Did you tell your child's school if he/she had lice?

[umsh]

It's our second time with lice (ugh) and I just contacted DD's teacher. Last time (different school), I contacted the teacher so she could email the parents so they could all check their kids since they'd all been exposed. This time teacher says she can't email the parents due to privacy (even though I suggested she send a general "someone in your child's class has lice" email), and what's worse, DD has to be checked by the school nurse on Monday because they have a no nits policy.

I'm doing the Cetaphil method again, which I loved, because it worked without all that nit picking. But looks like I'm going to be forced to get all the nits out now. Semi regretting telling the teacher bc not only is my work increased, lice may still be present in their classroom and no one will know.

Do you tell your kids' teachers if they get lice?


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[lalasmama]

We had it 3 times last year. It went through her dance group over and over! I didn't alert teachers for a variety of reasons, the largest being that if I'm treating it and she's not knocking heads with anyone, and the second one being dance coach is a teacher at her school, so she knew it was going on. Our school doesn't require being absent if the child has lice, so we treated and sent her back.... and eventually listened to the wise BBB'ers who swear by tea tree oil. She's used tea tree shampoo for about 6 months, and no breakouts, even with another round through the dance team :)

[jgenie]

We had it 3 times last year. It went through her dance group over and over! I didn't alert teachers for a variety of reasons, the largest being that if I'm treating it and she's not knocking heads with anyone, and the second one being dance coach is a teacher at her school, so she knew it was going on. Our school doesn't require being absent if the child has lice, so we treated and sent her back.... and eventually listened to the wise BBB'ers who swear by tea tree oil. She's used tea tree shampoo for about 6 months, and no breakouts, even with another round through the dance team :)

What brand of shampoo did she use?


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[georgiegirl]

I told the school nurse. I also informed the parents of Dd's locker partner. This was 4 years ago, so I'm not sure if there's a new policy or not.


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[lalasmama]

What brand of shampoo did she use?


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OGX Teatree mint shampoo. I was getting lice every time she did, so I used the matching conditioner, and it worked well (not a shampoo user at all). It's like $5 at Walmart. Green bottle, gold lid, usually bottle shelf or so. If you haven't used it before, it can tingle, which kinda freaked DD out :)

[hbridge]

I would definitely tell the school... Hiding things generally does NOT work!

My very first day teaching (like first teaching job, first day), a child was showing off her hair and a classmate said that she had better hair but had it up "but Mom said I wasn't to tell the school why"... It took about 10 seconds of her friends pestering her for her to admit she had lice...

A few years later, I was working in a classroom of a different school. Standing at the back of the room observing, I happened to see a louse wandering around on a child's head.

Tell the school if that's the policy...

Oh, both of these incidents occurred with very well off children in a wealthy community! There should be no stigma!

[Dayzy]

We did. I called and spoke to the nurse and she sent a letter home to the parents in DS's class. She also called the entire class down for head checks that day and repeated a few days later.

[mom2binsd]

I can't understand why you wouldn't tell the school. Our school always sent a note home saying something like "a student in another class had lice/we are checking all students to be safe". My kids made it through elementary school without a case of lice themselves or one in their classes. Our school notified families if there was a case in the class.

I think it's only fair to give the school a head's up (no pun intended!).

[umsh]

I agree with everyone! That's why I told the teacher - so she could tell everyone else. I don't really understand why she can't. Maybe I'll ask the school nurse myself if an email can be sent.


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[PZMommy]

I agree with everyone! That's why I told the teacher - so she could tell everyone else. I don't really understand why she can't. Maybe I'll ask the school nurse myself if an email can be sent.


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I'm wondering if it is some sort of new rule. I haven't run into it myself as a teacher, but have as a parent. Last year my son's teacher sent out a message to the parents via class dojo that there was a case of lice in the classroom, and that she would have all the kids checked the next day. She said, "please don't call the office, as I could get in trouble for telling you, but I felt you should be made aware."

At my school, if there is a case of lice, the nurse checks the whole class, and if the student has a sibling, that child's class too. The district policy is they can come back if they have had a treatment, but my school does a recheck, and there must not be any nits in order for a student to return. Parents of other students aren't notified unless their child has lice.

