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Original poster

To think they should bring back nit nurses?

388 replies

Rachtoteach · 21/02/2012 10:10

First day back after half term yesterday. A nice, lice free half-term I should add. Doing my little girl's hair for school this morn, she is caked in nits and eggs. I couldn't send her into school - how could I when it would then have just spread and I would have been as bad as the mums I moan about who dont appear to give a toss. I had to take my son in anyway so went into talk to my daughter's teacher. I expressed my upset that it has now come to the point (headlice has been going on and on and on since Sept) that I have felt the need to keep her off school. I know its not the teachers fault. She said unfortunately some parents simply dont treat/check and until whole class is treated at same time, problem will continue. So for WITW I have bought yet another treatment which has to be applied over night and washed off in the morning. I have my daughter at home (she is 5) and I am supposed to be at work. I really think they should bring back nit nurses so all children are checked and treated!!

OP posts:
CheerfulYank · 22/02/2012 18:33

I guess there is quite a bit of stigma here, which isn't good for the poor kids who do get it. But their parents whip them out of school immediately and basically rain fire on their heads for days, bag up all soft things, etc. So I guess that's the good part.

valiumredhead · 22/02/2012 18:38

Yanky what's the recommended treatment if kids do get it? Are people more pro chemical treatment generally?

CheerfulYank · 22/02/2012 18:52

Yes, it's all medicated shampoos and fine toothed combing over and over again, as far as I know. And you're supposed to treat everyone in the house, and wash and dry everything at really hot temps, and bag up stuffed animals and what not in plastic bags for two weeks. I think.

Triggles · 22/02/2012 18:53

When we lived in the states, every school I was aware of locally had a strict "no-nits" policy. One nit spotted meant the child was sent home and not allowed back until treated, checked, and no nits found. That included for daycare settings as well as all levels of school. A nightmare for working parents, having to call in to work as you had to de-louse your child.

Common practice when DD was young was that you had to treat the hair (generally with chemicals, although we used them once with DD and she got dreadfully ill from it - doctor advised us to never use the chemicals on her again and stick with either conditioner or cheap mayonnaise and combing out), comb out, wash all bedding on hot cycle, then in dryer for at least an hour, same with any clothing (and jackets, hats, etc) worn in the last few days, and bag up any soft toys or dolls for at least 2 weeks. Also vacuuming at least once a day, and I was advised once by a friend to iron the mattress as well as spray treat the carseat where DD usually sat. Then you needed to thoroughly clean out all hairbrushes and combs and hairclips. Oh, and treat everyone in the family as well.

Obviously, when my 2 nieces stayed with us for about 6 months while they were in primary school and brought home nits repeatedly, I missed a LOT of work over it! Absolutely hellish!

CheerfulYank · 22/02/2012 18:54

Yup, what Trigs said. :)

SoozyWoozy · 22/02/2012 19:42

So, three days into school, guess what I've just spent the last hour doing....

Only eggs, about 15, and no live ones.

Did I miss them in half term when I checked? (If I did, then the hair dresser did too which makes me feel a bit better about it!)

WorraLiberty · 22/02/2012 19:51

Not necessarily Soozy they could have been laid by an adult louse as soon as it crawled on your DC's head.

SoozyWoozy · 22/02/2012 19:54

Thanks worra

I did think that it would only take one louse to do that, and could've easily been today.

Really annoyed because my friend warned me that her DC had said their friend was 'crawling' with nits. And you don't get that in one day Angry

WorraLiberty · 22/02/2012 19:56

No that's the thing isn't it? Sad

That's why I suspect the OP's child may have had them before going back to school.

Cazpatch · 22/02/2012 21:34

plenty of conditioner and a comb through every 3 or 4 days will eventually get rid of them.

TheGrandOldDuke · 22/02/2012 21:35

Are chemical treatments safe now? My mum cut my hair off boy-short and picked them out one by one when I was 8, wouldn't use chemical treatments. She was quite adamant about it....and also offered her services as nit nurse and was for years. Oh the stigma of having the nit nurse mum!!!

seeker · 22/02/2012 21:39

well, ds and I are testing Hedrin's new product on your behalf this evening. It's a mousse that is completely non oily and was incredibly easy to use. It claims to be easy to rinse out too- will let you know.

pourmeanotherglass · 22/02/2012 22:25

so..

we've agreed nit nurses wouldn't work (too many kids to check them all thoroughly, too hard to see in thick hair)

leaving it to the parents doesn't work (we all treat them at different times, so the nits keep circulating).

