Don't scratch that itch - headlice and schools.....

School has many pleasures, for parents and children alike. Unfortunately, it also has rather a lot of negatives. One of the most irritating of these has got to be headlice...

Putting a whole lot of children together can be an absolute recipe for disaster, especially when it comes to girls and long hair. One parent's meticulous shampooing, conditioning and combing is utterly useless if other parents aren't checking their children and getting rid of any unfriendly visitors. Headlice is most common in children aged four to eleven, and gets transferred from head to head contact. This means you are not immune - if your child has it, you will probably soon be scratching away too.

After she spent two years at a nursery where headlice were rife, imagine how delighted I was when my child joined a school which boasted a nit nurse. Every half-term this wonderful woman would come in and check the children's hair. And, magically, there were no reported cases of nits for two whole years.

But this halcyon period is now to come to an end. Apparently nit nurse checks are not "good practice," so they are stopping. I have already started to itch...

Is this right? The Department for Children, Families and Schools (DCFS) passes me onto the Department of Health. A spokesman there says that although school nurses "have and continue to be an important link between school and home, they are engaged in a full range of school nursing activities" and should never have been given the self-deprecating nit nurse tag (ours, I hasten to add, was brought in specifically to search for lice). The very same spokesman adds that "the management of infestations is a role for parents." Meanwhile in our local authority, Barnet, a spokeswoman explains that "parents and guardians are best placed to identify if their child has a problem like this. Reliance on periodic inspections by school nurses would be valueless, unless carried out weekly if not daily." I'm not totally convinced of that - simply raising the issue brings it to the forefront of parents' minds, and may make them take action.

These days, letters announcing that a child has headlice are frowned upon too. As the Health Protection Agency says: "Letters notifying other parents of cases have not been found to curtail spread but often provoke itching and anxiety as a psychological response." The Scottish Government also has details of this policy, and good information on headlice in general (with some rather graphic pictures) on its website.

But if parents don't receive a letter, don't have their children's hair checked and don't know if they have lice, won't the problem just keep on going round and round, however vigilant some of us may be? 
All too often parents don't bother to check their children's hair, or it doesn't occur to them to do so. It might do if a letter/inspection occurred.

Of course, there are other, more expensive solutions. These days there are an increasing number of "repellent sprays". A new one (smelling strongly of tea-tree and lemon) has recently been launched by Vosene and another, more delightful smelling one, is sold by Nitty Gritty (who also boast a most magnificent headlice comb). It's difficult to know if they work or not, but as I can feel some parental paranoia kicking in, I am prepared to try the Nitty Gritty one on my daughter (I'm not so sure I want my son smelling quite so aromatherapy like). However, I can't believe that this is the only solution.

I have a feeling that when it comes to headlice, educators don't necessarily agree with parents. Many of the parents I have spoken to say they would like to be told if a child does have nits (obviously without identifying them), so they can check hair and take precautions. But those in "charge" seem happier for us not to find out - official advice is not to keep a child off school, even though it might be wise for their hair to be deloused before sending them back.

Section 525 of the Education Act 1996 does say that if a parent refuses or neglects to treat their child, including treatment for head lice, then they could be guilty of an offence, but this would clearly be a last, and horrible resort. Still, the spokeswoman for the DCFS did tell me that "If a parent knows of a child who isn't being treated, then we would suggest that they contact either the school, the school nurse, the local PCT or the local authority.  What action to take, however, would be a decision for the local authority."

The buck is being passed, but it's the parents - and their itchy children - who will suffer.

Let us know your tips for avoiding headlice, and read Caitlin Moran in Alpha Mummy on learning to love your nits!

Read School Gate:

On applying for primary school

On why British parents are too lax when it comes to sending their ill children to school

on Seven things we shouldn't tell our children about school (in case it makes them feel stressed)

Why school lotteries should decide school admissions

why class size matters.

Comments

[ozzie reader]

One school in our area had a set of volunteer parents to check hair and treat if anything was found. This was with the full permission of all parents in the school. It was a great idea, and they had the lowest rate of head lice in the area

[Becky]

As a hairdresser, I'm constantly exasperated by parents who bring their children into the salon (or invite you to their home, as I'm mobile) and don't bother to tell you their child has lice. As if you wouldn't NOTICE!!

I'm a fastidious checker now, however many a time my younger colleagues haven't noticed until they've used their equipment, which then means disinfecting their whole kit bag and taking them 'out of service' for a few appointment slots.

Most of the parents, when questioned, admit they've seen them but they 'can't seem to get rid of them.'

