Lice

[Persephone]

What's your policy on lice?

I'm pretty sure my DCG has lice. Yesterday she was itching and I should have looked then. Then again this morning she said something, but we were in the dark basement (not good lights). So I just looked and I found what I think are the nits. There were a few in the area I seen and they did not move when I pulled my finger over them. I pulled one of the hairs out and tried to pull over it and it didn't move.

I know what they are after working at daycare. And I double checked online. I don't think it's just dry skin.

I called the mom. They've only got another hour here. And she's been here yesterday and today itching, so if it is lice that hour is not going to change anything. If she's got them, it's already been here, plus by they time they got it worked out at work and here, it would just be 30 mins.

But being the weekend, what should I do about Monday? Should I just check her first thing in the morning?

If anyone has anything printed up and can send me so I can have something printed out before 1 hour (4pm EST) that would be great. I want to have something in writing before then!

[Crystal]

I would type up a letter to all parents:

Dear Parents:

It has recently been discovered that a child in care has head lice. We are asking all parents to conduct a daily check of their child's hair for any signs of nits or live louse prior to coming to care. If there is any indication that your child does have head lice, it will be necessary to treat your child for head lice and remove all nits prior to returning to care. We will be conducting checks upon arrival of each child and a No Nit policy will be enforced. If nits or live louse are found, your child will immediately be sent home.

I'd like to thank you in advance for understanding the need to enforce this policy. We take our role in providing a healthy, clean environment very seriously and must enforce this policy to ensure the health and well-being of all of the children in care. We will also be thoroughly cleaning the entire child care environment to help ensure that there is no further spread of head lice, and recommend that all parents do the same at home if their child does have head lice.

Thank you,

Me

Then, I'd make sure to clean EVERYTHING. Even areas where the kids don't play, because it could have spread to other areas on you or another family member. It's not likely, but it COULD happen and it's better to be safe thatn sorry. I would also verbally recommend to all parents that they take the precaution of going ahead and treating their child for lice over the weekend as a preventatyive measure, and as thier provider I would be checking every single kid right now.

Good luck...no fun, but it's life

[Persephone]

Thanks, I quick copied this and changed it to fit my needs and printed it out. That way she can't say anything if on monday I have to send them home.

I would type up a letter to all parents:

Dear Parents:

It has recently been discovered that a child in care has head lice. We are asking all parents to conduct a daily check of their child's hair for any signs of nits or live louse prior to coming to care. If there is any indication that your child does have head lice, it will be necessary to treat your child for head lice and remove all nits prior to returning to care. We will be conducting checks upon arrival of each child and a No Nit policy will be enforced. If nits or live louse are found, your child will immediately be sent home.

I'd like to thank you in advance for understanding the need to enforce this policy. We take our role in providing a healthy, clean environment very seriously and must enforce this policy to ensure the health and well-being of all of the children in care. We will also be thoroughly cleaning the entire child care environment to help ensure that there is no further spread of head lice, and recommend that all parents do the same at home if their child does have head lice.

Thank you,

Me

Then, I'd make sure to clean EVERYTHING. Even areas where the kids don't play, because it could have spread to other areas on you or another family member. It's not likely, but it COULD happen and it's better to be safe thatn sorry. I would also verbally recommend to all parents that they take the precaution of going ahead and treating their child for lice over the weekend as a preventatyive measure, and as thier provider I would be checking every single kid right now.

Good luck...no fun, but it's life

[TGT09]

I'd use bleach wherever possible but that's just me. Alot of people are scared of bleach. I'd plan to use it and then air out the house while my own family played outside or went out to dinner/park/etc...

Crystal's letter is perfect and I think I'm going to save it to my computer in case. I do have it in my handbook though that it will not be tolerated nor will a child be able to return to care until nits are gone. My niece struggled with them for 6 MONTHS last year and this year! So be aware that they can stick around for a while but hopefully for you they don't!

[Persephone]

I'd use bleach wherever possible but that's just me. Alot of people are scared of bleach. I'd plan to use it and then air out the house while my own family played outside or went out to dinner/park/etc...

Crystal's letter is perfect and I think I'm going to save it to my computer in case. I do have it in my handbook though that it will not be tolerated nor will a child be able to return to care until nits are gone. My niece struggled with them for 6 MONTHS last year and this year! So be aware that they can stick around for a while but hopefully for you they don't!

Lice doesn't live on hard items. They say you just need to vacuum well and wash bedding, pillows and stuffed animals (or place in a trash bag for 10 days)

[alyssyn]

Also any combs and hair brushes the child may have came in contact with need to be thrown out or cleaned in boiling water. Pillow cases, hats, towels, ect... It's a pain to have to deal with!

