Head Lice - can a school insist that your child must be treated with chemicals before being allowed back in?

[Aero]

Wasn't sure where to put this really, so it's here!
Discovered HL in dd's hair this morning, so took her to bathroom and wet her hair, then conditioned it heavily and combed through with nit comb. Removed all live lice and as many eggs as I could see and will probably 'treat' her later today, but, school were very funny about her being 'treated' and saying she shouldn't be there unless she is 'treated'. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't have time to treat with chemical stuff as ds1 was going on a trip, so we couldn't be very late, although we were a little late because of the time taken to condition and thoroughly comb her hair.
But what I want to know, is whether or not they may insist on this form of treatment. They have accepted her, but only when I said I had treated her (not mentioning with what). I felt really upset at the time!

[MarsLady]

no!

[Aero]

That's what I thought too Marsy. After all, the little blighters have more than likely come home from school in the first place!

[MarsLady]

You have treated her. Continue to wet comb. They will leave her head soon. Ughhhhhhhhhh!

School cannot dictate what you do to treat her, but I don't think that they are allowed to insist on treatment (though IMHO they are quite right to want her treated!)

[Aero]

Better go and get her now and hope she hasn't been ostracised!!

[MarsLady]

btw I don't like the chemicals, the blighters come back anyway, so wet combing is the way to go in the Mars household. We choccies have to stick together!

[yoyo]

No. Our school also encourages wet combing as opposed to chemical treatment.

[yoyo]

No. Our school also encourages wet combing as opposed to chemical treatment.

[Caligula]

Of course not. They can insist on her being treated (quite reasonably imo) but not with dangerous chemicals - particularly as chemical treatments don't always work anyway.

Wet combing with oil or conditioner and removing all the live lice, then doing it again within a couple of days and again until all are gone, is a perfectly reasonable (and safe and effective) treatment method. And the school ought to know that as long as there are no live lice present, there's no possibility of it spreading.

[Spacecadet]

local authoritiesare no longerallowed to alert parents to posshead lice cases in class for fear of parents complaning about their own child being ostracised, the school, cannot force you to treat your daughter at all, wet combing is an acceptable and better method than chemical treatment and if she has them, then her classmates prob do to! keep on wetcombing anyway as itsa agood way to keep on top of the prob asthe children tend to repeatedly infect each other.

[Spacecadet]

our local school sent aletter home saying that they were not allowed to tell parentswhen there were head lice in school or anything!!!! bring back the nit nurse!

[Enid]

wet combing twice a day is the most effective way to get rid of them anyway

[Easy]

I don't think they can insist you treat with chemicals, just that you treat.

My niece's school ask that children stay absent from school until they are clear of lice. My son's school has no policy at all it seems, BUT.

After ds caught nits 3 times in 5 weeks after christmas, I kicked up a fuss. I rang the school nurse (who is based at our local health centre, might be worth you investigating). Anyway she has worked with the school, they have held a bug-busting day, and meetings for parents (a low turn-out tho'), and this Wednesday the nurse is going to do a head inspection, just like in the old days, as the head teacher's letter put it. We have had to sign slips to give permission, and no doubt the worst offenders will refuse, but I'm impressed that my complaint has caused some action to be taken.

Ds hasn't had nits since Feb, but I do comb twice a week, and use tea tree oil sometimes too.

[cadbury]

Now I knew this was your thread Aero! Hope the little blighters go soon. Sneer at the nasty lady for me.

[Aero]

That's what I thought Caligula et al!

[Aero]

God Bless the nitty gritty comb - have invested in a new one as old one has disappeared! More wet combing on the cards then for us! Have removed loads of eggs, but think we're clear of movers atm!

[Spacecadet]

keep doing it every day for 4 weeks, then do it once a week for ever, i have to as dd1 has long hair and still gets headlice even at sec school, despite it being in a pony tail.

[Aero]

Will do - thanks sd. Dd wears her hair up too, but it makes no difference. This is the fourth time since she started. Not to mention the threadworms closely followed by chicken pox - feel like I live in the 'house of doom'!! lol

[bigdonna]

hi aero i bought a comb in loyds chemist that removed the eggs as well as the lice.we had three weeks of them coming back none since using comb ,i use tee tree conditioner and tee tree oil rubbed into scalp.good luck

[Spacecadet]

aero when you have kids they seem to be constantly infested with something unpleasant!!!!!

[Aero]

ain't that the truth sc!!! lol
donna the comb I have does that too (nitty gritty) - it is fab and I'm pretty confident that most have now been removed, but will be combing to check for the ones that got away for the next few weeks!
I also use tea tree conditioner every wash, but had been a bit lax lately over the combing thing - she has such a lot of long thick and curly hair that it is rather tiresome for both me and her, but she's very good about it all really - rather constant combing than constant scratching!

[Caligula]

Wow Easy, that's a real success - so you did it via the school nurse? I have my DS's health check on Thursday at school, so I might mention the bugbusting days to her then. I didn't realise they could be so responsive; when our parent governor raised it at the governor's meeting, he was just told that the school couldn't tell parents how to wash their kid's hair!

[Aero]

Yes Easy - that is good to know. Last time I asked the (new) HT was amazingly wishy-washy about the whole thing and dd had at that time had it three times in two months - I thought it would never stop coming back! Will keep the school nurse in mind if there is a repeat of last time!
I really want to ask what the school's policy is on head-lice. I'd be more than happy for dd's head to be checked termly as long as everyone else's was.

[bigdonna]

hi aero im just so pleased my daughter did not get them she has really long hair .we have been lucky she is 6 and only had them once.son has had them twice.my dd friend has never had them as her hair is always manky!they say they only go in clean heads,im scratching just thinking about them

[natts]

absolutly not[sorry had drink].
you can do the conditioner treatment. our school advices this anyway.

[Aero]

lol bd - Tbh though, I don't think they're fussy about the state of their 'homes'! They just crawl onto the next one when the opportunity arises!
I never had head lice as a child though (so my Mum tells me anyway) - none of us did and I don't remember even hearing about them until I was much older, so the school nurse thing must have gone some way towards helping keep them under control in those days!