Would you go? Lice question

[Twoboos]

We were invited to a neighbor's house this upcoming Friday to get together and carve pumpkins. DDs are friends with their DDs, all the kids will be so excited! And the parents are fun, too. :D

This morning I said sure we'd love to come.

Then it dawned on me that both their girls had lice last week, maybe in the first part of the week. They have been treated and checked by the nurse so back at school since Thurs.

Do I need to worry about this?? Is it everywhere in their house - if I sit on the couch, etc? I have been treating DD's hair and putting them in pony tails ever since I found out about the outbreak, apparently it's very bad at both their schools.

Would you go? ANd if not how can I graciously bow out?

[ezcc]

I would go. Lice are rampant everywhere- I was just chatting with a pediatrician friend and she confirmed this. Many elementary schools are having problems- my kids school had it last year. Anyway, lice don't live long off of a head so it's very, very unlikely you could pick it up from somewhere in the house. I wouldn't let fear of lice stop me from doing something fun.

[crayonblue]

I would go. We just went through another round of lice at DD's school (UGH!). You are probably safer having your kids around a family who just treated and got rid of lice vs. a family who doesn't know they have lice! I am shocked at how rampant lice are this year.

[dogmom]

It is VERY hard to get lice off of furniture, etc. The CDC doesn't even recommend cleaning the house, just bedding. It's not like they will get it from sitting on the cough or even rolling around on the carpet. The actually live lice don't live longer than 24 hours off the body, so if the girls have been treated and checked there is a low likelihood of that happening. Nits, the eggs, only hatch if they are 1/2 inch or less from the scalp if they are on someones head, so it's not like you will get the nits on your kid's head then they will hatch.

[MMMommy]

I wouldn't go. Even though it probably is fine and all, I still wouldn't.

[ahisma]

I'd go, unless you know them to be shockingly lax about cleaning.

I think you're less likely to get lice from their house than from a public area. Lice need blood to live, they can't just hang out indefinitely on furniture waiting for a host to come by.

[Wife_and_mommy]

Have recommendations changed recently? I thought DC had to be nit-free for 2 weeks before returning to school etc. I highly doubt that every family is able to completely rid themselves of lice and nits in a few days' time.

I wouldn't go and would politely change the rsvp. I, personally, would not feel comfortable being with a family that had lice last week.

[Twoboos]

Have recommendations changed recently? I thought DC had to be nit-free for 2 weeks before returning to school etc. I highly doubt that every family is able to completely rid themselves of lice and nits in a few days' time.

I wouldn't go and would politely change the rsvp. I, personally, would not feel comfortable being with a family that had lice last week.

Wow, two weeks? Dd's schools would be deserted I think - in some class rooms 1/3 of the class has it. I think it's a day or so after treatment starts, then they can get checked by the nurse and be allowed to return to school.

Here's what the CDC says, but at our school the nurse sends them home early.
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/schools.html

[crayonblue]

DD's school sent home a letter saying that if a student was sent home for lice, they were to treat and return to school the following day. I kept DD home for two days just to make sure we had gotten rid of it.

[Wife_and_mommy]

I guess I'm old.:ROTFLMAO:I wouldn't risk sending my kid to school where 1/3 of the class had been recently diagnosed with lice. :(

I got lice from a workplace in college and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

And I'm feeling itchy now... thanks ;)

[Twoboos]

I guess I'm old.:ROTFLMAO:I wouldn't risk sending my kid to school where 1/3 of the class had been recently diagnosed with lice. :(

I got lice from a workplace in college and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

And I'm feeling itchy now... thanks ;)

Sorry about that - I have been itchy since I first heard about this outbreak last week!! :wink2:

We have been lucky so far (knock wood) and I haven't found it on either DD, and no notes have come from their classes.

So you would just keep your child out of school for a few weeks? (Not trying to be snarky, I'm curious! Especially b/c our superintendent has recently sent out not one but TWO notes about unexcused absences and truancy!)

