Headlice (merged)

fannyadams

I blame the parents!
There are some parents in DS#2 nursery who couldn't care less if their child goes to school HEAVING with lice - I would expect the nursery to exclude this child if only to PROTECT the other children in their care.
As for having Ps - I went through HELL and back at my school, being bullied coz I had Ps (still have it - grown ups stare and get 'tude for staring! considering suing school for their lack of care wiht me being bullied, but that's another story) I KNOW what the pain is like being treated with the treatments for Ps let alone the treatment for HL!! I'm witht he rest of you on here
go to GP get treatment for Psoriasis - have you tried Dovonex?
Talk to head of school about exclusion and Ps - they are bullying him!
Use tea tree to treat HL - It even reduces Ps in your scalp ( I use tea tree shampoo with no probs and my scalp is 'heaving' with Ps - looks like I have permanent dandruff bit Tea tree shampoo and conditioner helps)

black-saturn

When my daughters were both at primary school they were picking headlice up all the time. On average at least once a month. If they had time off every time they had headlice until they were clear they would have had about 40% of their time off school. So keeping them away is not an option.

shellsuit

Forgot to say, if kids are prone to lice and have a fringe, get rid of it/let it grow out/keep it clipped back.

That's why my daughter used to get them - her fringe used to hang down while playing and she caught them that way.

Also, don't treat a head if you only 'think' they have lice. You must see or find moving lice before you use an over the counter treatment.

Keep boys hair really short, for girls, plaits or buns with everything scraped back is a must.

I've caught head lice twice from my daughter (grrrrrrr) and if you saw my hair you would realise how much of a ruddy pain it was to get rid of them. (Bum length, thick and curly)

shellsuit

black-saturn wrote:

When my daughters were both at primary school they were picking headlice up all the time. On average at least once a month. If they had time off every time they had headlice until they were clear they would have had about 40% of their time off school. So keeping them away is not an option.

BS, don't forget though, you only need to miss one louse and the cycle starts all over again. I've done it myself when myy daughter got them so many times in a couple of months.

It doesn't always mean a child keeps getting them from someone else in such a short space of time, it's probably that one or more have been missed, laid their eggs, they have hatched and so on....

black-saturn

My DD1 has long wavy thick hair too and I got her as far as the hairdressers chair once to have it cut shorter but anyone would have thought I was going to have her throat slit so I told them just to trim it. She doesnt get them so often now she is at middle school and I'm hoping DD2 won't get them much either come september when she starts middle school. I've caught them off them too and I also have long wavy thich hair. I never had them when I was at school so why are they so common now?

Cariad_3

My sons primary school now sends all children home if they have headlice and to return only when they have been treated. This is because some children were repeatedly infecting others and even though their parents were being asked to treat the child, they never bothered. This was a last resort and I have to say this has now drastically reduced the lice infestation amongst the children.
When my children had headlice I covered their head with hair conditioner and manually combed out the lice and eggs. (yuch!)
When cleared I then used a teatree spray conditioner on their hair every day. Thankfully they have never caught headlice since.
Good luck!

linzibean

when i was at junior school (oh all those years ago :rotfl: ) my nana used to put this spray on my hair every day that smelled like cherries, and i brushed my hair at breaktimes. This was afterf I caught nits once and my mother was scared of catching them! It kept them away and I never had trouble through school after that.

lesleystrawson

Is the exclusion 'formal'? i.e. have you had a letter?

By law, a letter needs to be sent home explaining the reason for exclusion, and also the EXACT number of days the child is being excluded for.

I work for my local LEA and handle the fixed and permanent exclusion forms, and I can tell you now, there ain't no mention when you get to the 'reason for exclusion' section of headlice.

Well dodgy.

And this is from an ex-teacher who caught headlice more than she would care to mention!!!!

Becles

I've worked in the school as a parent volunteer, and both me (waist length blonde hair) and my boys (both short hair, one brown, one fair!) have never caught them. Even when the boys close friends have had them, I've checked their hair with a nit comb and not found a thing. It's odd how some children get them and some don't.

At our school you just get a letter from the class teacher saying a child in the class has nits, but no names or mentioned. Everyone gets a sheet about nits and how to get rid of them, and is asked to check their own child. It happens a couple of times a year, but it's not really a huge problem.

Maybe it's too cold up north for them

[Deleted User]

There was headlice in the old days but there was also a nit nurse. I remember the whole class having to stand in a line. The ones with nits had a letter so everyone knew and that was a form of prevention, because in those days it was commonly thought that dirty people got nits, so everyone did their best to get rid of them, even the people who today wouldn`t care