katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Oct 6, 2017 0:33:10 GMT
So I get it.... they are not dangerous. They do not spread disease. But they are gross, and annoyng and uncomfortable...right? My district will allow kids with nits to come to school...and that is the growing consensus in districts around the country.
But why would you KNOWINGLY send your kid to school with lice? Do you have absolutely no regard for the other kids (and teachers) that are around your child? When you find out that your child has lice, why would you not BUST YOUR BUTT to get rid of them? Yes--you can wash your child's hair and get rid of the live bugs and your child will be allowed to come back to school. But your kid still has nits. Washing doesn't get rid of the nits. And before you know it---those nits will be live lice. And you're going to be called to come get your kid again.
And why why would you tell your kid to LIE if someone asks if their head itches?
"Honey--does your head still itch?" "Yes....I mean....no."
Why would you lie to the school nurse and act completely dumbfounded at the situation when your kid tells the teacher she's had them a long time? And when the nurse offers to check you as well (because your child has them BAD) you finally admit that you have them, too.
I get that lice can be hard to get rid of. But guess what--They are particularly hard to get rid of if you make no effort at all. You have to take that little comb and comb and comb and comb. It can be done. And it's free and requires no chemicals. Treat your kid. And then treat yourself. Because I am not OK with having live bugs take up residence in my hair...
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moodyblue
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,178
Location: Western Illinois
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Oct 6, 2017 0:39:12 GMT
Our school district, at the urging of the young school nurse, adopted the new policy of allowing the children with nits to stay in school. We do head checks on kids after every long break, so there is a real effort to stay on top of the issue, but there are a LOT of teachers who vehemently disagree with the policy.
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Post by shamrock on Oct 6, 2017 0:40:56 GMT
I get that the kids can be in school, unlike when I was a kid. My gripe was that my boys' school would not notify parents that lice was going around. No telling the class or even the grade level. A group of us parents finally convinced the administration to just put in the school newsletter that it was going around. Our kids would come home saying that they were having to put all their belongings in black trash bags because of bugs. But the admin said they couldn't tell parents that lice was going around because it would make a kid feel bad and violate HIPPA. We weren't asking for names, just why our kids had to put their stuff in trash bags every day. I never understood that logic.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Oct 6, 2017 0:42:11 GMT
I get that the kids can be in school, unlike when I was a kid. My gripe was that my boys' school would not notify parents that lice was going around. No telling the class or even the grade level. A group of us parents finally convinced the administration to just put in the school newsletter that it was going around. Our kids would come home saying that they were having to put all their belongings in black trash bags because of bugs. But the admin said they couldn't tell parents that lice was going around because it would make a kid feel bad and violate HIPPA. We weren't asking for names, just why our kids had to put their stuff in trash bags every day. I never understood that logic. Yep...violates FERPA.
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MerryMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,539
Jul 24, 2014 19:51:57 GMT
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Post by MerryMom on Oct 6, 2017 0:48:22 GMT
A nit more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp is not viable and is an empty casing. link to CDC
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Oct 6, 2017 0:50:07 GMT
Under normal circumstances, with rational, responsible people, the policy of allowing nits and not spreading panic is a good one, You really do have to have hair to hair contact for them to spread (lice only survive for hours off of a human host). So your kids gets lice--you wash their hair (with chemicals or not); and then you comb out all the nits. You might have to repeat this for several days. You don't even have to strip your beds or spray your house--that is overkill. The lice MUST have a human host. They do not lay eggs in carpets or pillows or stuffed animals,
But if you do NOTHING (but try to hide the problem) it WILL get worse and worse and worse. I don't understand how anyone can put their kid through that--
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Post by epeanymous on Oct 6, 2017 1:32:43 GMT
My oldest has had lice twice. She has thick, waist-length curly hair. The first time she had them, it took me two three-hour sessions to comb out her hair; I finally gave up and took her to a lice salon. Six hours of that combing, and when she got there, she still had lice.
The second time, I just took her right to the salon. But you know what, those places are really expensive, and not everyone has the ability to either pay the salon or take a day off to keep a kid who isn't clear out of school. What I wish was that school districts would keep the lice salons on retainer, and just send in and pay for any kid who needs the service.
Mind you, I am sure that not everyone's hair would be that tough. But man, what a time-consuming nightmare of grossness.
