Head lice from the Magic

I had a student bring her journal up to me during writing and say "This just fell off my head." The one on the paper was actually really slow...which both grossed me out completely and made me feel oddly at ease. Luckily the school nurse confirmed that they don't jump, so I wasn't too nervous. But still...EW!!

EW for sure!!!! The first time I heard they jumped was back in 4th grade when a boy in class was sent home with them. The teacher told this boy's mom when she picked him up that they had to be completely gone before he came back because of how quickly they spread, that they can jump from a kid at one desk to another, and guess who sat at the desk directly in front of this kid...me. :-( Every time I felt an itch for the next 6 months I was positive one had jumped on me. And now there's "super lice?!?!" NO NO NO!

When we got our notice on Fantasy, I don't remember exactly what it said but I was left with the impression that this child was excluded and steps had been taken to prevent further exposure. Hopefully DCL doesn't ever begin relaxing their lice policy the way schools have.
 
EW for sure!!!! The first time I heard they jumped was back in 4th grade when a boy in class was sent home with them. The teacher told this boy's mom when she picked him up that they had to be completely gone before he came back because of how quickly they spread, that they can jump from a kid at one desk to another, and guess who sat at the desk directly in front of this kid...me. :-( Every time I felt an itch for the next 6 months I was positive one had jumped on me. And now there's "super lice?!?!" NO NO NO!

When we got our notice on Fantasy, I don't remember exactly what it said but I was left with the impression that this child was excluded and steps had been taken to prevent further exposure. Hopefully DCL doesn't ever begin relaxing their lice policy the way schools have.
I agree! In my school, we don't need to be told and the student does not need to go home. Scary!! My 10-year-old daughter wears her hair up every day and washes her hair with $14 shampoo that is "supposed" to repel lice. I use the hairspray every day too, but I'm so afraid that one day it won't be enough.
 
My DD caught them in elementary school when they had to share headphones for different classes. It was a mess. Whole class caught them & girl wasn't allowed back until they were gone so her mom shaved her head. It was a total mess because if they come home you have to bomb your car, spray your house, bag up any stuffed animals they play with because the eggs do like warm places to hatch. In Central Florida in our area there is now a clinic that you can take your child to & they will pick all the nits out instead of you spending hours sitting outside doing it and treat the hair for you. They are doing a booming business. The shampoo only does so much & as I found out the combs don't catch everything either.
 

I agree! In my school, we don't need to be told and the student does not need to go home. Scary!! My 10-year-old daughter wears her hair up every day and washes her hair with $14 shampoo that is "supposed" to repel lice. I use the hairspray every day too, but I'm so afraid that one day it won't be enough.

Where I teach, the child is sent home and every child in the school gets a note in their folder letting the parents know that a child in the school has lice and also lists ways to try to prevent their children from getting it. I can't even imagine how sick I would feel if I knew one of the kids in my classroom had lice and didnt have to go home.
 
They are icky for sure but are harmless. One child at DS school seems to always get them. She has super long, thick curly hair. My neighbor works for lice fairies a company of hair dressers that will go to your home (even holidays) to treat the child. They treat with olive oil and comb, comb, comb. The child sleeps with oil overnight and comb out and wash every morning for 3 weeks. Neighbor also said the girl must not have it treated well, but thick curly long hair is the toughest to treat.
Gels work best as the buggers can't latch on to coated hair and lay eggs. The sprays may or may not work, very low concentrates of lavender or tee tree oil, so told us to use gel on DS.
He is one of the few in class that haven't gotten it.
She gets tons of calls during camp season, even had to run out during 4th of July party, so definitely gel and tie up hair.
BTW they can't live off of head so bombing car, house, etc is unnecessary and a good was of bedding and bagging of all plushes and decorative pillows for a week or so is all that is needed. Add to that wash all car seats if child still uses them.
 
The lice do not have to have been caught 2-4 weeks ago. A few could have migrated to her head from another child, at the kids club for example, and those could be the same lice spotted. As a teacher I've seen this kind of quick transmission occur among kids during lice outbreaks at school.
 
I did alot of research since DD had them. we went through the treatment washed everything, and I think we are clear.

Thanks for the tips on repeling the bugs, we will be sailing on the dream next year and will use those tips.
 
