Lingering Lice

[Ash_Rox87CMA]

i was wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem. i work at a lower income school and i have a handfull of students that keep getting sent up to my office for having lice. i see these students at least once a month. i have called the parents and told them about the situation, sent info sheets home. even offered them free lice shampoo, and i'll be damned they still have not taken care of the kids and they are always up here itching and scratching their little heads. so when the teachers send them up here i check their scalps and can't find any live ones, but tons of nits. our district has a policy if there are no live ones seen the student is to stay in class( i guess there was too many kids sent home for having lice in the past they say). so i send them back to class and the teachers call me every few hours to tell me they think they see some crawling. i'm getting so frusturated with this why can't parents just take care of their little kiddos.:angryfire:angryfire:angryfire

it makes me sad to see these little ones not being taken proper care of and i'm sure they are getting singled out by other students.

[luvschoolnursing, LPN]

Do the parents know that they probably need treated, too? I have had luck with parents using olive oil, although it is a long process because you don't really want them to use the shampoo again and again. Do the kids go to dad's or a caregiver on the evening/weekend where they could be getting reinfested?

[JaneyW]

Do you have a public health nurse that can make a house visit? Has this grown into a child neglect situation?

[Ash_Rox87CMA]

huh I have never tried olive oil, and as far as I know they just live in the one house. I think what is happening they are sometimes treating the kids hair and not treating their bedding and stuffed toys and such.

[Ash_Rox87CMA]

Due to budget cuts we dont have a public health nurse unfortunatly. I know oen of the lice cases has been called in to CPS by the nurse I work with ,in the past. But the problem has still presisted.

[tsansom]

I ask lots of questions about where the child goes, who the child spends the night with, who they may share clothing items. And someone mentioned to me that they had the hardest time with reoccurance until they treated the car area where the child usually sits. Never thought of that one. Hummm Another school nurse told me about a Robi comb that you can get at Walgreens that zaps the eggs when you comb it through dry hair and the eggs come off. She uses it with her own kids. Never heard of that before. The hardest time I have with parents is that they don't do the 7-10 day retreat. There is prescription lice medication/shampoo for resistent lice. I am not sure if that works better. One thing I noticed is that usually the childs best friend shares the lice or students that sit next to them.