[jren]

Here, they send a letter saying someone in your child's class or bus. So you really have no way to know how at risk your child is. They don't do checks at school, just recommend checking at home.


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[twowhat?]

Our school just sends out a generic note about how lice is common especially in the younger grades and that parents should check their kids' scalps every so often. I guess I can see the reason for the privacy "rule" - kids are very aware and if a note came home about a kid in a class with lice, I bet you many of the other kids would be able to tell the parent who that was.

We've dealt with lice a couple of times in school. The first time I asked our pediatrician if we needed to tell the school. He said after the first treatment, we wouldn't be doing any public health favors by either keeping the kids home or telling the school (haha). We used a combo of chemicals and conditioner comb-outs because the chemicals do kill adult lice (so long as they aren't resistant). Our pediatrician also gave us the cetaphil information, which honestly is more labor-intensive. We've been able to get rid of the lice both times on our own. So the second time it happened, I treated it right away (as soon as we were aware) and didn't tell the school.

So, it wouldn't bother me if you didn't tell the school so long as you're treating for the lice.

[o_mom]

I can't understand why you wouldn't tell the school. Our school always sent a note home saying something like "a student in another class had lice/we are checking all students to be safe". My kids made it through elementary school without a case of lice themselves or one in their classes. Our school notified families if there was a case in the class.

I think it's only fair to give the school a head's up (no pun intended!).

I can understand why someone would not mention it.

The school has said they won't send any notification out, so it's not going to help anyone else. Additionally, they have an outdated, unnecessary, "no nits" policy, so they are stuck with a lot of extra work for no reason.

Zero reason to tell the school in that case.

[doberbrat]

We did not last year. The school does not tell families so there isnt much point in doing so. I do hammer home the dont share hair/head things.

[umsh]

I'm wondering if it is some sort of new rule. I haven't run into it myself as a teacher, but have as a parent. Last year my son's teacher sent out a message to the parents via class dojo that there was a case of lice in the classroom, and that she would have all the kids checked the next day. She said, "please don't call the office, as I could get in trouble for telling you, but I felt you should be made aware."

At my school, if there is a case of lice, the nurse checks the whole class, and if the student has a sibling, that child's class too. The district policy is they can come back if they have had a treatment, but my school does a recheck, and there must not be any nits in order for a student to return. Parents of other students aren't notified unless their child has lice.

Ok that makes sense...I guess I'll find out what happens tomorrow!


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[umsh]

Our school just sends out a generic note about how lice is common especially in the younger grades and that parents should check their kids' scalps every so often. I guess I can see the reason for the privacy "rule" - kids are very aware and if a note came home about a kid in a class with lice, I bet you many of the other kids would be able to tell the parent who was.

That's a really good point I didn't think about...



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[umsh]

I can understand why someone would not mention it.

The school has said they won't send any notification out, so it's not going to help anyone else. Additionally, they have an outdated, unnecessary, "no nits" policy, so they are stuck with a lot of extra work for no reason.

Zero reason to tell the school in that case.

Yes, that's how I'm feeling now after telling the teacher - that there was basically no point and now I have so much more work in getting all the nits out (and I don't think I'll be able to), and I'm worried my child will be sent home tomorrow if the nurse finds nits.


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[annex]

Even if the teacher can't send a note home, can they send suspected cases to the nurse for a check? I think in that case, it's worth alerting them so your DD isn't reinfected by a classmate who is unaware. If the school literally does nothing (which would be odd if they have a no nits policy...) then I would personally give a heads up to parents of kids who I know sit near with/play with my student.

[mmsmom]

Our school asks that cases of lice be reported to nurse ( along with other contagious things). We get a letter home from the nurse when there is lice in the class. The nurse checks all kids in the class. We get a few letters per year. The kids always know who it is because they know who is sent home but it is so common that no one bats an eye. We also got a letter for pinworm last year and sometimes when the stomach bug is rampant. I appreciate the notice so I can be more diligent.

[citymama]

Yes, we inform the school. The school office and after care send out a generic notice to all parents in the classroom to say there's been a lice incident and we should check our kids. I appreciate that.

