knows this. She is educated, has resources. Just in that bubble of people who go insane at the mention of headlice. I had a teachers aide tell me she would rather have both her arms broken that get lice :wideyed:

Did an impromptu inservice at my son's Scout meeting where there were three teachers. Lots of misinformation jumping around out there. Worst nightmare always gets me, but more amplified as a family in our town just had their 14 yr old daughter successfully coded during her 8th round of lymphoma.That is a worst nightmare, not parasites.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in kids.
Did an impromptu inservice at my son's Scout meeting where there were three teachers. Lots of misinformation jumping around out there. Worst nightmare always gets me, but more amplified as a family in our town just had their 14 yr old daughter successfully coded during her 8th round of lymphoma.That is a worst nightmare, not parasites.

Perspective...Wow, holding light for that young lady and her family

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.

Watch Out !!! They jump....They fly.......They only like poor kids........They can be killed with Mayonaise.........They spread like wildfire......And they are a major health condition !!!!! NOT !!! Lawd.....help us !!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nurse. Having conversations with littles..

And add in there what a mom told me two weeks ago-- "They jumped 50 feet off my kids!!" (Hmmmm...we must have Super Lice of in Missouri, not the resistant ones. You know, the ones that have developed real Super Powers :sarcastic: )

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm amazed at the misinformation amongst teachers regarding head lice. They insist that the janitor needs to clean their rooms better to prevent the spread of lice...come on. If 1 louse ends up on the carpet in your classroom, what are the odds that a child is going to be rolling around in the exact spot that the louse fell? Out of your 225sq ft, seriously? Plus we get a completely fresh start every Monday. Nothing is going to survive for 48 in your classroom! But their desks have to be close together, so the lice will be able to jump onto their neighbor...just no...these are lice not fleas, they crawl, they do not jump. However, these same teachers are certain that their "reading buddies" corner has nothing to do with the possible spread of head lice. You know, sitting together on a beanbag chair whilst reading from the same book couldn't possibly result in prolonged head to head contact!

And then there are the parents... I had 15 cases of head lice, several of which were just not adequately treated so it was actually only 10 kids. However, based on the phone calls and nasty emails and article in the freaking newspaper, we had a full blown epidemic! Apparently no one has sleepovers, after school activities, or has any contact with any other children outside of the school day, so it's my fault. I had a parent tell me that she knew of 23 families "effected by this horrible disease". The "lice doctors clinic" a treatment center tried to tell parents that they could pinpoint the exact date of infestation...yeah, no. They also told parents a ton of misinformation about head lice transmission, stuff that has been proven incorrect by actual doctors, not wedding photographers who happen to remove lice.

I hate head lice too! I don't want to talk about it, it makes me itch. However, I am realistic. It's a fact of childhood, much like everything else, you deal with it, you move on. Please start taking actual risks to your children more seriously than you take lice. Maybe get them a flu shot or keep them home with they have a 102 degree fever or don't send them to school coughing, sneezing, and spewing snot everywhere or when their eye is bright red and oozing icky yellow stuff- you know actual, real things that put people at risk. End rant:nurse:

Mr.Nurse...I can't even fathom what that family is going through. Compared to that, head lice is dream come true! I wish could offer that much perspective to some of these parents.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Louse Lives Matter

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Watch Out !!! They jump....They fly.......They only like poor kids........They can be killed with Mayonaise.........They spread like wildfire......And they are a major health condition !!!!! NOT !!! Lawd.....help us !!

I love this.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The "lice doctors clinic" a treatment center tried to tell parents that they could pinpoint the exact date of infestation...yeah, no.

What the focalin?? By the time an infestation has been discovered, the child has probably had lice for a month. Ug.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med-surg, IMC, school nursing, NICU.

I just had a mom on the phone SOBBING because she found lice on her child last night. Sobbing! It was insane. I wanted to tell her I have a kindergartner newly diagnosed with a brain stem tumor who is on home hospice and her mother isn't crying half as much as Licey Lucy's.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
I just had a mom on the phone SOBBING because she found lice on her child last night. Sobbing! It was insane. I wanted to tell her I have a kindergartner newly diagnosed with a brain stem tumor who is on home hospice and her mother isn't crying half as much as Licey Lucy's.

Wow, that is unbelievably horrible. My heart breaks over these stories and my prayers go out to all families dealing with real health issues.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med-surg, IMC, school nursing, NICU.
Wow, that is unbelievably horrible. My heart breaks over these stories and my prayers go out to all families dealing with real health issues.

It's been absolutely awful. I can't even begin to imagine this family's grief. Nobody ever expects this when they have a child and her family has been exhibiting such grace and composure which is more than I would ever be able to do if it were me.

BUT LICE MUST BE STOPPED MY GOD PEOPLE OPEN YOUR EYES.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion