Need ASAP Advice - HEAD LICE!

I was sunscreening dcg age 4 about an hour and a half ago, and I saw that her head is covered in nits. I hve been calling, emailing, text messaging both her parents for 90 mins and nobody's answering. Is this an emergency? Should I call their emergency contact? I have three other kids here, and I am having to keep her separate from everyone else. It's not easy. She was sitting on my furniture this morning. She was laying ON MY BED yesterday during quiet time. :ohmy:

Also, her brother is in school full time. Should I insist he be checked and treated before returning? To complicate matters, tomorrow is their last day here. Should I say goodbye today, or accept them after treatment tonight? UGH. Help.

Hey Sally,

I personally would be calling the emerg. contacts...eww makes me itch...Anyway :S

This would be the last day of care for me, and I do not allow them back until its been successfully treated and 24 hours have elapsed.

I would be covering her head with a plastic bag. Get her hair up and get it covered. Then, I would try to keep all kids outside until parents show up.

Yes, I would call emergency contacts. I would also call all other parents and let them know. Give them the option to pick up, but I would be closed the following day for cleaning.

Lice is a pain in the butt to get rid of. I'd take a personal day to clean.

If tomorrows her last day then it seems like today will be her last day. I would ask for 24hours after treatment.

My worst nightmare... I'm itchy just reading about it.

I have contacted the other parents. Only one parent opted to remove their child. He was very understanding.

I finally heard from the mother. She said, "sorry, we've both been in meetings and just got this. Let me see if I can get someone to come get her". Ugh. That was 30 mins ago, and I've heard nothing from her since. I'm seriously freaking out. Just leave work and come get her already!

First .... She probably got it from the brother since he is in school ....they don't screen at school here in Ontario anymore and the health unit doesn't have an exclusion period anymore. My policy book says that the child us not permitted back until after the second treatment and depending on what treatment the parent buys it could be anywhere from 7-10 days.... And I get to check before readmittance. Since tomorrow us their last dag then yes they would be gone based on my policy. As for you and the other kids ...... Check all the kids heads as well as yours and your own kids .... You need to bag up all your stuffies/dolls ect ... Anything that can't be washed ...for two weeks.... Vacuum all carpets couches ect and wash your linens in hot water..... Lice can only live off the body for a short time (less then 2days) they do not live on pets.... You can close tomorrow if you like but as long as you or your kids don't have any lice then you don't really have to .... Any kids in daycare that have it must stay home and be treated .... That's how I would proceed ! Fun fun

I won't be closing unless my own kids or I have it too. I don't think it's necessary. Everything I have read says that you don't need to do any extra cleaning beyond washing bedding and vacuuming all fabric/soft surfaces. I'm so upset. I am exhausted, my husband is out of town, I have three kids of my own, softball games, and all this extra laundry now to do. :crying:

Her mom understands that they won't be returning. She brought it up, not me. Phew.

Hang in there, Sally. ((hugs))

three hours later...she's still here. :blink:

Good thing she wasn't violently ill or something. smh

that stinks. But lice don't live ofsite if not on human hair. Fleas are even worse because they live everywhere. Hugs to you, my dh is going out of country till tues, so I'm stuck with 4 kids and all the activities, it really stinks when one thing throws you for a loop, I completely understand.

GAH! :eek: I have no personal experience with this yet, or advice, but I am empathetic and am sending you virtual support and hugs!

Hang in there. :glomp: :flower:

Still there after 3 hours? Oh dear. I'd call mom and tell her that someone needs to be there within 20 mins or you're calling emergency contacts.

That's unacceptable. She's probably thinking it doesn't matter since its her last day. I would make a fuss.

momofnerds, yeah, they DO live off humans, for up to 48 hours from what I am reading.

She's gone. I honestly feel the biggest relief. So many issues. This was a sign, I think! lol

There really is no reason to freak out that much and especially if you saw it earlier. Think about where child was and what she was doing today and start there. There will be enough bodily fluids and skin cells around the house to keep them happy from travelling too far - gross to think I know but true. It requires contact for them to move so a good thorough vacuum and you should be fine.

Also it isn't the worst thing if your child does get it. Treatment is generally effective. It will come home from school a couple times in your child's career most likely.

Agree on the bagging of the head and that will also make the treatment more effective because it will suffocate some of them and they will start to loosen their grip.

Also if it is nits you see rather than lice itself that is even better as the nits are firmly attached to the hair and hard to loose around the house - it is the live lice that start the issue.

Before you go crazy and clean and disinfect EVERYTHING, keep in mind you only need to wash whatever has been in contact with the child's head in the last 48 hours. Lice and nits don't survive very long when away from your scalp. I have personal experience with lice, my son got it from school, and although a little gross at first, you get used to it. Make sure you notify all parents that their child has been in contact with lice and have all parents check their kids. If a lice or nits are found on a child, then they need to be treated ( with lice shampoo) and may return to daycare immediately after the shampoo (at least that's how the schools do it). They need to be retreated in 7-10 days. HOWEVER lice shampoos are only somewhat effective and shouldn't be relied upon 100%...I found the best way to get rid of them for good was to get a lice comb and remove the nits manually before they hatched.

