... and now for the consequences

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I was all for anonymity when this lice thing came out. I tell parents at the back to school night to invest in a $10 lice comb and check monthly. I tell them it is not a school issue, though it can spread anywhere. My administration decided to send a school wide email and now, after the whole school check, which I opposed, there is a child who has missed 2 days of school. Yesterday because she was sent somewhere to be rechecked, because we can't be trusted, and today because some "doctor" stated that she should not come back until the infection is gone. This mother did not keep her snowflake home when we had a 15% Flu rate, and that can be deadly. People are just plain stupid.

Specializes in School Nurse, past Med Surge.

Since we love talking about lice so much... (eyeroll)

I went to a conference last week & learned about a different, evidence-based treatment using Cetaphil! Cheaper than a lot of methods & perfect for those parents who think chemical lice treatments are going to poison their baby's brain. It's an old study...not sure why I'd never heard of it as much as we like to talk about lice.

A Simple Treatment for Head Lice: Dry-On, Suffocation-Based Pediculicide | ELECTRONIC ARTICLES | Pediatrics

https://fsmn.org/sites/default/files/nuvo-method-lice-treatment.pdf

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
And honestly, the doctors are not the lice experts because they don't see it as often as we do...).

Doctors at the pedi urgent care I work at frequently get me to "confirm" lice cases for them; they all know I'm an elementary school nurse and realize I have more experience in this area than they do.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
... People are just plain stupid.

...and you can't fix that.

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Specializes in School nursing.
Doctors at the pedi urgent care I work at frequently get me to "confirm" lice cases for them; they all know I'm an elementary school nurse and realize I have more experience in this area than they do.

Side story: I still remember the first time I saw live lice. I was working as a sub nurse in a large school (~1400 students) that had a nurse's office that staffed 2 full time RNs. I was covering for one of them on extended medical leave.

The other RN was the best and taught me everything. She had a boy with very long hair and calls me over. She asked me if I've every seen head lice. I say no. She parts the student's hair to show me the finest example of 3 live lice I've ever seen, even after being in school nursing practice for 5+ years.

"Now you have," she told me, "and you'll be able to spot them easily after that." She had me take over that student's assessment and follow-up. She was right.

(We also them had to a head check on three classrooms full of kids because of it. She was fighting a loosing battle with head checks, so I banked that info for later.)

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
Since we love talking about lice so much... (eyeroll)

I went to a conference last week & learned about a different, evidence-based treatment using Cetaphil! Cheaper than a lot of methods & perfect for those parents who think chemical lice treatments are going to poison their baby's brain. It's an old study...not sure why I'd never heard of it as much as we like to talk about lice.

A Simple Treatment for Head Lice: Dry-On, Suffocation-Based Pediculicide | ELECTRONIC ARTICLES | Pediatrics

https://fsmn.org/sites/default/files/nuvo-method-lice-treatment.pdf

Thanks for sharing, this is promising. I detest chemical treatments. I work with Africans who have told me an effective treatment was to submerge their hair entirely for 10 minutes everyday for 2 weeks.

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Specializes in Psych, Peds, Education, Infection Control.
...and you can't fix that.

...but you can sedate it.

Okay, not in the school setting, and not with families, but a little Benadryl goes a long way sometimes. :-D

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.

Here is THE best consequence. My Principal said that next year, lice will NOT be our school's problem. I will give parent's the details of lice prevention at back to school, putting all responsibility to them to check monthly. I will only check if a teacher has a concern and there will be no emails or classwide checks. We are now the forefront of education AND the forefront of school nursing. Maybe it was worth it...

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Specializes in School Nurse.

Texas put in a House Bill that we are required to notify parents in 48 hours of detecting lice. At least they did not exclude.

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Skipping school because there's a "lice outbreak"? Put the kid's hair in a braid or high bun and tell her not to touch heads with anyone in class. If you're really concerned do a drugstore lice treatment for fun. I understand that lice is annoying, but COME ON PEOPLE IT ISN'T THAT BIG OF A DEAL.

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Specializes in School Nurse.

Can't fix this . . .

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Specializes in school nurse.
Infection?

Ah, infection/infestation, potato/po-tah-to, it's all the same...

...to some unnamed "doctor". I wonder they had a Ph.D in Medieval Music History or something...

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
Can't fix this . . .

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Due to the shaving craze, these may soon be eradicated.

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