Outbreaks...

I occasionally sub as the school nurse at one of our local private schools that has over 700 kids. Whenever I sub, it is always very busy with the typical recess injuries, tummy aches, etc., but this past time I subbed was just insane!?! Lately there has been a big MRSA scare and they have several kids out getting tested for MRSA right now. I believe only one so far has tested positive, but everyone is freaking out about it. I see so many patients in the hospital with MRSA, that I don't even think of it as a big deal anymore. Of course I still use universal precautions, but I don't flip out about it.

The second big issue is lice. I found 5 kids with lice in one day alone. In just two weeks time they have sent home well over a dozen kids with lice. I don't remember lice ever being this bad in past years! I subbed a lot last year and we maybe only had one or two with lice. The school has sent home lots of information about how to help prevent lice, what to look for, and how to get rid of it, but it still seems to be spreading like wildfire. The same kids keep being found with lice over and over no matter how much teaching is done. I had one parent get mad at me when I called to tell them that they had to come pick up their child. They said that they had already treated their kid and there was no way they still had lice... I will tell you what, they sure did have it?!? Teachers have started making the kids keep their coats in bags so that they don't all hang together. One big problem I identified was that the majority of the kids found with lice all ride the same bus. I called the bus garage and alerted them to the issue and asked them to be sure to clean the bus seats. I am now at a loss as to what else to do to help stop this problem.

Have you had these issues at your schools lately? If so, how have you dealt with it?