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Post by scrapmaven on Oct 6, 2017 1:42:01 GMT
Let's not and say we did. EW! I itch just thinking about it.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Oct 6, 2017 1:54:30 GMT
My oldest has had lice twice. She has thick, waist-length curly hair. The first time she had them, it took me two three-hour sessions to comb out her hair; I finally gave up and took her to a lice salon. Six hours of that combing, and when she got there, she still had lice. The second time, I just took her right to the salon. But you know what, those places are really expensive, and not everyone has the ability to either pay the salon or take a day off to keep a kid who isn't clear out of school. What I wish was that school districts would keep the lice salons on retainer, and just send in and pay for any kid who needs the service. Mind you, I am sure that not everyone's hair would be that tough. But man, what a time-consuming nightmare of grossness. I get that... I do. But at least you made an effort. Even if you do comb-outs every couple days and never get them all, you can manage the infestation so that it doesn't get out of control.
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eleezybeth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,784
Jun 28, 2014 20:42:01 GMT
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Post by eleezybeth on Oct 6, 2017 2:06:38 GMT
We've had lice three times. Three separate times. They SUCK. We have dealt with it.
But, I get the no nit policy. Keeping children out of school is unnecessary due to everything you said. They do not spread disease. They are an absolute pain in the ass but keeping a kid out of school because the nits are so (@#)*$! hard to make sure you have 100% does not make sense.
The research on lice is fascinating - and yes, I'm that kind of mom. I swear after the first time I could have written a dissertation on lice I read so much about them. The socio-economic impact, the impact on education are all significant challenges with lice making it a much, much, much more difficult conversation than "just take care of it." While I agree that you can manage an infestation, it doesn't mean I can or my neighbor can or that family down the street can. I'm not willing to make any judgements on why they can't.
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ellen
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,507
Jun 30, 2014 12:52:45 GMT
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Post by ellen on Oct 6, 2017 2:18:06 GMT
I had to deal with lice several years ago. I was so thankful it was summer and I didn't have to deal with school. We followed a combing schedule and I got every last one of those stupid ass bugs, but it took a while. I could not see every single nit in my daughter's blonde hair. There was no way I was going to get every single one. I knew if I kept combing out the bugs before they were mature enough to lay eggs that I would win. The first day I had a combing session without removing a single bug I was pretty darn sure we were at the end of the whole thing. After three I knew we were done and I could just do quick checks. I am very sympathetic to kids who have a hard time getting rid of it. It takes a lot of adult effort, but even with that, one missed egg can start the whole thing over again.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Oct 6, 2017 2:35:52 GMT
We've had lice three times. Three separate times. They SUCK. We have dealt with it. But, I get the no nit policy. Keeping children out of school is unnecessary due to everything you said. They do not spread disease. They are an absolute pain in the ass but keeping a kid out of school because the nits are so (@#)*$! hard to make sure you have 100% does not make sense. The research on lice is fascinating - and yes, I'm that kind of mom. I swear after the first time I could have written a dissertation on lice I read so much about them. The socio-economic impact, the impact on education are all significant challenges with lice making it a much, much, much more difficult conversation than "just take care of it." While I agree that you can manage an infestation, it doesn't mean I can or my neighbor can or that family down the street can. I'm not willing to make any judgements on why they can't. Again, I hear what you're saying. I deal with lice in my classroom on a monthly basis...and I don't usually panic, because I, too, have done lots of research and know that it takes an almost perfect storm for one child to get it from another. But I do know that the worse a case gets, the more likely it becomes (more bugs=more chances to infect another). And, it makes me sad to see a child suffer. No--it's not life threatening, but it itches like heck. And it can cause secondary infections. Please understand and that I am not talking about good faith efforts that fail...I am talking about little to no effort... (And I'm also not talking about sending kids to school with nits. I'm talking about KNOWINGLY sending your child to school with active lice. I feel the exact same way about parents who dose their kids up on Tylenol to hide a fever and send them to school).
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Post by Merge on Oct 6, 2017 2:39:29 GMT
My daughters had them four times total. Twice they both had them before we caught it, and then each one got them individually one time. It was a nightmare to say the least, and that's WITH the fact that I could afford the lice lady at least one of the times. (I watched her carefully and asked a lot of questions, and did the combing myself the subsequent times.) I also did a lot of research after the first time, when I went whole-hog with the house cleaning and tried to "smother" the lice with olive oil, and it didn't work. The lice lady and the NIH set me straight.
I can totally see how a single mom with limited resources, for example, might find it impossible to buy a metal nit comb and sit her child down under a bright light for two hours every other evening, as I did.
But yeah, as a teacher who sees every child in the school, my head starts itching every time I hear there's an outbreak.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Oct 6, 2017 2:45:52 GMT
My DD coming home with lice would be right up there as one of my worst nightmares. We’ve been lucky so far, knock on wood. She too has past waist length curly hair and there’s no way I could do it alone. Her butt would be at the lice salon quicker than anyone could blink. Because of my fear of her getting them, she never goes to school without her hair up in a braid, sprayed down with copious amounts of essential oil based BOO! Lice prevention spray (rosemary and tea tree oil combination that they supposedly don’t like). We also use BOO! shampoo. She’s paranoid about getting them too, so she wouldn’t ever share a hat or a comb with anybody, ever, and she keeps her hair to herself and off the floor at school (they sit on the rug a lot in her classroom), LOL.
