How far would you go...

[Stilltrue]

...if you strongly suspected your child was being reinfested daily with headlice from a child whose hair wasn't being thoroughly checked?
It's been a couple of weeks now since dd caught headlice. ( I checked her following a letter sent from school). I removed a couple of crawling lice and a very few eggs. Since then I have been wet combing over every inch of her hair, with a variety of products including lots of conditioner + tea tree oil, Nitty Gritty kit, etc. It's taking hours, as you'll know if in the same boat. This is every day after school, with a thorough dry comb every morning. I'm also cleaning out the nit comb carefully, then pouring boiling water on it, then putting it in the freezer overnight along with her ordinary hairbrush.
Her hair is up in a ponytail at school. On Friday she came home again covered in crawling lice on the top of her head (but nowhere else, eg not behind the ears etc., or any of the other classic nitty hiding places). I could see them moving even before I got the comb out!
I'm thinking of asking her teacher to move her to another table, in a non confrontational but "can we please try this" type of way. Now this is where you'll all think I'm a bitch! Dh and I have been discussing this, and we think she is being reinfested by her little neighbour sitting beside her, whose hair is very unkempt to say the least. I've already asked the teacher to send out a second "lice alert" letter, which she's done, but I can't get rid of these little blighters. Surely if I were missing some eggs during my combing, they wouldn't be hatching out just in time for dd's return home from school?
There isn't, apparently, a school nurse doing any checking of the children's hair - it's a y2 class.
What would you do? Get your child moved? Ask if a nurse can be brough in to give everyone a thorough check up?

I would get her moved, sorry if that is harsh but I would.

Personally, I'd tell the teacher about your suspicions. After all, the whole class will be infested before too long, and it's just idleness or not caring on the part of the parents whose child is not checked. What a pain for you!

both - get her moved and insist the head get a nurse in

Try plaiting her hair. I put my DD's hair into pony tails and then divide each pony tails into 4 plaits each. This discourages re-infection. Think you are on dodgy ground re: moving to another table. There is likely to be more than one child who had a persistent nit problem - some parents just don't see it as something they must/can be bothered to do. And this is in most schools regardless of the area the school may be in.

I don't think you're a bitch - it's maddening that some parents just WON'T do this.. but I have settled for washing her hair in tea tree shampoo and conditioner.. and doing the plaits. I have got really fast at plaiting now!

And as I understand, nurses checking for nits is not the done thing anymore.. think there is actually a rule against it - it's classed as inadvisable/uneccesary physical contact - at least it was when I was a governor a few years ago.

Thye won't let a nurse do check ups now though will they ?? I think it's mad cos I don't know one parent that would object to their child being checked for nits.

Our school are bringing a nurse in to give a talk on headlice next week. She is going to give a demo on how to check hair etc etc, but I still don't think this is enough tbh, as there will still be some parents that won't give a toss and won't check.

Our local hairdresser comes in at the start of each term to check heads and letters are send home advising to treat. A free gift of a nit comb is given to all newbies reception kids.
BUT I do think they need to send out a, wet hair, brush in conditoner, comb through with nit comb until no lice/eggs are in the hair repeat for 2 weeks. And check each time when in the bath.

I'm sorry to say if she's got lots of headlice suddenly then they're hatching on her head, not arriving from someone else's head.

Regular combing will get rid of live lice but not eggs. You'll need some really DECENT headlice stuff (not mousse) to kill the eggs and probably more than one treatment.

Check with your pharmacist, as it is a viscious circle - your dd will be giving them to others who'll in turn be giving them back otherwise.

The whole class needs to be treated on the same day to be completely effective.

But RainbowWalker I've been using lots of treatments, inc "leave in" oils, as well as the combing. Also the most recent batch of live lice were all just on the outside of the top of her head (ie. not underneath or around the pony tailed area) which makes me think they're not hatched eggs I've missed, which would be in more classic warmer parts of the scalp like underneath layers of hair or behind ears, but jumped on to her that afternoon. I have the bathroom lit up to the max, like an operating theatre almost, to see what I'm doing! I did see eggs the 1st time and got them out. She has been going to school egg free and coming home egg free but covered in adult lice. I'm sick of it.

Yes I agree the whole class needs to be done simultaneously. But someone's not doing it properly; that's why I'm getting fed up.

i agree with you, get her moved (but then its liekly they've all got them)

im sure ive read that notsbhave to be alaive for at leats a couple of days ebfore they have 'matured' enough to lay their eggs, therefor combing evry day for 2 weeks is supposed to break the cycle, cause if you do ii everyday they arnt in the hair long enough to lay more eggs IUSWIM, and i think the eggs take up to 2 weeks to hatch.... jence you continue until 2 weeks after you saw the last alive one so to speak

If you have been doing it for over 2 weeks, at some point she MUST have got reinfested from someone else

what a nightmare for you!

We had this with a pupil at my school she was reinfesting all the kids and staff, we eventually( afterabout 4 months!) got the health visitor to viit mum and we got permission to treat in school- and all the nits stopped!