[gkids09]

Lice doesn't live on hard items. They say you just need to vacuum well and wash bedding, pillows and stuffed animals (or place in a trash bag for 10 days)

We had a huge problem with lice a couple years ago. One little boy came with it, and we didn't know it for a couple days. Then, his dad told us that he'd had it for a week, but they didn't know how to treat it. Ended up having like 6 more that got it from him. To stop it, we vacuumed, washed EVERYONE'S sleep stuff, and packed up pillows and stuffed animals. We got the lice spray (can't think of what it's called) and sprayed it all over the couch and things that couldn't actually be washed.. It is NOT fun, and I have found myself checking kids' heads A LOT more often now, even if I only see them scratch once.
Now, the rule is that if we see any nits or live bugs, the kid is sent home immediately, and checked upon arrival after their head has been treated at home.
Good luck!

[TGT09]

Yeah, I guess that makes sense, not sure where my brain was. My niece has almost been taken out of her house by CPS because of it. Her mom doesn't put sheets or pillowcases on so it's in the pillows and mattresses.

[Persephone]

Yeah, I guess that makes sense, not sure where my brain was. My niece has almost been taken out of her house by CPS because of it. Her mom doesn't put sheets or pillowcases on so it's in the pillows and mattresses.

That's just gross not to use sheets. My SIL was like that (I'm sure she still is) Grosses me out just thinking of it!


Well the mom called and said that she did have it...I knew she did! And that they found a Louse on her. I told the dad that I also found one on the boy, but he didn't tell the mom that and she was on her way to take him to his baseball game. I told her that I found one and I had showed the girl (To show her what I found on her) I hope that she didn't take him and let him share baseball helmets!

[alyssyn]

Just to be on the safe side, the mom and dad need to check their heads also.
Chances are they may not have it, but it can contracted easily through brushes, combs if they've used the same ones. Lice can sometimes be very hard to get rid of! When I worked in 1st grade, I saw some awful cases of it.

[Persephone]

Just to be on the safe side, the mom and dad need to check their heads also.
Chances are they may not have it, but it can contracted easily through brushes, combs if they've used the same ones. Lice can sometimes be very hard to get rid of! When I worked in 1st grade, I saw some awful cases of it.

Well I hope that they check each others hair. I know that I told her that I checked my son and when my husband was getting home he was going to check me.

I'm clean and so is my son.

I might call them tomorrow and check. I will be checking their heads on Monday morning.

I seen some bad cases at the daycare I worked at. One's where you just moved the kids hair and you could see them running around, they were that bad! A few that they couldn't get rid of them for weeks and ones where only one child in the house full of them had them. How the others didn't get them I'll never know!

[Greenshadow]

I had a case of lice go thru my home due to a new daycare girl starting who had gotten it from the last place she was at. She had had it so long her mom actually thought it was dandruff and she had huge bugs in her head. Poor thing. I called my Pediatrician AND the local Vet. They said that lice only live with a blood supply. They arent ticks. They do not hop. They can only be spread with head to head contact or by walking from one person to another. Children who roll around together on the floor can pass it to each other by contacting each other and the bug walking to the other child. Lice do not live without a blood supply! The spray that comes in the lice kits are gimmicks! There is no need to spray your furniture and all that. They DO NOT live without blood so they do not live on your couch, etc. I went around and vacuumed everything and washed everything in hot water as hot water kills bugs. I washed the heads of everyone in my family with the over the counter lice medication and washed it again one week later, as directed by my pediatrician. The little girl that had it stayed out for two days and her mom washed her hair with treatment three times!! Two other children in care had eggs but no other live bugs. Phew.

[alyssyn]

I found this website that might be helpful, has some information on treatment of lice.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/common/lice.html

[Persephone]

I'm a little peeved off at the mom. She basically called and was saying that she thought that the kids got it here, because last week they were on vacation at their aunts house out of state and my house is the only place they've been since then.

I know that the girl goes to tennis in the evening and I made sure I said something about that she could pick it up there by just hugging her friends or bumping in to their hair.

And I know that I found one nit on the boy, who plays baseball and I'm sure shares helmets with the other boys on the team. So for all she knows he picked it up and gave it to his sister.

But they keep telling me that they did not find one on him or themselves.

I looked it up and found out that you might have lice 2-3 before you will start noticing the itching. And I know that when I found them on her, I didn't have to look hard. I had her lay down and I flipped her hair over and right there they were, more then one nit in that area. So who knows how many were there.

She wanted to make sure that we did not have lice here because they don't want to have to deal with this again. I've checked my son every day since Friday and he has nothing.

My husband and my sister (who's going to Med school) looked over me on Friday and my husband again today. Nothing. I'm freaked out that I'm going to get them!


So how do you all handle checking them when they come back? Do you do it while the parents are still here, with them watching you? I figure that's the best thing to do instead of having to call her back.

Then what if I have to send her home? I know at the daycare center I was at we made them then have to have a doctors note stating that they were free of lice. If I send her home on Monday would you let them come back Tuesday?

How long do you keep checking them? I found that a Nit hatches about 10 days later. So I'm guessing for the next week or so.