Our school nurse does send home an email notice letting parents know when there has been a case reported in a particular classroom so parents can check their kids before it becomes a complete infestation.
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Post by pattyraindrops on Oct 6, 2017 5:44:50 GMT
Under normal circumstances, with rational, responsible people, the policy of allowing nits and not spreading panic is a good one, You really do have to have hair to hair contact for them to spread (lice only survive for hours off of a human host). So your kids gets lice--you wash their hair (with chemicals or not); and then you comb out all the nits. You might have to repeat this for several days. You don't even have to strip your beds or spray your house--that is overkill. The lice MUST have a human host. They do not lay eggs in carpets or pillows or stuffed animals, But if you do NOTHING (but try to hide the problem) it WILL get worse and worse and worse. I don't understand how anyone can put their kid through that-- After my daughter got them the first time I too read up on them. Always wondered about the whole scrubbing the house down thing and bagging things for 2 weeks. If they can't live without food for more than 24 hours then it makes no sense to bag stuff for 24 hours. I remember riding the bus on a field trip a few weeks after my daughter dust got them. It is no wonder they spread like wild fire in the elementaries. They were putting their heads together talking, sharing hays abs ribbons, all sorts of things that would spread them!
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Post by Lexica on Oct 6, 2017 6:06:18 GMT
I consider myself very fortunate that my son never came home with lice at any point in his school years. A friend of mine had her daughter come home with some. I was asking exactly what they look like, can they be seen with the naked eye or do you need a magnifier, etc. She sent me this YouTube to show me what a lice infestation can look like. I need to wash my hair every time I look at this. So gross! Those of you dealing with this have my total sympathy.
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Post by miominmio on Oct 6, 2017 8:39:28 GMT
After battling lice again and again and again, I have zero sympathy left for parents who knowingly send their kids to school without treating it. I don't care what your excuse is,but keep your kid away from mine! My DD has waist length hair, and incredibly thick, wavy hair as well. Combing it is a nightmare. No matter how carefully you do it, there is just so too much hair! (No, I'm not exaggerating, she has strangers coming up to her, commenting on her hair). The amount of money used to combat those disgusting little things could probably almost buy me a new car! And then, fortunately, a certain little girl moved away, and the problem with her, Thank goodness!
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,842
Jun 26, 2014 17:47:08 GMT
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Post by peppermintpatty on Oct 6, 2017 11:51:15 GMT
A nit more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp is not viable and is an empty casing. link to CDCWho is going to sit there with a ruler and measure?
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,842
Jun 26, 2014 17:47:08 GMT
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Post by peppermintpatty on Oct 6, 2017 11:52:30 GMT
Our county has zero tolerance. You have it, you go home and you have to stay home until the school nurse can check you and you come up clean. You go back and they find one, you go back home.
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Post by destined2bmom on Oct 6, 2017 11:59:25 GMT
Our district in CA had zero tolerance. When a child was found to have lice; that child and siblings would be sent home and not allowed back until they were lice free. Then every day for a week the entire grade for those students would get heads checked. Letters were sent home to parents in the entire school that lice had been found. Luckily my boys had very short hair and never got them.
Here, I have no idea what the policy is about lice.
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Post by Linda on Oct 6, 2017 16:05:43 GMT
Our county has zero tolerance. You have it, you go home and you have to stay home until the school nurse can check you and you come up clean. You go back and they find one, you go back home. ours too - and if your child is found to have lice at school they have a mandatory (excused) absence the following day for you to treat it - and the nurse has to check them before they are admitted back to school (and each time she sends them home - it IS an excused absence) The first time my older daughter got them, she was 3rd grade with thick, curly hair that she could sit on...the second time she got, I cut her hair to mid-back.... and for the love of all that is holy - could teachers PLEASE not take cute pictures with elf hats or graduation hats or other shared headwear - I know the pictures are cute but my youngest got lice for Christmas (right after they took the cute elf hat pictures) and at the end of K (right after the 'grad' pictures). And if one can avoid hats and wigs for costumes for plays...that would awesome too (fiona (shrek) wig I'm looking at you - 3rd grade play and our first exp. with lice - it was cute, they all wanted to try it on and MY kid was fiona...)
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MerryMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,539
Jul 24, 2014 19:51:57 GMT
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Post by MerryMom on Oct 6, 2017 16:19:17 GMT
A nit more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp is not viable and is an empty casing. link to CDCWho is going to sit there with a ruler and measure? I would assume that most people can "eyeball" what a half inch or quarter inch looks like.