The only answer is to have a national 'check your kids for nits' weekend every 3 or 4 months, well advertised through all the schools, so we can all treat them at the same time.

anyone up for organising it?

Southwest · 23/02/2012 03:50

Buzz cuts all round (says this smug MOB)

Seriously now do you get nits in really really short hair?

bossboggle · 23/02/2012 10:03

Totally agree - bring back the nit nurse and SHAME parents into doing something - I work in a school and the adults in there have a signal not to go too near a child with headlice - those children with light coloured hair who have them - agh!! It is so obvious because we can see them crawling around in their hair and we are allowed to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - human rights etc, politically incorrect etc etc. What does an education authority do when a child has missed so much schooling through days off with headlice - who is to blame then?? They say that they are harmless - you should not have to send your children to school to become infested with anything - what next impetigo - any takers anyone??!! Angry Sadly some parents just don't know how to be parents full stop!!

seeker · 23/02/2012 10:06

You are allowed to tell the parents. It is bullshit to say that you're not.

bossboggle · 23/02/2012 10:12

Read a few more things on this thread - yep children should be sent home instantly they are found to have head lice and the parents told that they have to treat them and check them before they come into school again. It's quite right though - the children who really need checking - the parents don't give a damn and never will!! If it is continuous and some children are proven to be persistent carriers (they are there and the schools usually know who they are - we certainly do) then the parents should be prosecuted for neglect and then be made to treat and look after their children properly - no if's no but's!! You can't blame the children but the carers that look after them - there is no excuse. Oh God I'm itchy.....................

seeker · 23/02/2012 10:16

Right. Children sent home instantly. And this will work exactly how? If you comb your children twice a week- a not particularly arduous task- you will be able to keep on top of them. Some parents find managing their lives generally very difficult. The children of those parents need to be in school even more than most. The last thing they need is time away.

neverknowinglyunderdressed · 23/02/2012 10:45

My dts have had them a several times. But not that recently luckily. I wonder if its getting better due to their age (8) or the fact that i cut their collar length hair do's quite short as a precautionary measure.

They definitely can jump, I've seen them! I don't think its a bad thing to wash pillows hats etc, when infected. Cant do any harm!

The last time mine had them, I had a run of them over the term and was getting fed up, (it was a couple of large adults i found) so I went in and spoke to the teacher. She said they are not allowed to tell individual children or their parents if they spot them (Scotland - maybe its different in England?). She said 'Oh several in this class are infested' Which is infuriating, so we agreed that she would issue another general class letter, which I assume some parents either don't read or don't react to.

I now check them once or twice a week, and treat twice, 7 days apart if I find any. I personally don't think the combs are effective, they slide through the hair leaving the eggs still attached. Hideous things!

seeker · 23/02/2012 10:55

They can't jump. If it jumped it wasn't a head louse. It was a flea.

valiumredhead · 23/02/2012 11:28

That was a flea!

CrunchyFrog · 23/02/2012 11:42

bossboggle you're not kept away from school with impetigo. Well, DS1 isn't anyway. As soon as I spot it, he gets the cream, as long as the school know he's started treatment he's back.

It's not as catching as people think anyway, IME, DS1 has it All The Fucking Time, but DD and DS2 and I have never had it.

valiumredhead · 23/02/2012 11:44

That has changed then because you used to be sent home with impetigo unless it was covered.

Habanera · 23/02/2012 12:00

Another vote here for nit nurses -even if they missed a few, the fear would get a lot of my dd's classmates running straight home and insisting on more help from their folks. We used everything, finally Hairforce and I am marching straight back there next time, hang the expense it is worth every penny. The bullying and stigma have been horrible, and the school (secondary) has done nothing at all to alert parents of what is obviously an outbreak.

It gets worse not better in secondary-everything is bigger meaner and nastier.

CrunchyFrog · 23/02/2012 12:07

They might be making an exception, I suppose, he would never be in!

(he skin picks, gets impetigo in it, we cream etc, it goes, he starts a new picking site. Joyous, it is.)