Lame Duck Lice Letter

The dreaded “lice letter” is a scary thought to parents in communities all across our country.  But when the lice letter that we fear is not really helping you then what? (click her for a standard lice letter) The CDC & the NASN recommends kids stay in school with lice, go home at day’s end, and treat with the products currently available, then return the next day.  Due to evolution, these treatment recommendations often take several rounds of treatment to end the infestation for a family, if it works at all. No child should miss school due to head lice.

Recent articles showcase the problems with these products.  ABC reports on Superbugs shows that OTC products are ineffective and a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) study links Pyrethroids (Nix and Rid) to behavioral and emotional problems in children under 6 years old.  No thanks.

On top of this, the National Association of School Nurses lice recommendation states that lice transmission is rare in school. Let me ask YOU if you agree that it is rare that kids get lice at school?  This is not what we are seeing.

I do agree with the CDC that kids with lice are not sick and should not miss school. But I don’t agree with schools that maintain a no nit policy. If any nits are still in your hair after doing an effective first treatment they are harmless as long as you have a good follow up treatment or battle plan to end the life cycle of lice.

I personally have worked diligently to treat families late at night or early in the AM so families can get to school and work. But it’s not an acceptable solution when the recommendation remains to use the OTC treatments, which we see above are ineffective or just not safe.

Therefore, these recommendations are perpetuating lice outbreaks, thus making a school nurses job more difficult.  With the free CLC Lice Lessons education program there will be less outbreaks, less lice letters and relaxed families knowing how to detect and defeat lice on their own.