[calebsmama03]

I would be LIVID. < ~ L.I.V.I.D. ~ > if I found my kid with lice and later discovered that a kid in class had it and no letters were sent home so we could be vigilant. It's just a jerk move IMO to not tell the school. When there's a lice outbreak I instruct my kids to put their jackets into their back packs for a while so they aren't up against the other kids' jackets (we have small cubbies that are shared in the elementary school and shared lockers in middle school). The whole point of notifying parents is so they can keep an eye out and catch it in their kids before it gets too bad. It never occurred to me that parents would NOT tell the school. :( Guess I should just make it a daily rule - jacket inside backpack.

[bisous]

I would be LIVID. < ~ L.I.V.I.D. ~ > if I found my kid with lice and later discovered that a kid in class had it and no letters were sent home so we could be vigilant. It's just a jerk move IMO to not tell the school. When there's a lice outbreak I instruct my kids to put their jackets into their back packs for a while so they aren't up against the other kids' jackets (we have small cubbies that are shared in the elementary school and shared lockers in middle school). The whole point of notifying parents is so they can keep an eye out and catch it in their kids before it gets too bad. It never occurred to me that parents would NOT tell the school. :( Guess I should just make it a daily rule - jacket inside backpack.

The OP said she's informed the school before and they do not send out letters notifying the parents. In her case, there is no point to telling because other parents still won't know to follow different protocols. It seems like schools are moving towards following that policy and that the parent notification letters are becoming more rare. If you're really concerned maybe you should just have kids put jackets in backpacks going forward.

[jerseygirl07067]

I always let the teacher know. They usually send out a general letter saying someone in the class had lice, and what to look for, how to treat it if you find it. I'd want to know. They can't jump of course, but because kids play with such close contact at that age and my DD has very long hair, I can at least have her wear her hair up and douse her with tea tree oil spray for prevention.

[azzeps]

I have never received any notice that DD's class has lice going around, in 4 years at the school, so I guess they don't do that.

The one time she had lice, she told me someone else in her class had had them, and wouldn't tell me who, because she didn't want that person to be embarrassed. I figured since either the school doesn't notify parents, or parents aren't notifying the school so other folks can be alerted, I did not feel obligated to potentially cause my daughter any embarrassment at school. I'm usually a rule follower, but in this case, it seemed senseless. I was pretty confident that we caught the infestation early and that we had removed any live bugs and all the nits. I had my terminator comb already purchased in advance, thanks to people on this board! ;)

[umsh]

So perhaps DD's teacher was misinformed, but the nurse did indeed send a letter home today, which is a good thing. I do want the other parents to know b/c 1) I'd want to know if I were in their shoes and 2) my DD must have gotten it from somewhere, and while it could be anywhere, school is the most likely place as that's where they spend most of their waking hours around other people (no one else in our family has it, only DD1).

The nurse called me today to say she needs proof that I treated DD - she wants a picture of the receipt or the box of what I used (she's obviously assuming I used a chemical shampoo). I figure sending a picture of a bottle of Cetaphil won't cut it, so I'm going to email her the link for the Nuvo method, but I'm still worried she may insist we use a chemical product, which I definitely don't want to do (DD has a host of other health issues). If anyone has suggestions on how to approach this, please share!

And thank you to everyone for your feedback, PPs brought up a lot of points I wouldn't have thought of.

[ArizonaGirl]

For full disclosure I admit this is sneaky...

You could purchase a kit and then send a picture of the receipt and then return the kit.

[mikala]

So perhaps DD's teacher was misinformed, but the nurse did indeed send a letter home today, which is a good thing. I do want the other parents to know b/c 1) I'd want to know if I were in their shoes and 2) my DD must have gotten it from somewhere, and while it could be anywhere, school is the most likely place as that's where they spend most of their waking hours around other people (no one else in our family has it, only DD1).

The nurse called me today to say she needs proof that I treated DD - she wants a picture of the receipt or the box of what I used (she's obviously assuming I used a chemical shampoo). I figure sending a picture of a bottle of Cetaphil won't cut it, so I'm going to email her the link for the Nuvo method, but I'm still worried she may insist we use a chemical product, which I definitely don't want to do (DD has a host of other health issues). If anyone has suggestions on how to approach this, please share!

