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Discussion

Do you send a Head lice reminder to staff?

Every year, once the mornings get cooler and the jackets start rolling in, we have our regular run with all the frequent flyer head lice children and you would think that the faculty and staff have never even heard of such a thing. Like, "What do you mean they have head lice" as the panic is already registering on their faces and they are scrambling to be first in line to have their own heads checked. Sheesh. It makes me bonkers, each and every year!

I'm sending a little reminder to faculty and staff today, just saying hey, guess what time of year it is and remember, this is not uncommon. UGH. Do you send some sort of reminder to your teachers or just go through the whole spill every time? What do you say in the reminder? I kind of just want to send:

It's head lice time again. Yes we will have it in the school. No we can't stop it from entering the doors. Yes I know that Tom, Dick, and Harry have it and no there is nothing else I can do about it, since they have had it since Kindergarten. Don't let your kids hug each other and for heaven's sake don't let them play with each other's hair. And PLEASE, don't act like we are dealing with nuclear invasion when I tell you someone in your class has it. ;)

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    I NEVER, EVER utter the "L" word to a teacher!! It always starts a huge panic and they just don't get it when I say there is nothing I can do about it. Identify, call and educate the parent and do it all again next week.

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    We just had a huge bout of lice the past couple weeks. Teachers heard about it fast! I work in a smaller school and the teachers would come to me when I wasn't checking other students and on their lunch breaks and I would check their heads. But it traveled fast around here to everyone including the other students. I was then asked by everyone when I would check them. Goodness it kept me busy!

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    No I don't. No need to. Teachers are always aware-trust me. I do periodically walk into teacher's rooms and if I see something that could possibly contribute to the spread of lice (like fuzzy chairs, coats all hung touching each other, etc I will use that as an opportunity to do some teaching. I think this statement "And PLEASE, don't act like we are dealing with nuclear invasion when I tell you someone in your class has it. ;)" would be offensive to some teachers even though you are joking. I try to mention lice as little as possible because as you know teachers freak out.

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    No, I don't.

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    How do y'all keep from catching it yourselves? I'm sending kids home 2 days a week (more or less) from this pest and I am constantly itching at the thought...

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    Oh heck no!! I would educate on a case to case basis. But not a not to the whole staff!! That might cause "human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!" Well, I might educate the whole staff if there were a massive lice outbreak at my school. But I really wanted to incorporate that Ghostbusters quote in my post. :smug:

    I talked to a school nurse this summer who works in Massachusetts and she said they have a policy at her school that she doesn't even do lice checks. How do I get me one of those?!?!

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    That might cause "human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!" Well, I might educate the whole staff if there were a massive lice outbreak at my school. But I really wanted to incorporate that Ghostbusters quote in my post. :smug:

    My son's favorite movie!

    I do not send out any alerts about this. If I find a student with lice, I will check for siblings and alert a nurse at one of our other schools if they will need to check a sibling. I do not do class checks if a student has lice either. Too many kids and they move around too many classes.

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    Thanks for your insight I agree that something like this is probably not going to do me any good really! (And.. the sample sent to you all was really just me venting. I wouldn't send something like that out to the staff :) )

    Hope you are all having a fantastic Tuesday!

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    • Experts

    Of course I have to be different.....I send out a note with the "first day" packets to all the students reminding parents head lice are common in elementary schools, what head lice are, who is affected and how they are transmitted, and what to do if an infestation occurs, along with my contact information. A couple of times throughout the school year I send out a reminder for the initial reminder. During my beginning of the year talk with staff I remind them of our school policy and that their personal opinion regarding head lice is not relevant as to head lice in the school setting. The gist of this effort being - yes we know about lice, it's a parents responsibility to deal with lice, kids will not be excluded from school for lice, I am here to help with identification, treatment, and prevention, absences due to head lice are unexcused.

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    I talked to a school nurse this summer who works in Massachusetts and she said they have a policy at her school that she doesn't even do lice checks. How do I get me one of those?!?!

    I'm another MA school nurse who does not do lice checks :). I linked to the article stating NASN's stance on lice and checks and poof! my boss supported me in eliminating them.

    I do not talk lice with teachers. They know what it is. The ones that freak out will always freak out.

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    • Experts

    NASN Policy: Pediculosis Management in the School Setting

    SUMMARY

    It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses that the management of pediculosis (infestation by head lice) should not disrupt the educational process. No disease is associated with head lice, and in-school transmission is considered to be rare. When transmission occurs, it is generally found among younger-age children with increased head-to-head contact (Frankowski & Bocchini, 2010).

    Children found with live head lice should remain in class, but be discouraged from close direct head contact with others. The school nurse should contact the parents to discuss treating the child at the conclusion of the school day (Frankowski & Bocchini, 2010). Students with nits only should not be excluded from school (American School Health Association, 2005, Frankowski & Bocchini, 2010, Pollack, Kiszewski & Spielman, 2000), although further monitoring for signs of re-infestation is appropriate. It may be appropriate to screen other children who have had close head-to-head contact with a student with an active infestation, such as household family members, but classroom-wide or school-wide screening is not merited (Andresen & McCarthy, 2009). In cases that involve head lice, as in all school health issues, it is vital that the school nurse prevent stigmatizing and maintain the student's privacy as well as the family's right to confidentiality (Gordon, 2007).

    The school nurse, as a student advocate and nursing expert, should be included in school district-community planning, implementation, and evaluation of vector control programs for the school setting. School nurses are also in a pivotal position to dispel myths and stigmas regarding pediculosis by providing education on the life cycle of the louse, methods of transmission, treatment options and care of the environment to the student's family, school and community at large.

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