Education is key, and I definitely think if we can send a child/adult home out of the salon for health reasons, schools should be allowed to also!

[abc]

Along with sending children with head lice home and suspending them until they are lice free. Schools should inform students and get parents to tell their children not to play with or go near pigeons. Along with other children, pigeons are the source of infections. I suspect that underneath the feathers of those birds lice thrive. They have trouble flying properly, which can result in a collision with a child causing the transfer of lice.

[cathy]

Make sure that you do the combing out in either very very strong indoor light (conservatory) or even outdoors. Poor light lets at least one or two of them hide,we shine torches into offending barnets as a final check....you will be amazed what has escaped your eagle eyes. BUT.. if you need specs to read then you also need them for the big comb out.... BELT AND BRACES. We do quizzes to pass the time

[H]

If all parents were equally vigilant, a nit nurse would be unnecessary... sad to say, however, that the few who aren't will continue the cycle

[Liz Hancock]

The return of the nit nurse isn't what's required here - it's an increased awareness of the Nitty Gritty products that'll win the battle against these fowl intruders!

Seriously, I had tried almost every product available on the market to rid my daughter of nits but they just kept returning. She loves her lovely long locks so cutting was not an option for me.

I then discovered Nitty Gritty on the internet and decided to give it a try, mainly due to it being a natural remedy. I couldn't believe the results. Admittedly the same painstaking routine is required where hours of combing are required. But the difference with these products is that the comb actually removes them, including the tiny unhatched eggs!

The 4 hour investment of combing through was well worth the pain, for me and my daughter. Since treating her 6 months ago she has been completely nit free.

I am so impressed that I have passed leaflets to all local schools and hairdressers.

Believe me this product range works. Every parent should have a supply in their bathroom cabinets. The ladies at Nitty Gritty certainly can't be making their money out of repeat sales like the other manufacturers that are so readily available and recommended by our chemists!!!!

[MM]

Thanks Sho, I was hoping so, but I'm sure I read on a previous blog that people are using it on their children. I read this really gross line about the chemicals 'pooling in glands'... yeurgh!

[Sho]

Don't worry - the Frontline comment was a joke.

(well, I took it that way...)

[MM]

I just looked up Frontline on the web after asking a pharmacologist about it. I found this website - granted, I only looked up one, but after what the pharmacologist said, I'm going to stick with the vinegar and nitty gritty comb.
http://www.checnet.org/HealtheHouse/chemicals/chemicals-detail.asp?Main_ID=884
In short, it's highly toxic for children and could well be carcinogenic. Permission to turn it into a spray was refused on the basis that it would be dangerous for anyone inhaling the fumes or coming into too much contact with it.

[LM]

Yuck, I'm feeling itchy reading all these comments. We had the nit nurse when I was at Infants School, and I think children were sent home until clear (this was in the '70s). Is it really that bad in Britain now? Crazy.

[Sho]

Whereas when my daughters caut them that time, they didn't scratch at all, although I saw at least one dead one floating away in the bathwater during a daily washing session.

My friend, who has bosy, simply shaved their heads. That's difficult with daughters - although one of mine did say she wouldn't mind if I bought her Dr Marten boots (real ones) to go with it. (the price put me right off that idea - it was cheaper to invest in a vat of conditioner and comb away daily)

[Gipsy]

ROFL! Thanks for the explanation Sho. As you might be able to tell, we don't have cats or dogs.

It is hard to tell with son - he has had a 'tic' since he was even smaller than he is now (he's 3) of rubbing or scratching at the back of his head when he's in deep thought or trying to work something out. My mother has the same 'tic'. I missed the first signs of a nit because of this - I didn't spot the little bugger in his hair and thought that the scratching was just his usual thing. Until it got more pronounced!

[L]

When I was at Nursery School in south Africa, a group of mothers would do checks once a month of every single child, and send home those who were infected. I remember getting nits once, and that was it.

[Catherine]

If adults working in offices were told that they were liable to catch irritating and distressing parasites from their environment, and that nothing would be done about it because it was up to them as individuals to protect themselves from being an unavoidable source of re-infection, none of us would come to work! Why do we allow children to be made miserable? Nits are not a minor nuisance that children should have to put up with; they are debilitating, and have negative effects on general health and on family relationships. When I was at school, nits were rare, and any stigma very limited. And is the embarrassment of being sent home really worse for a child than for it to suffer the misery of a long-term infestation?

