Is it inevitable to get used to head lice in the UK?

[OlyaR]

Hi there, I've got a daughter who is 10 months old, and recently one of NCT mums whose baby is already attending the nursery dropped a message in our chat that they are going to buy some shampoo that can delouse her son because he picked up head lice in the nursery. At first, I thought it was a joke, I'm from overseas and where I grew up head lice are so rare because when it happens and the child is seen with head lice the nursery/ school will inform the parents and the child will be allowed to continue only after their hair is clean from it. No one tolerates head lice, so I'd say they nip it in the bud. I can't imagine that other parents would put up with the situation of someone in the class infecting the whole class because the parents are okay with it.

Why are people so relaxed about it here? I've got long thick hair, it's a nightmare to think that I need to have it myself or my child will have it. I accept that this can happen but I find it hard to understand why do people keep saying that it's only head lice, not a big deal. So pity, because I love UK, its people, and nature but I don't know if I can accept it. I realize that for someone it may be ridiculous what I'm writing but my husband and I still can't get over the shock that people treat head lice normally and even make jokes about it.

So my question is, is it possible to find a nursery/ school that will take the head lice problem seriously and not allow spreading it ? I know that nit nurses are in the past but I'm sure measures can be taken ( excluding ) + I truly hope that there are such parents who agree with me and also take it seriously.

just to add - treatment manufacturers are also to blame, as many don't make this at all clear (probably because the consumer will then realise that it's a pricier option than they thought.)

I had hoped lockdowns would get rid of the lice problem tbh!

The purpose is for basic infection control so that lice don’t spread. Nothing inappropriate about it.

No idea why people think lice in children are so acceptable tbh.

My 6 year old still hasn't had head lice, I think it's quite unusual for a baby tbh, more common in primary

@Msmoonpie it isn't a reportable infection like norovirus, it doesn't cause significant harm or create significant risk to children and is very easily treated. I get that it's unpleasant and that no one wants them, but it is a simple fact that you cannot exclude children for such a minor issue.

The purpose is for basic infection control so that lice don’t spread. Nothing inappropriate about it.

Some schools are reducing their exclusion period from 48 to 24 hours for vomiting because they (and Ofsted) are so obsessed with absence rates. They aren't going to send a child with head lice home.

Because in the UK education is prioritised so it would be shocking to a lot of people to have their kid off school and missing education (and the extra that may cost them in childcare) just for nits.

And also, if they did that, every kid in every class would suddenly get nits when the term-time holiday prices are cheaper and they would magically disappear when they start to climb up again.

No but then the attitude in the UK preventing spread of infections is sometimes a bit skewered.

Covid has helped - less people with colds and viruses coming into the office now people can work from home. But it’s still an issue.

I don't think there is any point taking an overly restrictive approach on headlice as It is something which may cause mild discomfort but usually nothing worse than that. So relaxed, sure, but relaxed doesn't mean you let the lice run rife. That means when my DDs had them I kept combing with a Nitty Gritty comb and drenching with conditioner daily until they had gone, but knowing that they might come back again. There was no point panicking or causing drama. And they must have been an issue in the 1980s as we had a nurse come in to school regularly to check our heads for them. Nothing new under the sun.

Having headlice is unpleasant but I don't see it as such a serious issue. It's infrequent and treatable. I only had headlice once as a child. My daughter is 14 with very thick, long hair. She's just had it for the first time ever and they were gone after the first couple of treatments.

Now this is a good point. Why didn’t it 🤔

I always thought this about AIDS as well you know. Eventually it should peter out.

No, it isn’t. I’ve never had them, DH has never had them (not from UK), and DS7 has never had them (so far). I would be utterly horrified if he did, they are revolting. What kind of scuzzy person doesn’t remove their child, keep them home and treat them as often as necessary till the little fuckers are all gone?

Quite shocked at everyone thinking an infestation of lice is no biggie tbh.

It seems that you are onto something OP. I grew up in Scandinavia and never had head lice, never got notes home from school saying to check, didn't know anyone who had it etc. It just wasn't something anyone thought about or worried about. I then moved to the UK as an adult and had kids, they both got it twice during primary school. According to the National Institute of Health England in particular has many more cases than elsewhere in Europe:

"In Europe, prevalence varied from 0.48% to 22.4%. However, 1 study reported a much higher annual incidence (37.4%) in England"

What kind of parent would keep their perfectly well child off school with a normal, non dangerous, childhood infection? 🤷

Never had them in our household. However DD always had her hair tied back at school/nursery and DS had a crew cut to avoid them. Makes me itch just thinking about them!

We're all crawling with all sorts I guess, we just don't need a microscope to see head lice.

The life cycle is about 3 weeks for head lice. You cannot keep children off school for that amount of time so I don't agree with excluding them.

Think dd had them once after a visit to the in-laws. Don't think ds ever had them. They're 21 and 18 years old

@BarbaraHoward a responsible one who has consideration for others. It’s not 1800, there is no excuse for being lice-ridden.

And it’s not an “infection” btw.

Ok not an infection, but still not worth interrupting education.

A considerate and responsible parent regularly checks for them and takes action when they find them. A responsible parent doesn't keep a child off school because of head lice.

What kind of scuzzy person doesn’t remove their child, keep them home and treat them as often as necessary till the little fuckers are all gone?

The vast majority of people. Not least because if you called the school and told them that's what you were doing, they'd put it down as unauthorised and you'd be closer to getting a fine.

Mine have never had head lice, but I assume they will at some point. I'm quite strict about hair being tied back though.

It didn’t used to be relaxed. I grew up where we had a ‘nit nurse’ at school and if we had head louse we were sent home.

The OP said that in her country the child cannot attend again until they are louse-free, which is not the case in the UK.

The problem is that there are some families who constantly reinfect everyone else. We all know who these people are, but in the UK, the attitude is "Oh, but you can't keep these kids off school!"

Nailed it.

Nit nurses weren't found to be effective. Lice can move fast and often weren't detected with a cursory hair check.

You can't keep a child off for weeks for the sake of head lice. Tie hair back and hope your child doesn't have hair to hair contact with a child that has head lice.

Those are probably the children with the greatest need to be in school. Isolating children at home with neglectful parents isn't a great route to take.