What would you do if you knew information about a child going to school with lice and the mother knew that they had it ??? I am fuming (and freaking out )about this seeing my child was in this class..........and i heard about this afterschool !!!!!
Update... its wednesday and the school finally did a classroom check today( 2 cases)...... thanks for all the tips and posts......
First, try to calm down. Lice is so commonplace that in many schools it is no longer a reason for keeping kids home as long as they are being treated. It is creepy crawly and you want to avoid it, but it is not something to "fume and freak" about.
Hearing something third hand is not the same as knowing. Do not spread this gossip or tell anyone else the suspected family's name. Simply call the school office and say that you heard there might be lice in your daughter's classroom and ask that they check. They will not single out individuals, they will notify the whole classroom/school as applicable.
Be diligent checking your own child's head as well as any other people in your home, including yourself. Treat as necessary.
When my kids were small we dealt with Lice and it isn't fun. I also worked at day care and since I was the one who had dealt with Lice before I got to be the one to look for it on the heads of the young ones. I went around and around with the school about their lack of warning parents of it being in school. I also learned a lot taking a class on it through the health nurse.
Lice like CLEAN hair to attach their eggs or as they call it Nits. We think of Lice as something for unkept people but it isn't. They can't fly but they can jump and having coats and hats or sharing combs and brushes are ways they go from one head to the next. To keep from getting lice, make sure you put gel or hairspray on your children (and yours) hair. They cannot attach eggs to hair shafts that are covered with hair spray or gel.
If you do get lice, the over the counter stuff works but not as well as a doctors prescription. You must bag ALL stuffed animals, pillows and anything you cannot wash in Hot water for 2 weeks. Use garbage bags and tie it closed tight Wash all bedding in hot water and dry on high heat. I even cleaned carpets, furniture and car seats with a carpet cleaner using a little bit of the shampoo in it. Use the little comb and make sure you remove all the nits (little tiny white eggs attached to the hair shafts close to the roots. Looks a little like dandruff). Make sure you repeat the shampoo after 10 days and rewash all bedding to make sure there isn't some nits or lice left on it. I also heard that maynase will desolve the nits if you put it heavily in the hair,put a shower cap over it and let it sit there for 15 minutes. I didn't mess around, I went right to the doctor to get the prescription though.
Sometimes you do not know your child has lice. My kids all have light colored hair and the bugs and eggs blend in to the color. Sometimes until it gets really bad they don't tell you their head itches.
If you use a shampoo with tea tree oil or add tea tree oil to your kids shampoo they are much less likely to get lice. Tea tree oil doesn't taste good so the the lice stay away.
Just let the school know so that notices can go out and the kids can be treated.
If the mom is treating it, there is no reason why the kid can't go to school. Lice don't jump; kids have to have direct contact with an infected item/head - lice only crawl. So, put some products in your child hair, put her hair up, instruct her not to put anything in/on her head and to keep her head away from other kids' heads and you should be fine.
BYW, don't freak out about something you HEARD; you will HEAR a lot of things; doesn't make them true!
If you contact the Health Department, they'll probably laugh at you. It's head lice for gosh sakes!
Contact the school and ask that they check all the kids in the class. When my daughter got it and I called the school they found 5 other kids that had it in the class. The next week they checked all the kids again (thank goodness we were safe this time) and three other kids had it. Good Luck
What would I do? If my child had long hair I'd braid it or put it in a pony tail to control it. I'd caution my child not to share hats, combs, hair ties, jackets, etc., to keep his/her head to him/herself, and NOT to hug their friends.
I would check him/her daily for any signs of lice. I'd keep my own head away from my child's head.
While it's not fun to deal with it, it's not the end of the world and certainly is no reason to freak out.