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Post by wagleg on Oct 6, 2017 17:00:52 GMT
Can you imagine drug resistant Lice? It was my reality, nothing helped until Ulesfia, now we go straight for Ivermectin. Same as some above. Girls with waist long curly hair. Ugh. Now if they come home, I go straight for the prescription stuff. Also, Bactrim is an effective drug against lice, can be taken orally and is dirt cheap. I would say most don't know that, was how I found out DD was allergic! Fun times at my house that year.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 17, 2024 2:52:35 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2017 17:11:31 GMT
I get that the kids can be in school, unlike when I was a kid. My gripe was that my boys' school would not notify parents that lice was going around. No telling the class or even the grade level. A group of us parents finally convinced the administration to just put in the school newsletter that it was going around. Our kids would come home saying that they were having to put all their belongings in black trash bags because of bugs. But the admin said they couldn't tell parents that lice was going around because it would make a kid feel bad and violate HIPPA. We weren't asking for names, just why our kids had to put their stuff in trash bags every day. I never understood that logic. Yep...violates FERPA. Does it violate FERPA when you are releasing student records or names???
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,682
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Oct 6, 2017 17:20:56 GMT
Under normal circumstances, with rational, responsible people, the policy of allowing nits and not spreading panic is a good one, You really do have to have hair to hair contact for them to spread (lice only survive for hours off of a human host). So your kids gets lice--you wash their hair (with chemicals or not); and then you comb out all the nits. You might have to repeat this for several days. You don't even have to strip your beds or spray your house--that is overkill. The lice MUST have a human host. They do not lay eggs in carpets or pillows or stuffed animals, But if you do NOTHING (but try to hide the problem) it WILL get worse and worse and worse. I don't understand how anyone can put their kid through that-- Boldding mine That’s the key. I’ll be honest I did (and still kinda do) 110% agree with you that those with nits should also be kept Home. Then my son got it last spring. Ugh. The hair washing and combing and vacuuming....it took all day and we still weren't able to get 100% of the nits out the first day. I did return him to school the next day and they did check him and deemed him ok to stay. We continued with the combing every day for a week and every other day for another week. But not all parents are like me (or most of the peas). I sub in a preschool and we’ve had more than 1 parent do nothing, or virtually nothing then scream and cuss at us when we send their lice-ridden child home multiple times.
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rickmer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,123
Jul 1, 2014 20:20:18 GMT
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Post by rickmer on Oct 6, 2017 17:21:18 GMT
our school district policy says kids cannot be made to stay home from school. they are not disease carriers or public health issue, more of an "inconvenience". however, the school requests you keep them home til they are clear. i guess if someone does send them, there is nothing they can do about it. if someone in my child's class has reported lice, i get a note home reminding us how to check and letting us know it's in the classroom. i do not understand the flat-out lying that goes on... people embarrassed or denying it just so their kid doesn't miss a bday party or a sleepover. please! DD wore her hair in a ponytail or braid from grade 3 to grade 6 - EVERY day. DD has long curly hair too and we probably had it 4-5 times. last time was in grade 9! i think she got it at disney!! by then i just caved and paid the service to come to my house. to this day... DD is grade 12 and i still pull my hair behind my head when i hug her (much to her annoyance.... but you know what, her almost 17 yo best friend had it over the summer. i am not going down that road again if avoidable).
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Post by swtpeasmom on Oct 6, 2017 18:31:04 GMT
A nit more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp is not viable and is an empty casing. link to CDCAccording to your link:
"•Many nits are more than ¼ inch from the scalp. Such nits are usually not viable and very unlikely to hatch to become crawling lice, or may in fact be empty shells, also known as 'casings'"
That doesn't mean that it's not viable, just not usually. I'm not alright with taking that chance.
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used2scrap
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,036
Jan 29, 2016 3:02:55 GMT
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Post by used2scrap on Oct 6, 2017 20:58:39 GMT
OMG I clicked this thread before out of curiosity, never had lice in the house with older 2 kids. Then today my 3rd grader comes home and says his teacher sent a student to the nurse after he killed a bug on his desk --and mom, my head is itchy!!!
Aaaaugh! Off to research and find a nit comb!
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MizIndependent
Drama Llama
Quit your bullpoop.
Posts: 5,836
Jun 25, 2014 19:43:16 GMT
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Post by MizIndependent on Oct 6, 2017 21:37:41 GMT
My district will allow kids with nits to come to school...and that is the growing consensus in districts around the country. Wow...glad that Oregon doesn't hold with that view: Yikes.
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Post by compwalla on Oct 6, 2017 21:45:41 GMT
"You have to have hair to hair contact..."
Picture young people taking selfies together.
Go on. Imagine it in your mind.
Now imagine one kid has lice.
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