[Koseto]

I was terrified when I first came in the UK. In my country we had the teachers checking our heads and it was quite embarrassing to be sent home with head lice. Since then I am a bit of a state when I hear/see head lice. My daughter goes to nursery and the first week she went there, she came back with the nits... It took me more than a month to get rid of them and since then she always goes to school with her hair in a tight plait and repellent. ..I still don't accept the argument some might have that this is 'normal' for all young children.. well, it is not for me, so I would welcome any initiative to keep the nits away from our house.

[Granny]

Sympathy for our grandchildren as they itched was trebled when I found I too was infected - for the first time in my entire life.
That moment, which will live with me for ever, was catching sight of the face of the man cutting my hair as he found a live louse in residence, and pointed it out to his assistant, with the tip of his comb.
The destructive effect of lice has been felt by all the family: who even avoided kissing one another, with an 'air-kiss' for fear of catching these beastly creatures. How sad is that!
"Bring back the nit-nurse" seems to be the answer.

[Sho]

haha @ frontline

(it's an anti-flea treatment for dogs & cats - you put a dollop of it on the back of their necks and it works its way around their bodies - effective for 1 month)

[Gipsy]

What is frontline?

We have found that regular condition and nit combs have been about the only thing that works. Fingers crossed, have been nit free for nearly six months now.

[Gerrie]

Is nobody going to mention Frontline...?

[Sho]

Granny, I think the answer is that in your/our day we had a nit-nurse (actually, I never met a nit-nurse in my life, but I know other people my age who encountered them regularly, so maybe my school was the exception). I had never seen a nit in my life until my daughters caught them - and I was astounded that we don't really have any effective remedy for them.

If I were in UK I'd definitely be mailing people: head teacher, governors, PTA, local council, local MP as well as Brown and Cameron.

[Angela]

Thanks goodness our schools are still, firmly, sending nitty children home immediately. My daughter's best friend, whose parents are well-meaning but unreconstructed hippies, regularly reinfected her class until the school sent her home. The parents are still mortified but they finally acted after possibly months of neglect.

[Graham Moore]

I am amazed at this. Primary shools are probably responsible for most of the common ailments such as colds and flu. This is because children of this age have no concept of 'personal space' as they indulge in games and ruff and tumble in the playground. In fact I understand that flu vaccines are to be targetted at school children in order to stop them taking the flu home to the family. Surely nit inspections fulfill the same health defence strategy?

[Michelle Westbury]

These horrible little buggers made my life a misery when my kids were at primary school. Nothing but daily combing would work. Tedious and time consuming. However, it can't help that school children are made to hang their hats, coats and scarves on little pegs that are so close to each other that all the children's clothes touch others'. What a handy bridge for the lice to find pastures new. Yum. My children's secondary school has enclosed lockers. And no lice.

[Granny]

We've shared a house with 4 grandchildren for 4 years, and during that time have constantly been re-infected with nits. The children have had every kind of anti-nit stuff poured onto their heads: the smell alone is enough to kill PEOPLE! but the re-infestation continues - some school-mothers just do not bother.
I wonder how much harm these chemicals actually cause in the longer term?
Our best and only effective solution was twofold:
[1] wash, shampoo-comb, conditioner-comb every few days;
[2] to wet-comb everyone's hair every night and every morning without fail. That way the nits / eggs / beasties were all combed out - and when the next lot arrived from someone else's head, we could catch them quite quickly.
PS my own children only encountered nits once in their lives before this! why is this generation so infested?

[Vanssa Kimbell]

David Cameron PAY ATTENTION this is an easy vote winner. Brng back the school nit nurse. it is Lunacy that this is allowed to continue.

SORT IT OUT. my daughter had nits 9 times last year.

I am going to email you about it!

[Janet]

I grit my teeth at the start of every term, my daughter now 11 has had recurrent re-infestations from a classmate over the past 2 years. The school said they can not do anything as its up to the parents. In the summer term she would come home with a case almost every week.
I soon gave up using the more expensive products because of the cost, of treating both my daughters. By soaking the hair in cheap conditioner and leaving it on overnight with shower caps would smother those lice not found in the combing.
During the worst periods it affected my physical behavior towards my daughters, I resisted hugging them right after school if their hair had come loose or if they scratched their head.
Wish every school had a policy of sending the child home; parents would have no choice but to treat their child.

[Heather]

I am a Nitty Gritty fan. Used every morning before school it signalled the end of head lice in our family.

