Kids with head lice should stay in school. Opinions? (grade, classroom, teacher)
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A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics contends head lice is not a reason for children to miss school. I was just aghast when I heard this on the news yesterday because lice spreads so rapidly in a classroom environment. Am I the only one who finds this foolish and appalling?
I can see the point. Lice is like a virus. By the time you realize you have it, you've already spread it so do you really need to avoid a social situation you've been in daily since you became contagious?
Now, being a kid with lice, I'd, probably, be too embarassed to go to class, however, I see nothing wrong with covering their head with a net and letting them stay, except the embarassement factor. The problem I see is you can't be discreet. So, the kid should stay home until they're clean.
However, reality is, many parents send their kids to school with lice because they don't know their kids have lice. I remember the first time my dd's had them. We were on our way to day care and I saw this bug in dd's hair by her temple (where her hair was thin). I picked it out and continued with my day. It never dawned on me it was a louse. I hadn't seen one in years. I thought she got a bug in her hair walking to the car (it was big enough to pick so she'd had lice for quite a while). It wasn't until another parent reported that their child had lice that I realized what the bug was. I couldn't believe how many she had when I combed her out. And all I ever saw was that one.
BTW, if your kids get lice, the over the counter products like Rid no longer work. Dd#2's hair was very thin (she was only 18 months old) when we used it on her and you could see them just crawling through the stuff half an hour after it was put on her head. It didn't touch them. I even took some live bugs and put them in a dish with straight RID and it didn't kill them after hours. Now there's selection of the fittest in action. They're immune to the stuff.
We got rid of them using grandma's old remedy. Olive oil (with lice off in it) and a very good lice comb. PSA: If you go this route, use lemon Joy to get the oil out. Work a generous amount of Joy (with NO WATER) into the oily hair and THEN add water to wash out the oil. If you wet the hair first (oil and water don't mix), you'll be washing over and over and over to get the oil out.
I don't know if the oil kills the lice or just imobilizes them but I was able to comb them out with the oil still in my dd's hair. It's messy and you have to do it every few days but it works.
I had to go to the dr and get something for my son because I was told by my pediatrician that the otc stuff for head lice is useless and he gave me some prescription stuff and worked like a charm and yep dead as a doornail when I combed him out . No more lice untill he hit 6th grade and we had to do it all over again . No they should not be in school at all with this . I had a friend who was a teacher and she used to get it all the time and she quit because she was tired of coming home with lice all the time . So no they should not be in school .
Warm vinegar works wonders too - or so I have heard! (never had a chance to try, though)
I personally never had lice, but I remember that the school could be closed for a day when there was an "epidemic", and kids with lice usually stayed at home!! (but that was not in the US)
Warm vinegar works wonders too - or so I have heard! (never had a chance to try, though)
I personally never had lice, but I remember that the school could be closed for a day when there was an "epidemic", and kids with lice usually stayed at home!! (but that was not in the US)
Vinegar doesn't work to kill the lice or get rid of them. What it does is loosen dead nits so you can comb them out.
Lice, themselves, are no worse than any other biting bug. The big issue is the itching and scratching that can lead to infection. The number of parasites living on our bodies would shock most of us. The're just too small to see.
It doesn't make any difference in PA. The law is clear, the kid goes home. People can make all kinds of statements, but to not send them home in PA IS AGAINST THE LAW. We could be shut down violating it.
I completely understand the basis for this and as it stands right now it is really only a matter of a few hours that we are talking about.
The current health regulations (in our state) allow a child to return to school as soon as they have been treated. That means a child sent home at 10 AM could return by 11 if they've been taken home and treated right then.
It is like many other health issues. By the time it's discovered everyone else has already been exposed. Lice, chicken pox and fifth's disease just to name a few are exactly like this. By the time you have the spots for chicken pox, you've already exposed everyone a week or so before. By the time you have the rash show up for fifth's disease you are virtually no longer contagious.
As a side note - being in a child care setting and finding a child with lice is far more involved than in a school setting. It takes much more to be rid of the problem. There kids nap, play dress up and often cuddle with stuffed animals. It has to be handled exactly like home is handled. I think sending them home might would allow you to get started sooner in the thorough cleaning, but it really won't make that much of a difference.
In the school setting you don't have the sheets, blankets, stuffed animals, dress up clothes and sometimes curtains to deal with. It's just not that big of a deal to take care of there and it's mostly dealing with the reaction to the child having them.
OP - yeah, so long as they leave the lice at home to keep the fleas company.
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I hadn't seen one in years. I thought she got a bug in her hair walking to the car (it was big enough to pick so she'd had lice for quite a while). It wasn't until another parent reported that their child had lice that I realized what the bug was. I couldn't believe how many she had when I combed her out. And all I ever saw was that one. 
