My daughter brought home head lice and...

JaneyW · Oct 31, 2009

Your school and school nurse may not know. You should probably call and tell them.

leslie :-D · Oct 31, 2009

i feel for you, treehugger...

and was repulsed when it happened to one of my kids when they were in 1st or 2nd grade.

but it was the school nurse that sent home the dreaded letter.

i'm with janey...

you need to notify the school.

thankfully lice are easily treated.

leslie

Jolie, BSN · Oct 31, 2009

Management of head lice in the school setting is a controversial and ever-changing issue.

Notification of parents whose children share a classroom with a child with head lice may be viewed as an unnecessary intrusion of the child's privacy. Even if no names are mentioned, let's face it, everyone will find out or figure out who "child zero" is, which is unnecessarily embarrassing for the child and his/her parents, and won't do diddly to prevent transmission.

It is the school's responsibility to ensure that said child has been properly treated before returning to school, and then re-treated 7-10 days later, and that the parents understand how to manage their household in order to prevent re-infestation. More frequent chemical treatment is dangerous and unnecessary. If the initial use of chemical shampoo is not effective in killing live lice, then a physician needs to be consulted. It is desirable to comb out as many nits as possible, mostly to prevent confusion of non-viable casings from an active infestation, not because they pose a risk to clasmates.

The most important issue in the school setting is the prevention of transmission, which does not occur all that easily. Students who do not share grooming items, clothing, stuffed animals, linens or upholstery will not get lice. Make sure no one is laying on a carpeted floor or upholstered chair to read. I can't tell you how many times I've had to remind teachers of that!

Nit-free policies are no longer supported by data or most public-health entities, so it is likely that parents and teachers alike will need to get used to having children at school with nits. Live lice may be considered a reason for exclusion, but not nits when there is evidence of treatment. There have been legal issues raised (of blocking access to public education) when school have tried to exclude students with nits.

sharpeimom · Oct 31, 2009

lice are a swift pain in the azz to get rid of! many years ago, when i worked in a shelter for battered women, all it would take was one woman or a woman with a couple of kids, and we all had lice. once, we all had lice and scabies, which itch like crazy. you have to treat everything -- and, i do mean everything! everyone's head, bedding, clothing, hats, mittens, the carpets, rugs, toys, combs, brushes, upholstered furniture where you all sit... and, in two weeks, just when you think you're finally done, you get to do it all over again. many people fail to repeat the process in two weeks, or only do part of it again, and thet's a big part of why the lice don't go completely away. there's a lice-killing product available that doesn't use insecticides, so is safe for kids who have seizures. another thing we discovered at the shelter that makes a huge difference, is a careful and thorough combout with a nit brush. there's a nit brush that zaps the nits, the name of which eludes me. oh, you can't transfer lice or scabies to your dogs and cats. i checked with our vet. be sure and stress to parents that substituting flea and tick killers, despite the fact that the chemicals may be very similar, may not be used on humans. :eek: he said the er consulted him about a sad case with a horrible outcome. :crying2:

kathy

sharpeimom:paw::paw:

zofran · Oct 31, 2009

Just reading this is causing my head to itch! Ha Ha!

LovebugLPN · Oct 31, 2009

I worked with a little boy in a classroom. One of the kids had head lice but was sent back to class. You could actually see them crawling on his head and it was not a minor case either. I understand that the school district has rules but that made me nervous the whole day. :eek:

sharpeimom · Oct 31, 2009

just reading this is causing my head to itch! ha ha!

me too!

everyone who reads this thread, i suspect!! :coollook:

kathy

a rather itchy:eek: sharpeimom:paw::paw:

Lacie, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2009

We've had to have the entire ER staff bath in Qwell Lotion/Shampoo a few times. Really something when your performing CPR on someone and can see it jumping off them. My son's school used to send a letter home to the entire grade affected and sometimes the school population so as not to single out any particular student or class room if it became more than just 1 or 2 students. Cutbacks in school system depending on where you are school nurses may only be in that particular school only once a week. Our PTA had regular fund raisers to pay the school nurses salary to have her 5 days aweek otherwise she would only be there once per week.

tewdles, RN · Oct 31, 2009

chances are that if your kid has lice, and you didn't get a note from the school, it is likely that the school nurse (assuming your district employs one) doesn't know.

litbitblack, ASN, RN · Oct 31, 2009

Yeah right doesn't know. My daughter came home with it so when I called to let them know they basically said they can no longer send kids home with it and they can't refuse to let them back in. Use to you could have no nits in your hair at all but maybe they are losing money if they keep sending kids home with it and the strict rules on returning. I was hot cause for 4 yrs we fought this crap. Used everythingunder the sun to get rid of it. THe buggers were not dying with the over the counter stuff or the prescription stuff they just kept crawling. So I wonder if that has anything to do with either

Batman24 · Oct 31, 2009

My friend's daugher had it and called the school. They said it's so common now they don't even send the letter anymore. My friend was pretty freaked out. We're clean freaks. Blow drying hair seems to help. After you get it all out and shampoo blow dry the wet hair. Give their hair a quick hot dry at the scalp and top of the roots every single day even when hair isn't wet from a shampoo. Seems the heat keeps it away.

Also, tell your children not to switch hats with other children. They think some of it might come from children sharing sports hats and helmets thus the cycle repeating itself. If they wear a hat due to cold weather tell them to keep it in their own backpack and not a hook whether it can be put on by other kids in error.