[jenny]

Yes it is a laziness/bad parenting issue. As a teacher I have seen many cases where he poor child is driven demented by the itching and where 'strings of pearls' hang from each hair -visible to all but the parents apparently.
Its cruel to the children of the feckless that they are not protected by a caring society.

[Sho]

The point about putting everything in bags and letting the nits die is that if you let your child keep the soft toys/pillows/whatever, there is a chance that a nit that hasn't yet died (how long can they go without food?) might get back onto their head.

And actually, I've not had much experience of headlice/nits - we had them once and due to our immediate attention it wasn't much of a drama.

Certainly when I speak to friends in the UK I'm staggered at the amount of times they have to deal with this.

[LM]

Can't speak for all of the US, but the attitude at our school is identical to the one Sho described with exactly the same instructions.

Interesting that a couple of people mentioned vinegar - my mother says that's what they did when she was a child (in the UK).

[Helen]

Lice can't live away from hair, so what's the point of fumigating? Doctors in Germany must be very busy giving out Nit-free Scheine.

[Lisa]

I'm amazed that no-one has mentioned Hedrin yet. It's a non-pesticide method of killing headlice, by suffocating the little blighters in silicone. Combined with a Nitty Gritty comb it's the perfect solution. NG combs are different to other combs - it's the fine spiral grooves that do the trick.

Plaiting long hair does help - my daughter has caught headlice just once when they've been round her class 5 times.

[Sho]

Ah well, I'm not actually German.

Years and years ago I read about a comb which was battery operated and electrocuted headlice. But it was ineffective against nits. It was called something like the Robicomb.

[mumoftwo]

I also agree that the fine combs are great, the Nitty Gritty one sounds like the ones I got from Community Hygiene Concern http://www.chc.org/ as part of their Bug Buster kit. They are a charity and you can get the combs on prescription free if you get free ones, or for about 6 quid, I've got two sets at home, money well spent!

As for what ought to be done, our school decided that softly softly was going nowhere, with the same children coming back untreated all the time, so stern letters were sent out saying that anyone with nits would be sent home. That worked a treat, so it was obviously not being unaware or the cost of treatment that was putting people off, just laziness.

I also plait my daughter's long hair now. I was resorting to bribery for successful combing, as with long tangly fine hair, the combing process, even with lashings of conditioner, was a bit painful. No idea if tying it back will help, I guess so.

[whimsey]

Sometimes it's good to be German....!!!

Glad that Lice are Streng verboten,

[Sho]

Yet another reason I'm glad I'm in Germany. Their system seems draconian but it works: children with headlice and/or nits are not allowed to school until they have a certificate from their doctor to say that they are nit free. If it takes 2 weeks, it takes 2 weeks, but they are not allowed anywhere near school (and then the dancing school and other clubs will also ban them)

I was warned by our doctor that sharing scarves, hats and jackets ws a sure way to catch them in the winter.

But I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the other advice we get here (an official pamphlet from the local health authority distributed to all primary school and kindergarten children at the beginning of each school year)

That is: you have also to de-louse/de-nit their stuffed toys, bedclothes, mattresses, pillows, clothes etc. So for things like soft toys, cushions and spare bedding that can't go through the washing machine you can seal them up in strong plastic bags (rubbish sacks) and leave them in the garage or somewhere cool for 2 weeks. That way any lice or nits which hatch, will complete their lifecycle and die. You just then need to give the things a thorough beating to get rid of the bodies. (now that's a phrase I don't get to use often enough)

The other thing is that things that can be washed must be washed at at least 60°C. (not usually an issue in the UK, but over here we tend to was everything except towels at 30°C for the sake of the environment)

Finally, for things that can't be stuffed in a sack and left for 2 weeks - you can put the favourite teddy or something in a double plastic bag and put in the freezer for 24 hours.

We had one infestation - via a family who had been asked to leave one school because they had never checked their children - within a week of their 4 arriving at our little primary school half the children were off with nits. And it's for that reason that I'd welcome a nit nurse as well as the severe rules.

[Diana]

A teacher has a quiet chat with a parent after seeing mature lice crawling out into the autumn sunshine. The parent sends the child in with pigtails the next day, exposing a mass of eggs behind the ears (visible without the proscribed physical check). A week later, another quiet word. Of course, the parent says treatment has been carried out, but those lice are still sunbathing! The child can not be sent home, the process of treating it as an offence is incredibly unwieldy, time consuming and unlikely to succeed.
What joy!

[whimsey]

I don't know whether children whose hair is long have to have it tied back, or worn up, during school hours, but it should certainly be a requirement.

