Lice Wars

allnurses Guide · May 7, 2006

Ugh. Double UGH.

I don't care if they spread disease or not, they are just vile and nasty. I plan on teaching my little girl not to wear other kids' hats or use another child's comb or brush. So in that regard, if we all teach our children how to prevent the spread of lice, then maybe children with lice eggs in their hair won't need to stay home from school.

But, eggs hatch.

Plus, kids are STILL going to use each others' hats and combs sometimes, regardless of what you tell them.

I think there should be, and maybe are certain guidelines that aren't mentioned in the article.

For instance, parents should have a set amount of time to treat their children who have lice. After a certain amount of time, if they have not had the child treated, they should face fines and/or penalties.

Once the child has been treated, the child should then be examined again by a school nurse. I think that if a child's hair is still *FULL OF NITS*, then the child really needs to be sent back home. If however, the child's hair IS free of lice, and it isn't PLAINLY obvious that the hair is still riddled with nits, the child should be allowed back in school.

I mean, I DO agree that the old practice of like, combing through a kid's hair for hours, finding what looks like TWO nits, and sending them home, is ridiculous.

:gandalf:

LucyGoosey · May 7, 2006

Lice are resistant to the treatments. Using them no benefit. We need a prevention-focused approach rather than treatment-focused approach. Only ones who benefit from using treatments lice are resistant to are the companies and their paid consultants. Don't think anybody believes sending a kid home for 2 nits is logical. Remove them when you find them and then ....the kid doesn't have them anymore. Everybody wins.

allnurses Guide · May 7, 2006

I agree, prevention is a key thing. Teaching kids preventitive measures is a GREAT thing.

I *still" can't help but believe that letting a child back into school with a head full of nits or even a live bug or two on the head is a bad idea.

And I can tell you firsthand that there ARE treatments that work great. Case in point... and this might be TMI... but I've contracted lice as an adult. Do not ask me how I got them, I don't know, but there were about four people at my work that ended up with them. Anyway, I used a product that I bought at Wal Mart, and then combed through my hair throughly to get rid of any eggs. Treated my furniture and clothes. Never saw another bug after that.

LucyGoosey · May 7, 2006

Cosmetologists lose their license if they have infested person or any sign of an infestation in their shop. Child Protective Services see any sign of chronic lice as critera for neglect, military says head lice and body lice capable of carrying disease and they shave heads and impregnate uniforms (not always a good thing), prisons check for lice when inmates "admitted" to facility but schools and kids?

How do you teach the importance of hygiene to children when the school nurse says it's okay to keep lice eggs in their hair?