We got a notice on our door while on the Fantasy last year that a child who was at the Oceaneers Club the same time as our daughter was found to have head lice.

Curious which sailing you were on last summer? We were on the Fantasy June 13-20, 2015 and recieved a notice each day that our daughter attended OC.
 
I second using TeaTree. We just put a drop in with my kids' shampoo and they have never had problems over the years. it seems every June we get a notice it is around the after school care. My kids will ask for the tea tree. I will definitely be adding it to my packing list for May!!
 
My DD had lice twice when she was in elementary school. I tried everything and the lice laughed. Like someone said upthread, lice are now resistant to RID and other insecticides so that no longer works. I tried the oil treatment and it was horribly messy. I still have a bottle of tea tree essential oil. The Lice Program finally worked for me: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/theliceprogram/index.html. Basically, you comb the the lives ones out over the course of 3 weeks. That's it. No poisons, no messy oil, no tea tree spray, no nit picking ... you just remove the live ones before they lay more eggs. I also liked the program because it has built in rest days for you and your child. It does take 3 weeks which is a PITB but I spent more time trying things that didn't work before I finally gave in and tried the program. It worked like a charm. The second time she came home with lice I went right to the program and we were done in 3 weeks.
 
Where I teach, the child is sent home and every child in the school gets a note in their folder letting the parents know that a child in the school has lice and also lists ways to try to prevent their children from getting it. I can't even imagine how sick I would feel if I knew one of the kids in my classroom had lice and didnt have to go home.
I could not imagine having my child in school with another child that had lice. It would be a matter of time until all of the children had lice. Crazy.

Thankfully, when my son was young, if anyone got lice, everyone was notified and the child(ren) stayed home until they were cleared.
 
Where I teach, the child is sent home and every child in the school gets a note in their folder letting the parents know that a child in the school has lice and also lists ways to try to prevent their children from getting it. I can't even imagine how sick I would feel if I knew one of the kids in my classroom had lice and didnt have to go home.

Actually, the medical community supports not removing children from school, as there is no risk of disease transmission from lice. Here is the link from the American Academy of
Pediatrics.

Most cases of head lice are acquired outside of school. In the report, the AAP continues to recommend that a healthy child should not be restricted from attending school because of head lice or nits (eggs). Pediatricians are encouraged to educate schools and communities that no-nit policies are unjust and should be abandoned. Children can finish the school day, be treated, and return to school. - See more at: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the...ments-for-Head-Lice.aspx#sthash.gPwnE4qX.dpuf

It is very unlikely that you would acquire it from freshly washed clean pillowcases that would be on your child's bed. I wouldn't let this bother my cruise fun.
 
Actually, the medical community supports not removing children from school, as there is no risk of disease transmission from lice. Here is the link from the American Academy of
Pediatrics.
I'm thinking that the parents that have to deal with it spreading, don't support keeping the children in school.

I can see why some schools have problems with other parents wanted to know "who started it." After the lice is spread throughout the entire school.
 
:offtopic:
I have one daughter. She's 3. Last year, I freaked out convinced she had as I brushed her hair after her shower. I googled pictures and thought, maybe not. I brought her in the next morning and asked her teacher to look.

It was sand and I learned that showers do not remove playground sand from hair. Silly me, I thought I could save myself the hassle of cleaning the tub each night to get rid of the grit.
 
I'm thinking that the parents that have to deal with it spreading, don't support keeping the children in school.

I can see why some schools have problems with other parents wanted to know "who started it." After the lice is spread throughout the entire school.

The protocols usually are that the child is not sent home the day of discovery and is allowed to finish out the school day, and the parents asked to not return until treatment has been given. I believe there is sound medical evidence that supports there is no real reason that letting the child finish out the school day is harmful or poses a huge risk. I agree lice are a huge inconvenience.
 
We caught lice here at the house once and went to a nit-picking service. It was great because they guaranteed the lice gone within two sessions. I got them (so grosssssssss, but a mild case) and was clear on the recheck after one session. My daughter was found to just have 1 or 2 nits the second time and then that was it. We washed bedding and quarantined stuffed animals, and used a mint-based shampoo to repel them. It all seemed to work, and they never returned, thank goodness! I really despised it all, but in reality it wasn't a big deal.
 

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