I have long hair, and I couldn't possibly do any work of any kind, whether physical or at a desk, without it tied back/up and off my face. Long loose hair is only for 'ornamental' not 'functional' times! Like high heels...

[Helen]

The nitty gritty comb is fab. My son and I got them earlier this year and didn't really need any expensive (or poisonous) potions, conscientious combing worked. But please don't condemn those who don't necessarily know their kids have them, only 1/3 of those with nits itch, and it can take up to 2 months for a person to get an itchy head. I often have an itchy head anyway because of allergies and I did ask my husband to have a look to see if I had nits and he said I didn't. Once I did the comb and conditioner trick I found them but wouldn't have even thought about it if I had not been nuch itchier than usual (and then a letter came home saying a child in my son's class had lice, so the penny dropped as it were). So I think reintroducing a nit nurse is the way forward.

[Jos Costello]

Vinegar! It dissolves the glue that holds the eggs to the hair. Soak hair in it (pay particular attention to behind ears and nape of neck), then wash hair and comb with Nitty Gritty comb and lashings of any old cheap conditioner. This comb is really the business even on my younger daughter's very fine hair, it catches the tiniest of baby nits too.
At present I'm combing weekly as a preventive measure, and after one outbreak over the summer holidays (holiday playschemes, anyone?) have only found the odd mature nit, then nothing more. It annoys me that my girls are picking up 'hitchhikers' though, wish all parents were responsible about this issue!

[Grad]

'Headlise is...' surely headlise are?

[starling]

Thankfully, my son's school isn't really into PC. They send letters home, and talk to parents personally when it's their kids who have nits. At my son's previous school they did neither.

[MM]

After shampooing with normal shampoo, rinse hair with cheap vinegar, leave on for a few seconds, rinse out, and the blighters start falling out or leaping out like lemmings. Then get to it with the metal comb. Works really well and you don't have to use strange chemicals.

[Albert]

Nit nurses prevent nits by finding them and notifying parents. Nits do cause embarrassment, anger, and a lot of hassle for Headteachers who are bound by the policies of the local authority.Many medical and educational folk feel that they know better, but parents get mad paying endlessly for potions which may not work... and welcome nit nurses. Otherwise no child has nits, no child is fat, no child cannot read, no child is naughty, no child steals, all parents are good and the moon is made of blue cheese. And society breaks down again.

[LM]

But Annabel, nits do happen in the States (I'm in the States) - it's just they notify parents & suspend the affected children until they can prove they're clear (like it was in Britain when we were children).

[Annabel]

Nits - the bane of my life! Only 3 weeks into the term and they've come back with them already after a lovely nit free summer.

Our primary school has a "mustn't upset anyone" policy towards nits which is a nightmare for those of us with friendly children.

I'd love to see some publicity about why nits are a problem.

1 How can a child with nits concentrate in class?

2 Why should my children have to be tortured weekly thorughout the term because other parents aren't made to take responsibility for their children?

3 The other children all know who the "nitty" kids are and avoid them - great for their confidence.

4 If a nit chomps on one scalp then moves over to chomp on anther scalp isn't there a bit of a risk of cross infection?

I'd love to see this tackled nationally. All the Americans I know are appauled that we have nits in the UK, they simply aren't tollorated in the states.

Regards

Annabel

[Jessica Harrod]

Both my daughter & I had headlice unknowlingly. I even went to the doctors because I had bites all over my neck & was told it was mosquito bites!!(unbelievable!) Anyway, I tried (& spent a fortune on) all sorts of potions from the chemists but in my humble opinion, forget it! The best thing I discovered was the NITTY GRITTY comb. I wasted my time on shampoos,the little white plastic combs etc, this one is the 'rolls royce' of all combs, it removes everything...even things so small you cant see. It is worth every penny. Meticulous combing is the only thing that really gets rid of these blighters! I would agree with a lot of the other people posting messages though...am VERY frustrated by the amount of parents who just don't seem to care whether their child has it or not. Schools should inform parents when their child starts school that the problem is rife & regular checking is the only way to keep on top of it. I was so NAIVE before we actually got them.I didnt even think about checking really. Perhaps schools could incorporate mentioning it in the new parents evening meeting??

[Shara]

I also have used the nitty gritty nitfree comb. I got mine for free on prescription from my GP. I have used all the different off the shelf chemicals and have found this to really help. Recommended.

[LM]

I remember those inspections - "Nitty Nora The Head Explorer" was what we used to call her (of course, I'm sure she wasn't called Nora).

