What do we do? Please help (lice at daycare)

[Mopey]

Hi everyone,

So there has been lice at Mopey's daycare: one child called it in last night and more was found at drop off this morning. The director says they should be bug free by tomorrow and it is okay to send the Miss (she goes Thursday/Friday as most of my cakes/parties/work are on the weekend).

Despite the fact that it would be a serious PITA I can keep her home this week. Frankly I'm afraid because we kept her home last Thursday to avoid the stomach flu and she still got it Friday and woke up vomiting Saturday afternoon. So I don't really feel like I can trust the lice would genuinely be gone. And dealing with all the bagging, washing and shampooing would be worse than having to deal with her home the extra days.

Am I correct to keep her home? Would love some advice please & thank you

[AnnieW625]

I never did anything more than check my kid's hair when we got a lice report. My mom was the lice check coordinator at my elementary school for many years and I don't recall her doing anything different if there was a kid in our class who she found had lice.

I always went to school and sent DD1 to school as well. I did have a mom call and tell me that she and her daughter had lice and our girls had played together the weekend before, but I just rechecked DD1 and she was okay and didn't do anything extra with her.

Good luck!

[elektra]

I would not keep her home. I would put her hair in a bun and maybe use some hairspray, and then hope for the best.
I would also buy a terminator and check her hair too.

After we had to deal with lice, I actually feel less anxious about it. Although it did stress me out when I first saw the nits on DD!

[BabyBearsMom]

I could never keep my kids home just because they might get sick/get lice. I can barely keep up with all the times that my kids need to stay home because they are sick. When there was a lice outbreak at my girls' school, I just did DD1's hair in tight braids and told her not to lay on anyone else's cot, play hair salon etc., and I just had to hope that DD2 didn't get it since her hair is too short and crazy for braids. Since the outbreak, I comb the girls' hair very carefully at night to make sure there isn't an infestation, but that is it.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

My kids had lice once (and ODS has been in daycare/school for the last 9.5 years) and honestly, it is not something to panic about. (PS. I didn't do any bagging and no more lice in 2 years.)

YDS has had a kid in his class sent home every week for the last month due to lice, and I've haven't thought once of keeping him home.

Yes, buy yourself a terminator comb. Once a week in the bath, douse your DD's hair with cheap conditioner and comb through wiping on a paper towel. You will know right away if she picks some up and this way, you will most likely never have to deal with it.

I do this about once a week now just to be sure and all clear! I do a more thorough comb out if there is a report of lice or if my kids will be attending something with a lice check (i.e. camp).

[twowhat?]

I never keep my kids home for lice. That is way too much for me to keep up with. I check their hair and tell them never to share any hair accessories and that's it. DD2 got it at one point but by the time I found out about it, for some reason the infestation was already inactive (just dead nits). I'd send her.

[Mopey]

Wow! I'm so shocked to hear all this as I remember lice always being a big deal when we were little. The Miss has a lot of hair but it's chopped in a pretty darn short somewhat lopsided Sassoon bob right now (thanks to Mommy ) but I can get it into a couple of elastics I think....Should I check her tonight in the tub? Can I find the terminator comb at my local drugstore chain?

Thanks everyone!

ETA: what does the hairspray do??

[twowhat?]

Wow! I'm so shocked to hear all this as I remember lice always being a big deal when we were little. The Miss has a lot of hair but it's chopped in a pretty darn short somewhat lopsided Sassoon bob right now (thanks to Mommy ) but I can get it into a couple of elastics I think....Should I check her tonight in the tub? Can I find the terminator comb at my local drugstore chain?

Thanks everyone!

ETA: what does the hairspray do??

Just keeps the hair close to the head

Lice are transmitted by head-to-head contact. Picture little girls all huddled together around a small table coloring with their heads all mashed together. The little buggers do not like to be far from the scalp. You can buy the Terminator comb from Ulta. Regular drugstores have crappy lice combs - waste of money!!! Since your DD has somewhat short hair, it'll be easy to check her every so often for nits so I would worry even less!

eta: The terminator comb will pull out all sorts of stuff that will freak you out into thinking it's nits or lice. Most likely it's not - here's a helpful guide:
http://www.howtocureheadlice.com/Headliceandnits.html

[MamaMolly]

Don't panic! When Lula was in kinder they had a HORRIBLE time with lice in her class. We got letters all the time about lice at the school and lice in her classroom, and the dress up center was closed most of the year. I checked her weekly with the Terminator comb and spray on conditioner/detangler that I made by watering down the Fairy Tales lice repelling conditioner. So far we have dodged the bullet!

[lizzywednesday]

Wow! I'm so shocked to hear all this as I remember lice always being a big deal when we were little. The Miss has a lot of hair but it's chopped in a pretty darn short somewhat lopsided Sassoon bob right now (thanks to Mommy ) but I can get it into a couple of elastics I think....Should I check her tonight in the tub? Can I find the terminator comb at my local drugstore chain?

Thanks everyone!

ETA: what does the hairspray do??

In general, a head louse won't spread disease; they're just creepy-crawly and icky. When WE were kids, I think a lot of people making schools' policies were confusing them with body lice, which can spread typhus, but it's not the same bug: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/...human_lice.htm

Lice don't like "dirty" hair, so the hairspray discourages them from making it their home.

Yes, if you're worried enough that the Miss has picked up head lice from a friend at school, by all means check her tonight in the tub!

As for whether or not you'll be able to find one at Duane Reed, ehh, maybe. CVS offers this, which is similar and may be enough for an initial nit-check: http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-deta...s?skuId=873584

If you want to buy one anyway, found the Terminator comb listed online at Amazon.