[Wife_and_mommy]

DD's school sent home a letter saying that if a student was sent home for lice, they were to treat and return to school the following day. I kept DD home for two days just to make sure we had gotten rid of it.

Wow. It's no wonder then, IMO, that it's so seemingly rampant. I didn't return to that job when my concerns re: headpieces weren't addressed. I don't want them anywhere near me or my family.

[Wife_and_mommy]

Sorry about that - I have been itchy since I first heard about this outbreak last week!! :wink2:

We have been lucky so far (knock wood) and I haven't found it on either DD, and no notes have come from their classes.

So you would just keep your child out of school for a few weeks? (Not trying to be snarky, I'm curious! Especially b/c our superintendent has recently sent out not one but TWO notes about unexcused absences and truancy!)

From the sounds of it, keeping them out wouldn't help if the rest of the class is allowed to return before they're completely cleared. I can't imagine what I would do in that scenario. We both know not every family is going to be fastidious about removing nits so it'll just keep reoccuring.

As for your superintendent...part of the reason we homeschool... I find it appalling that they view creatures crawling in our children's heads nothing but a nuisance. I know they dont' spread disease. Still a huge problem in my mind.

[Twoboos]

As for your superintendent...part of the reason we homeschool... I find it appalling that they view creatures crawling in our children's heads nothing but a nuisance. I know they dont' spread disease. Still a huge problem in my mind.

Oh, the notes weren't in reference to lice, just a general reminder about unexcused absences and truancy. But I would think keeping a child out for that long would fall under those rules. (Even though I get what you're saying, they are SO gross.)

[egoldber]

if a student was sent home for lice, they were to treat and return to school the following day

Our school and daycare policy is once a student has been treated they can return.

We went through it this summer and it wasn't as horrible as I had imagined. It was labor intensive, but honestly, in retrospect we really overdid it.

I would consider keeping the girls' hair in braids to prevent potential head to head contact.

[chays]

Lice don't live more than 24 hours without a head to live on. If your friends have been combing diligently and their kids are still clean, there is no reason to stay away from the party. Your friend is probably the only one you know for sure WITHOUT lice!

[dogmom]

Have recommendations changed recently? I thought DC had to be nit-free for 2 weeks before returning to school etc. I highly doubt that every family is able to completely rid themselves of lice and nits in a few days' time.

I wouldn't go and would politely change the rsvp. I, personally, would not feel comfortable being with a family that had lice last week.

The "no nits" policy, or whatever head lice policy exists, is determined by the school district. Sometimes the policies are seriously out of date and not based on any medical recommendation. The American Pediatric Academy does not recommend keeping kids out of school for head lice, and definitely does not recommend a no nits policy. Some studies suggest that up to 80% of things identified by school personell and parents as nits are not. Second, you can have nits on your head that won't hatch if they are too far from the scalp. Third, head lice does not spread disease, so although "yucky" it is far from a public health emergency. Which is why "no nit" policies are in place, because school board are filled with people who go "yuck" instead of looking at it realistically. Any place that has a two week nit free policy is just crazy.

It takes up to 6 days for nits/eggs to hatch. It takes another 6 days, at least, before they can procreate. It is actually sort of hard to catch head lice, there really needs to be some close head to head contact or sharing of things that had extended contact with a head. Which is why I went through 3 years of preschool and 4 years of head lice outbreaks with my son never getting them, and it took my DD 4 years before she got them. I never got them and I lay down with her every night. However, I would find things that I thought, "Oh nits" that turned out not to be. If they were that easy to catch the whole class would have them, not just 1/3. I realized if once I got over the hysteria about the whole thing and stopped looking at all the crappy, contradicting information out there, some from people trying to sell me stuff, it was really quite managable.

[Melanie]

I'd go, but I'd keep everyone's hair up or in braids and doused with TTO, lavendar oil (what's the other one? Rosemary?) and go all greasy. Then I'd probably change clothing in the garage once I got home, just for good measure.

[Fairy]

I probably would not. And I'd feel terrible about it.