On a side note though, I would not be impressed at having to wait three hours for someone to pick up. I have it in my handbook that parents need to pick up within the hour otherwise I call emergency contacts. Last day though so whatever I guess. Good luck ;)

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Originally Posted by playfelt

There really is no reason to freak out that much and especially if you saw it earlier. Think about where child was and what she was doing today and start there. There will be enough bodily fluids and skin cells around the house to keep them happy from travelling too far - gross to think I know but true. It requires contact for them to move so a good thorough vacuum and you should be fine.

Also it isn't the worst thing if your child does get it. Treatment is generally effective. It will come home from school a couple times in your child's career most likely.

Agree on the bagging of the head and that will also make the treatment more effective because it will suffocate some of them and they will start to loosen their grip.

Also if it is nits you see rather than lice itself that is even better as the nits are firmly attached to the hair and hard to loose around the house - it is the live lice that start the issue.

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It's a pretty big deal, actually, if my kids get them. When my daughter had it, it took me over six hours to pick the nits from her long, very thick hair. I consider that a big deal, and worth freaking out over. My kids are 13, 11 and 9. We've had lice before. And it is for that reason that I find it to be a really big deal.

What do you mean by "that much"? What was over the top about me wanting her parents to come and get their child who is infested with lice? What did I do wrong? Should I have just kept her here? Would you? I had her in the toy room, and the other little ones in my living room. It was difficult to keep them separated. So again, kind of a big deal.

Nits mean lice. I'm not sure what you mean that it's favourable to see nits. She wouldn't have nits unless she has live lice in her hair. She was FULL of nits. I'd venture a guess that she's full of lice too.

Yup your right Sally ..... If there's nits there's lice.... And if she's got a lot of nits then she probably had lice for several days. Hopefully you checked the other children in your care !!!! I think I would be furious if it took the parents 3 hours to pick up. I would have called back up as soon as I couldn't get ahold of the parents. It's even more maddening since they were leaving ... It's almost as if they really weren't concerned for you or your business since they were leaving anyway. I'm sure they cleared their desk before heading out. It would kind of rub me the wrong way!

Realistically Lice are just a nuisance. They don't carry disease. That said.... EWWWW! I would put her hair up and in a shower cap. Then take the day tomorrow to clean. Also change your sheets!!!

One of my dcks had pinworms a few weeks ago and I also clean and sanitized EVERYTHING. Even though everything I read talked about how lots of kids get it and it doesn't cause harm. Just yuck.

I feel your pain Sally, hopefully the rest of the week goes smoothly so you can get everything cleaned how you want it. Good luck!

I meant no need to disinfect everything. Just do a thorough vacuum and put anything stuffed she might have hugged closely in a plastic bag for a couple weeks or in your freezer. Any hard surface is fine. It is only the soft things like stuffies, carpets, bedding, that needs attention.

We've had lice here too and it was a huge PITA for me. I actually got them myself and have long, thick hair and was very tempted to cut it all off. I dread the next time I find a lice.

Our school board has a policy that if a teacher notices lice on a child they contact the parents but do not send the child home early. The rationale being that by the time there are enough lice/nits on a kid to notice, they've likely had them for a couple weeks so what's a few more hours. The child must be treated with an anti-lice shampoo and then can return to school 24 hours later if they are nit free.

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Originally Posted by Sandbox Sally

It's a pretty big deal, actually, if my kids get them. When my daughter had it, it took me over six hours to pick the nits from her long, very thick hair. I consider that a big deal, and worth freaking out over. My kids are 13, 11 and 9. We've had lice before. And it is for that reason that I find it to be a really big deal.

What do you mean by "that much"? What was over the top about me wanting her parents to come and get their child who is infested with lice? What did I do wrong? Should I have just kept her here? Would you? I had her in the toy room, and the other little ones in my living room. It was difficult to keep them separated. So again, kind of a big deal.

Nits mean lice. I'm not sure what you mean that it's favourable to see nits. She wouldn't have nits unless she has live lice in her hair. She was FULL of nits. I'd venture a guess that she's full of lice too.

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with that many visible nits mom likely knew she had it and that was why she avoided the phone. I agree, its a big deal and feel free to freak over it. its alot of work to go through kids hair espcecially girls with long hair. my dd got it many years ago and i spent hours going through her hair and did it twice a day for 2 weeks. each time i thought i had all the nits, next time i'd find a couple more. My best advice for getting rid of nits is to buy the licemeister comb and put some conditioner in the hair and leave it in. then go through the hair with the comb, its easier on the hair and doesnt hurt the child.