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Original poster

The nit nurse: should we fight for her return ?

51 replies

frecklyspeckly · 06/04/2008 21:31

Do you think if they brought her back it would reduce the nit problem within schools or don't you think it matters? It seems like everyone is fed up with kids being allowed to attend school who are never treated and re-infect everyone else. When did she disappear anyhow? just curious as I work in a pharmacy and we sold such a lot of treatments this week. So many despairing families who cannot afford to keep buying the stuff. i felt like starting a petition or contacting my MP I did!!

OP posts:
yorkshirepudding · 07/04/2008 11:04

Message withdrawn

Miggsie · 07/04/2008 11:05

...the nit nurse needs to come back, if only to combat the git mother who insisted her children could never get nits as this only happened to "lower class" children.
So, she never treated HER kids and everyone was reinfested every week.
In the end the kids were avoiding these poor children as they were sick of it as well.

Perhaps the nit tests could become part of SATs? Then the government would not mind the expense as they seem to spend inordinate amounts on SATS without a qualm.

southeastastra · 07/04/2008 11:09

it's spoken about more widely now though isn't it, on the vanessa show on radio london, she was talking about a specialist nit company (prob somewhere in north london) and how jon ross and his family have been there to get de-loused.

cheesesarnie · 07/04/2008 11:09

yes!we need the nit nurse back.im fed up with nits all through term time and fed up that my ds best friend always has them and is apparently never treated-according to his older step sister.im fed up with spending a fortune on sprays,conditioners and treatments.and fed up with having to pull a comb through my dc hair!

Madlentileater-we have no heating so defiantly not to do with heating.

TheOriginalXENA · 07/04/2008 11:10

www.inlinecosmetics.com/head_on.php BUY THIS SHAMPOO!! It is 99p in our local independent chemist. My DC's used to get nits all the time and in the 6mths we have been using this as their normal shampoo they haven't had it once.
www.inlinecosmetics.com/head_on.php I just googled and found you can buy it online but haven't found it as cheap. I kid you not though the women in the chemist thought I was mad when I was almost distraught when they didn't have any the other week

SparklyGothKat · 07/04/2008 11:13

you can buy that shampoo in poundland too

cheesesarnie · 07/04/2008 11:16

TheOriginalXENA-which chemist is that?

Mercy · 07/04/2008 11:21

Would it make any difference though? Or are some parents more likely to listen to a nurse than a letter from the teacher?

Surely exclusion is the only way to deal with nits? (that's what happened many years ago)

cheesesarnie · 07/04/2008 11:23

i think people would treat there children properly if they knew that the nit nurse was going to be checking their dc hair.but then i suppose it would have to be regular visits which wouldnt/couldnt happen.

DarthVader · 07/04/2008 12:19

I think it is only parental laziness that is responsible for the current endemic situation and that a zero tolerance policy needs to be enforced by schools as in other countries.

It is a public health scandal that this situation is so out of control, and quite uneccessary.

TheOriginalXENA · 07/04/2008 12:41

cheesesarnie I can't think what the name of the chemist is - although it seems to be a local chain.

EddieMonsoon · 07/04/2008 12:46

Here's the nit nurse service southeastastra was talking about.
www.hairdetectives.com

CiaoBella · 07/04/2008 13:10

The thing is Darth Vadar that the reason zero tolerance works in many other countries is that they have on the market incredibly strong chemicals which I wouldnt want to go near my grand-children

EddieMonsoon · 07/04/2008 21:41

What's different about Head On? Does it kill the eggs? The frustrating thing is that even if it does work well the kids only go and catch it again

iom08 · 07/04/2008 21:52

YES

juuule · 07/04/2008 22:13

Instead of sending out notes, maybe the school could send out bottles of Hedrin.

TheOriginalXENA · 08/04/2008 00:04

EddieMonsoon- the point of Head on is that you use it instead of regular shampoo and they don't catch them again. Nits don't like teatree or neem oil so they don't infest the childrens hair. It is perfectly safe as a regular shampoo and its cheap!

EddieMonsoon · 08/04/2008 10:32

XENA, thanks for the explanation. I'll give it a go but I've tried many products with tea tree and they have never stopped the little blighters coming. I have heard that neem is good though.

DarthVader · 08/04/2008 18:17

CiaoBella, there is absolutely no need for any chemicals to effectively treat headlice - I certainly never use them! Hair conditioner and a special comb is all you need!

constancereader · 08/04/2008 18:23

When I was a teacher I occasionally phoned parents to inform them their children had headlice. It was a last resort only, as I had to handle it really carefully. The last time it was because I felt SO sorry for the little girl, the other mums were telling their children not to play with her, she must have been so uncomfortable with the millions of lice you could see crawling all over her. The child was treated once only. Six weeks later back to square one......

misdee · 08/04/2008 18:26

i dont even use hair conditioner. i wash and condition childs hair, so its soft and tangle free, towel dry, comb all the knots out, then sit there with a nitty gritty comb going through every section of hair. i keep a cloth handy to clean the comb. dd's will be nit free in two weeks if they dont get reinfested. i am currently going to comb nightly, as i know there are a few children in each class whose parents dont comb through.

then we go to once/twice weekly checks.

misdee · 08/04/2008 18:26

i mean i dont leave the conditioner in.

CiaoBella · 08/04/2008 18:48

I agree that chemicals which are pesticides and therefore poisonous should never go near the heads of little children. But its so frustrating with all the combing work when no system exists to control the rest of the class or school. Perhaps there is a case for a nit nurse or one of these holistic companies that come and "do" a school

EddieMonsoon · 09/04/2008 20:33

Constance, I really feel for those poor little things crawling with head-lice. Do you think the parents just dont notice or notice and just dont care about their own kids or who else may catch nits from them?

rowe · 09/04/2008 22:56

i am a class room ass in training and a parent came in with thier child too see the teacher with their new baby 4wks old and she was so sweet but also had nitts walking all over her head and had eggs !!! i think we should educate the parent as some dont even know what they are looking for