What is your head lice policy?

[cowgirlBSN]

My school insist on having a no lice/no nit policy. Right now I have it written up where students are sent home immediately if found to have lice and should stay home for 24 hours of treatment. After 24 hours absence, if the lice is still present it is an unexcused absence. Head lice should be gone after 24 hours of treatment and removal of nits and the student must come into the nurses office with the parent or guardian to be cleared before being allowed back to class. I've decieded that I will require a 24 hour absence because of the chemicals that head lice treatments contain and the fact that it should not be washed out for a couple days.

Does this sound legitimate?? I would like to know what the rest of you think and what your policies are. Especially if you are a no lice/no nit school such as ours.

[CampSchoolNurse]

Our School's Head Lice Policy has a One Nit you are out the door policy

I do Lice Checks the First Week of School, then Follow up with any kids when they come back "Nit Free" aka. I do a double Check through there hair and if One Nit or Louse is found there gone till there Nit Free

I then follow up with them in 3 days (There sent to my office and I do another clean check through there hair, If there found with one nit there out the door again till it's tooken care of and I check there class again)

Then I do another Check 1 week after that

If one little nit is found there gone again and then I do a check on the Child 2 weeks later

I also do checks routinely on the whole school I try to do 3 Classes a week

Normally I will find one Child in that time and I will do that procedure I listed above with that Child I also Check all the other siblings of that child and any neighbors or close friends

I know my policy is a little tough but a few years ago we had a horrible infestation and it made us rethink our policy

Also I encourage teachers to send in any child they suspects have them immediately

I was wondering how do you keep check confidental without emberressing the child who has it

I check kids in my office but if they are found to have it they don't go back to class and some kids catch on to the fact they have lice

Do you have any tips to keeping it confidental, I can't send them back to class since our school has a strict No Nit policy Thanks :)

[Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN]

Wow, you send them home for one nit? We have a no nit policy too, but I have a comb and if there is truly only one nit and I know they have been treated, I am going to comb it out and let them stay. I mean, there is policy and then there is doing what is in the best interest of the child. Now, if there are more nits than I can comb out in 60 seconds or so, they are going home. I am not going to do Mom's job for her.