Lice, Lice and more Lice...

Updated:   Published

I'm over it.... How do you handle reoccurring cases in the same family?

I always question "my kid keeps getting it back." I would bet money that the original infestation was never properly treated.

I have 2 daughters with long, thick hair. Even with combing almost daily for weeks, it took a while!!!

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×
On 1/18/2019 at 11:49 AM, BunnyBunnyBSNRN said:

Personal vendetta?

Not at all just a personal conviction in the protocol that she wrote years ago for her building. She was upset because we were using a different approach and that I had given my principal CDC and AAP references to back up why I wasn't excluding for nits or doing weekly class checks. We didn't have a district wide policy. We do now.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
On 1/22/2019 at 3:12 PM, BiscuitRN said:

I remember my nephew getting lice many times in day care (he's 16 now so this was probably 12-13 years ago). My sister got so fed up with it coming back that she gave him the shortest buzz cut possible. He looked like a bald toddler.

Oh no! Not Caillou!

CcFtgbNXIAA1751.jpg.3904526fa79f328ccb483f6242c0a55e.jpg

5
Up Vote Up Vote ×

I got a voicemail this morning from a dad who was concerned because his daughter saw lice in a girl's hair. She has the locker beneath his daughter and the locker number was.... No name, no identifiers, just his daughter's locker number.

Then, about an hour later, the mom comes in. Their daughter has caught lice from this girl in the locker below, probably because she just throws her jacket in the locker......She gives me a slip of paper with the name and locker number of the "infected" girl who is giving her daughter chronic lice.

I just can't..... not today.

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NCSN.
1 hour ago, kunaspud said:

I got a voicemail this morning from a dad who was concerned because his daughter saw lice in a girl's hair. She has the locker beneath his daughter and the locker number was.... No name, no identifiers, just his daughter's locker number.

Then, about an hour later, the mom comes in. Their daughter has caught lice from this girl in the locker below, probably because she just throws her jacket in the locker......She gives me a slip of paper with the name and locker number of the "infected" girl who is giving her daughter chronic lice.

I just can't..... not today.

Oh these parents.

Whenever I get a similar situation, I graciously thank the parent for the information (and apologize if the situation warrants it) and let them know that the matter is being handled. They don't need to know that I am handling this by only charting a quick note.

6
Up Vote Up Vote ×
2 hours ago, kunaspud said:

I got a voicemail this morning from a dad who was concerned because his daughter saw lice in a girl's hair. She has the locker beneath his daughter and the locker number was.... No name, no identifiers, just his daughter's locker number.

Then, about an hour later, the mom comes in. Their daughter has caught lice from this girl in the locker below, probably because she just throws her jacket in the locker......She gives me a slip of paper with the name and locker number of the "infected" girl who is giving her daughter chronic lice.

I just can't..... not today.

This is how I feel daily with this issue at least 3-4 phone calls taking up my time.

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×
49 minutes ago, WineRN said:

Oh these parents.

Whenever I get a similar situation, I graciously thank the parent for the information (and apologize if the situation warrants it) and let them know that the matter is being handled. They don't need to know that I am handling this by only charting a quick note.

Yep - handled with a smile and then as soon as the parent walked out - note would be tossed in the trash.

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School nurse and geriatrics..

I did not know what to expect at a junior high but so far I have to say I have not missed not one little bit the tattle telling, blaming everyone else, parents wanting you to check the entire school, heck the entire district every day, parents calling and yelling at you and what are you going to do about it, parents not picking up the phone because they know why you are calling, if you would just send a note home that will fix everything, keeping kids home for days on end because it is just too hard, my kid keeps coming to school and getting it again (never properly rid of it in the first place) blasted on social media as an incompetent for following district policy which did not call for classroom checks, gossipy drama mamas, antiquated fear based policies and fill in whichever of the gozillion excuses this lousy business of the lousy soul suck that is head lice.

4
Up Vote Up Vote ×
19 hours ago, kunaspud said:

I got a voicemail this morning from a dad who was concerned because his daughter saw lice in a girl's hair. She has the locker beneath his daughter and the locker number was.... No name, no identifiers, just his daughter's locker number.

Then, about an hour later, the mom comes in. Their daughter has caught lice from this girl in the locker below, probably because she just throws her jacket in the locker......She gives me a slip of paper with the name and locker number of the "infected" girl who is giving her daughter chronic lice.

I just can't..... not today.

I wanted to react with one of the faces. But I don't disagree with you and I'm not sad. Those faces just match the ones I made reading this! ???

3
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Community and Public Health, Addictions Nursing.

I was talking with a new coworker about head lice this week, and she told me that at her last job (small, privately owned preschool), there was a lice situation that "spread like wildfire". I guess all the parents kept claiming that their kids were constantly re-lousing each other in the classrooms, and they demanded action from the school. The school actually paid for a private hair combing/delousing agency to come in and delouse EVERY CHILD'S HEAD. I can't even imagine how much that cost.

2
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
22 hours ago, UrbanHealthRN said:

I was talking with a new coworker about head lice this week, and she told me that at her last job (small, privately owned preschool), there was a lice situation that "spread like wildfire". I guess all the parents kept claiming that their kids were constantly re-lousing each other in the classrooms, and they demanded action from the school. The school actually paid for a private hair combing/delousing agency to come in and delouse EVERY CHILD'S HEAD. I can't even imagine how much that cost.

The price of ignorance. Had that school done a 5 minute research they could have put it back on the parents where it belongs.

4
Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Occupational Health.

I don't deal with many cases, but boy when I do....

Kiddo was out half of last week because mom noticed and wanted to keep them home to treat. Our policy is to check a week after treatment, so I did and kid is all good. Teacher wanted to know how often I'd be checking this kid, um just once.

Kiddo and teacher just reappeared because of scratching. Checked again, nothing.

Teacher just stands there, as if I'm supposed to call mom because the kid is scratching their head. Was told "that's how it started before".

It's lice, not the plague!! :banghead:

1
Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion