Headlice (merged)

Sarahsaver

Ask the school for a copy of the local authority's policy on head lice. Then if they cannot produce one go to the education department and ask for it. How can they be sure they have not missed anyone out!
Ds1 has eczema and sometimes his scalp is all flaky and all over the place. No way am I using chemicals on him.

looby75

I would have thought it very unlikely it is lawful for a school to ban a child because of headlice. I have psoriasis too, mainly on my scalp and I know how much just plain water can sting when it's bad, so I dread to think how much that horrible nit lotion must hurt the poor lad.

I'd agree with Jennifer, it's worth taking him to see his GP and explaining the problem (if your cousin hasn't already) I was amazed at how many new treatments there have been over the last 5 years or so when I went back to my doc after the last time my psoriasis flared up.

I really think your cousin needs to get onto the education department at the council and see what their take on this is. I would be very surprised if they agree with what the school has done.

Oh and for the younger kids, tell your cousin to try rinsing their hair with water with a few drops of lavender and teatree oils in. It's not totally nit proof but it did help cut down the amount of times my daughter caught nits when she was in infant/junior school. Now she uses her hair straightners so much I doubt that any nits could survive if she did get them lol

black-saturn

Good idea about the hair straighteners. I might try that next time they get it.

*Louise*

What a shame - that poor boy.

Would a doc's letter explaining the psoriasis help at all?

barjam_2

helen21 wrote:

I didnt think any school could do this, this is why head lice has become such a big problem, in our schools there are kids walking round the schools live with them and no-one is allowed to mention them, not even the school :rolleyes: all they can do is send letters to all parents explaining of the outbreak and encouraging parents to deal with it :rolleyes:

thats the same in my younger childrens primary school but i have made it clear to the teachers i would want them to tell me if they know my child has them i even found out about the bug busting kit and sent off for imformation i then made my own letter about headlice and gave it to the school for them to print off and hand out to other parents as they tend to get sick of seeing the same old letter they did it once... and back to the boring letters again, but there is one thing i do know ..i would never put the lotion on my kids hair i got some on prescription for my daughter her hair is so thick and the lotion didnt do anything so i decided from then on not to use a pesticide but to use the wet combing method with conditioner a bit of patience and it pays of TIL THE NEXT TIME!!!!:mad:

then i start all over again,, my girl is the youngest of 5 she has 4 older brothers and they have never had headlice

shellsuit

cindiedunkley wrote:

My cousin's 13yo son has been kicked out of school for having head lice and has been told he cannot return until he is clear.

My cousin treats her son and the three other children every other day by using a comb.

The problem starts with the fact that the three younger children are at primary school and this is where the infestation starts. It is only during school holidays that all four children are clear of headlice.

Nex problem: The 13yo suffers with severe psoriasis on his scalp, neck and back. Everytime she combs his hair with a nit comb it causes his scalp to bleed and every time she uses lotions he screams in pain because effectively he has open sores on his head.

He has broken down in tears over this and has become very depressed and thinks he's dirty, which couldn't be further from the truth.

My cousin does'nt know what to do next because as long as her younger children are in primary school she can't get rid of the lice permanently.

My opinion is that having headlice is'nt the end of the world. I know they cause children to scratch more often and thus draw attention to themselves but lets face it the 13yo has psoriasis and is constantly scratching his head.

I feel really sorry for them and am bloody furious with the school's lack of tact.

What can they do about:

a) his headlice
b) the primary school where they are coming from
c) the secondary school that has kicked him out

Any advice would be welcome
:j :j :j

How did they know he had headlice???

If he does have them, then they can send him home and ask him to come back when he is clear.

If he was itching, was it because of lice or because of the psoriasis?

Either way, if he has got them, he will have to get clear before he returns as it isn't fair on the other students.

If he hasn't got them, then he can go back in.

shellsuit

Can I just say to this too :

My opinion is that having headlice is'nt the end of the world

It's not the end of the world but it is painful (those combs really hurt when dragging them through time and time again), expensive and time consuming.

It's a pain in the backside when you clear your child and then they pick them up again because other parents can't be bothered to check and treat their kids (I don't mean in this case btw!)

If this boy does have head lice, his Mum should take him to the Docs and explain the situation that he has lice, but she cannot treat him because it is so painful with his psoriasis, so what does the Doc recommend.

Hope he gets it sorted anyway, to have something happen at that age must be really embarrasing for him

patricia5

Why do some kids get lice all the time and others never at all? Is there some kind of hair that lice prefer, besides long? My brunette daughter always has more and more often than my blonde daughter for example.
They both go to same school and play w same friends,same hairstyle, etc and it's been like this for 3 years now ever since they started primary school.

helen21_2

After the second time of my dd having them i stopped washing hewr hair in the week, i only washed it on a friday evening where it was rinsed with a few drops of lavendar oil, i now follow this practise with my son, i only ever used the lotion stuff once after that i just used the conditioner and comb method. If either of mine scratch their head im their like a shot :rotfl:

shellsuit

Barjam, that's where the term 'feeling lousy' comes from.