AIBU to consider keeping DD off school

[thunderchild]

to be considering keeping DD away during last week of term. She has caught, despite repeated treatments, headlice 3 times in 4 weeks...which means she has (must have) a close buddy in her class (year 1) who has an active, untreated, infestation.
It has so far cost me a fortune. AIBU to be bloody furious at the parents of this poor infested infant!
There might be those who think this re infestation rate improbable--its not, just ask any nurse (im a medic)

If she keeps getting them then you are probably just as better off using conditioner and a nit comb every 2-3 days.

Our school has actually said keep them off until you have treated them.
One class of parents in our school all decided to use the cheap asda treatment as a preventative measue cos there was so much in their class-it sorted it out.
I do believe you-my friend's ds catches them this often.
Have you tied dd's hair back/up, sprayed her with leave in tea tree oil conditioner daily before school, combed out every night.
It'd be a shame to miss ther last week-parties/ nativity and so on!

why waste money on treatments? they don't prevent any re infestation

comb and conditioner,and its likely the whole class,teacher included,will have them to some degree

also I forgot to say that were going to my 70 year old mothers for christmas, and i do not want nanna to be having to delouse herself just because my daughter is re infested within days of the treatment Iv just done!!!

Reading this post makes my head itch! I can understand you wanting to keep your DD off school (I'd be bloody furious in your shoes) but agree with defineme that it would be a shame for her to miss all the fun of the final week before Christmas break-up. You can then look forward to a fortnight of lice-free hair!

@toptulip--- you mean tea tree oil ect, no dice, they irritate DDs scalp!

She probably hasn't recaught them if that is the timescale. It's more likely that you never properly got rid of them. Because they are stubborn little buggers. Nitty gritty comb with wet hair slathered in conditioner every 2 days. No need to miss school.

Just delouse her when she gets home from school on the last day of term. Then you know she'll be fine until she goes back at least.

@toptulip, also your right, but if the untraeted childs parents cant be bothered with treatments, theyre hardly going to spend money on deterrents, wouldnt you say?

@ mogwhistle... not if she gets re infested the day she breaks up,,,, i wouldnt know f
or a couple of days and then i could look forward to a fortnight of delousing-- to do it properly.

SO BLOODY FED UP

Just a thought.. I presume you have notified the school, so that they can send a letter out to parents?- Some parents might not know its a problem at the mo.and therefore not treating their DCs.

Lots of girls at my DS1's school wear their hair tied back and a cute little headscarf wrapped around their scalp. It looks really nice and is probably very practical in keeping lice at bay. Certainly we've had none so far this term (touch wood!)

Don't keep her off. Treat the lice, have a word with the teacher then tie her hair back and condition and comb every night until term ends. You don't need to use teatree oil, the idea is you comb out and destroy the eggs.

i'm guessing the eggs are laying and hatching and you're missing them

like <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=3.bp.blogspot.com/_iKxpP1CYCDU/THcHgUQ4kzI/AAAAAAAACSM/juWfiONDiWk/s400/httpgrosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com200911grosgrains-no-sew-scrap-scarf-tutorial.html.jpg&imgrefurl=whimsycoutureboutique.blogspot.com/2010/08/no-sew-girls-head-scarf-tutorial.html&usg=__mdU2_5coKl43zzjl6q169Tfabew=&h=267&w=400&sz=20&hl=en&start=39&sig2=t-K-coGi3lS-hXmhphETyw&zoom=1&tbnid=Q5LU7S0zTgD1TM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=124&ei=WJMGTa--CI654ga_xsWhBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgirls%2Bheadscarf%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dubuntu%26sa%3DN%26channel%3Dfs%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D543%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C969&um=1&itbs=1&biw=1366&bih=543" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this

Prevention better than cure and all that...

I might be being dim here, but if you treat her the last day of term, after school with a nitty gritty, and get them all then she CANT get reinfested because you will have got all the live ones and the eggs and she isnt seeing anyone to catch them from

I do suspect you arent getting her clear in between -are you treating the rest of you too?

It happens, some heads just seem to attract them more than others, 3 of my dc attract them like crazy, two don't. Even if the whole house has them the non-attracted ones do not get them, it is very odd.

Yes it is irritating but no it is not reasonable to keep them off school or start calling people names. Keeping (for eg) a child with ringlet curly hair clear is hell so you do not actually know the "friend" is not trying very hard.

Don't use "treatments" they are crap and rarely work properly and are damaging to heads and the environment. Use conditioner and comb through daily. If you do it properly then there is no way your child will have any big enough to be able to migrate and infest someone else.

you know what, Im seriously considering going for weekly pre shampoo fullmarks with occasional derbac heavy artillery! I will become to the louse as agent orange to a jungle!

Thanks for all this, some very helpful! Just to clarify, I havent called anyone names, and I do NOT know, and HAVE not implied that I know , which child in her class is not necessarily being treated.NOR did I imply that said child (whoever they are)was dirty, or that the parents were willfuly negligent---they may be unaware.

So getting offended on someone elses behalf is jumping the gun a bit?

My DH has hair so fine that nit combs dont work, so I de nit by hand, nightly.Plus I use the treatments to the letter, as I do on incapacitated servicemen, who are rarely but sometimes badly infested.Thats how I know her re infesation rate to the day.

Sorry guys rant over!!!! now taking head for a sh""£t!

thunder this happened to my dd when she started school.

I actually ran 3 treatment along side each other as she was clear for two days and returned then clear for another 3 days and returned.

so i did not wait for the five then fourteen days follow up. I did the two in between.

by the time the treatments had finished she was well and truely clear and touch wood they never returned.

I also combed with condidtioner morning and night for the whole of that three weeks untill treatments where totaly finished.

did i miss something re last post thunder? was someone offended by your OP?

Was chatting to a mum I know and she had a similar problem - one of her daughter's good friends was constantly infested with lice :(
In the end she made sure that her daughter's hair was tightly plaited and used hairspray to keep her from getting reinfested from her friend - seemed to work!

I'm sorry but if you think she's been re-infested 3 times in the last 4 weeks then you are more likely to have not killed them all in the first place and you shouldn't blame another child

here is a 3 week programme of combing to follow; they rec shampoo but I and many others prefer to use conditioner

Using them to the letter does not mean that they will work actually - I am pretty sure you should know that though. For some reason it is quite possible for them to get through.

Your op was plenty ranty enough "which means she has (must have) a close buddy in her class (year 1) who has an active, untreated, infestation.
It has so far cost me a fortune. AIBU to be bloody furious at the parents of this poor infested infant!"

I don't think it is unreasonable to get annoyed at this little bit above. You DID say they were untreated and you did imply the parents were not doing their job right so no, I do not feel it is jumping the gun to be offended on their behalf. You STATED that they had an untreated infestation.

YABU, not for wanting rid of the buggers, they are a nightmare but for being so cross at someone with no evidence that they have done anything wrong and for trying to say you did not say something that you, clearly, did.

the problem with the chemical treatments is they kill off the lice, but most don't kill off the eggs. i've only ever used a nitty gritty and conditioner or a strong light and just my fingernails.

When we get a bad infestation I use olive (or if I'm feeling cheap, vegetable oil). Cover the hair in oil, then wrap in cling film or a plastic bag and leave for a couple of hours. It suffacates the little menaces. Then wash it off (easier said than done) and conditioner and the nitty gritty comb. There has been research to show its as good as chemicals, but without any side effects (even those of tea tree oil).

The biggest problem is not having the whole family having grease hair for a few hair washes.
head lice treatment with olive oil instructions