Our pre-school doesn't have a nurse but does inform parents - we got a letter announcing the first case of the year last week - and all affected children are suspended from school until clear (the school checked everyone's hair when they found out & calls to send the child home immediately if they find extra cases). One of the teachers told me children are more likely to catch lice if they are "huggy" children. As my child only hugs her best friend (& vice versa) I'm hopeful she'll avoid most outbreaks.

But I did get thinking - does having long hair tied back in plaits / ponytails keep it more free of nits?

[Caroline G]

Our school has had a nit nurse until recently and as far as I know has been nit free for the two years my child has been there. This term she has been dispensed of and I heard yesterday we have an outbreak. Surely the aim is to eradicate or minimise infestations and surely if it ain't broke don't fix it. Bring back the nurse please.

[lisa silk]

I brought the nitty gritty comb etc after having years of trying to find something that works I am so glad I did the comb alone is the best thing out it really works I have been telling everyone I know about nitty gritty and telling them to tell every one.

[suzanne]

I bought the Nitty Gritty comb after trying a variety of methods: wet combing with a conditioner mixed with tea tree oil,dry combing with an electronic comb intended to zap the lice ( but not remove eggs), overnight products intended to kill the lice and their eggs, 10 minute comb-out products intended to kill lice and eggs....somehow, the little blighters managed to evade all methods and I could never be sure whether re-infestation was due to lack of diligence in the actual treatment or that my daughter had picked up a new batch of lice somewhere. Lice love her hair thick wavy hair while her sisters' straight shiny hair is less appealing to them. The only thing that has worked to date and does exactly what it says on the packaging is the Nitty Gritty comb! I use it once a week, thoroughly combing my daughters hair with it using any conditioner available - it doesn't have to be the 'aroma therapy scented' conditioner referred to above. Any will do! Even on boys!
I still find the occasional mature lice in my daughters hair, and these appear to be fresh arrivals rather than having hatched there as I have confidence that the Nitty Gritty comb removes the majority of eggs if combed thoroughly. Any lice which are freshly hatched and too small to be picked up in the comb can be pickedup in a later combing a week or so later and if caught before maturity are too young to breed so the infestation should be removed in a couple of weeks of combing. It does infuriate me that my daughter has suffered numerous reinfestations because there are some lazy parents who do not check, and I know of some who even allow an infestation that they are aware of to go untreated. A letter to alert parents to an infestation would at least prompt them to check and hopefully treat, and some parental education is required to convince parents that nobody is immune to headlice, they do not go away in one treatment, and even if you get rid of one lot, a fresh batch are only a head away. Anyway, how can blood sucking insects which move from host to host NOT be any kind of health risk?

[Gipsy]

I remember the nurse coming to look at us - not just our hair. And then a couple of kids would always disappear shortly after wards to spend a few weeks at health camp.

Nit comb and conditioner once in a while seems to be keeping things at bay. Haven't had an outbreak at my son's nursery for a while. But, then they don't always tell us.

[Joe Lewten]

A vote for the Nitty Gritty comb and Repellent. I've battled headlice for years and have found these two products to keep my children clear for the longest. We need to educate the schools though, it is all very well buying these products but the schools needs to show more support. Bring back the nit nurse!

[Michael Kirk]

I well remember the nurse coming to my school in the 40's but we used to call her the "dick nurse" in those days......

[mumofthree]

I think a nit nurse would be a great thing - too many parents don't check their children's hair and assume it won't happen to them. At least this way there can be a real check and then everyone can get sorted.

[whimsey]

Speaking seriously, I'm unclear as to why having a nit nurse actually reduces the incidence of nits in a school. After all, she doesn't actually treat the infection, does she? Just informs parents of it. But then they have to treat the nits. So why does being informed your child have nits by a nit nurse make you treat it rather than just checking yourself regularly and then treating them?

Is it a name and shame issue, or laziness on behalf of the non-checking parents?

I agree it's exasperating if you are a good parent and check and treat regularly, only to have your child re-infected by a bad, lazy parent who can't be bothered to check and treat their own children.

Must be one bonus, by the way, of being a Muslim girl with a headscarf!

[whimsey]

This is appalling! We can't have children labelled as being infectious, or 'nitty' or anything derogatory like that. Imagine the trauma that will haunt them the rest of their lives! Almost as bad as being called 'fat' for heaven's sake!

No, no, no. Schools, the Department of Education, the Department of Health must continue to protect children from the horror of such trauma and just pretend the whole thing doesn't happen at all.

Just like no child is fat.....