And thank you to everyone for your feedback, PPs brought up a lot of points I wouldn't have thought of.I'd hope your method link is enough. If it helps your case the method is also linked on other health pages like this so it's considered a reasonable way to treat them. http://www.seattlechildrens.org/medical-conditions/symptom-index/lice-head/

[o_mom]

For full disclosure I admit this is sneaky...

You could purchase a kit and then send a picture of the receipt and then return the kit.

For that matter just take a picture of the box at the store.

[TwinFoxes]

I would be LIVID. < ~ L.I.V.I.D. ~ > if I found my kid with lice and later discovered that a kid in class had it and no letters were sent home so we could be vigilant. It's just a jerk move IMO to not tell the school. When there's a lice outbreak I instruct my kids to put their jackets into their back packs for a while so they aren't up against the other kids' jackets (we have small cubbies that are shared in the elementary school and shared lockers in middle school). The whole point of notifying parents is so they can keep an eye out and catch it in their kids before it gets too bad. It never occurred to me that parents would NOT tell the school. :( Guess I should just make it a daily rule - jacket inside backpack.


Different school districts have different rules. It may even vary by school. It may be a jerk move at in your opinion, but a lot of places they don't send letters even if the parents inform them. I know for a fact that a mom in one of DDs' classes let the teacher know her kid had lice, and we never got a letter (the mom told me, luckily we didn't get any). And my other daughter told me "so and so has lice" I said, "how do you know?" Apparently the little girl just blurted it out...and then a boy said "hey, so do I!" I think if you're worried about lice, the jacket in the backpack rule should always be in effect. By the time lice are discovered, and a letter is sent home they could have spread even if a parent has reported it ASAP.

[umsh]

I'd hope your method link is enough. If it helps your case the method is also linked on other health pages like this so it's considered a reasonable way to treat them. http://www.seattlechildrens.org/medical-conditions/symptom-index/lice-head/

I was tempted to send a picture of a box of Rid or Nix but instead just sent the Nuvo method link. Haven't heard back from the nurse so hoping this was sufficient. I'll send the Seattle Children's Hospital link if needed.

Thanks everyone!


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[bisous]

I was tempted to send a picture of a box of Rid or Nix but instead just sent the Nuvo method link. Haven't heard back from the nurse so hoping this was sufficient. I'll send the Seattle Children's Hospital link if needed.

Thanks everyone!


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Hopefully that will be enough. It should! I'd probably fight it if it were me because I wouldn't want to be forced into using chemicals that are not as effective because school personnel are not as educated as they should be. The link is a good backup. Good luck!

[anonomom]

So, hypothetically speaking, would you also tell if your middle schooler had lice? And who would you tell? They have lots of different teachers there....

(when my kids had it several years ago, I told both middle and elementary. Our elementary does not, as far as I can tell, notify parents).

[m4nash]

So, hypothetically speaking, would you also tell if your middle schooler had lice? And who would you tell? They have lots of different teachers there....

(when my kids had it several years ago, I told both middle and elementary. Our elementary does not, as far as I can tell, notify parents).

I would tell the school nurse at the middle school if my middle schooler had lice. When my DD recently had lice, (caught it on the 3rd day of school) we told the school nurse, her teacher and the aftercare provider at her elementary. The elementary school nurse called the nurse at the middle school where DS attends.

Our elementary school nurse did not notify parents, which I had really hoped would happen, but she did check heads. She told us she doesn't notify parents unless there are multiple students in one class with lice.

[Kindra178]

I really wish schools would stop checking. You can't check without a live comb, it's too easy to miss or false diagnose and takes away from the school day. I have told the school but I don't think there is a reason to tell.


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[TwinFoxes]

Our elementary school nurse did not notify parents, which I had really hoped would happen, but she did check heads. She told us she doesn't notify parents unless there are multiple students in one class with lice.


I really wish schools would stop checking.

When you guys say the nurse checks, do you mean they check everyone? Or they check classmates of someone who has lice, or they just check kids that show symptoms of lice? I'm very curious.

[Kindra178]

School nurses will check an entire class.


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