Dcb may have head lice?

Parent mentions that they thought their 2 year old may have lice... They did not see adult lice, just possibly nits and they were not sure if they were nits or dandruff. They treated both him and his kindergarten age brother with a medicated lice treatment and will do so again in 10 days according to the instructions. I am watching dcb VERY carefully as I do not want this to spread especially before Christmas!
My policy states that they must stay home if they have severe itching or infestation due to lice or scabies. I have noticed a little bit of itching on the scalp but it could be coincidental or due to irritation from the treatment?
What do you do and what is your policy? I realize there is not much more dcp can do besides the treatment. Should I have insisted he be at home or is there danger of transmission after the treatment? Or is he now fine as he has had the treatment?
This is my first experience with lice as a parent and provider.
TIA!

I would be more worried that the DCB has been in your home leading up to/prior to the "suspected" head lice.

You should be checking yourself, your children and any other children in your care, and advising those families... in addition to cleaning EVERYTHING!

Did you check yourself? If nits are present the child shouldn't be there! My daughter had it once and she got it from just lying on the same carpet as an infested friend. It's a pain to get rid of. They do look like dandruff (grayish white and small like a grain of sand) but are hard to move off of a strand of hair. They can still be transmitted after treatment if any at all are left.
If he does have them wash everything you can in HOT water and put stuffies in a airtight bag for 2 weeks so the lice can't survive. As a precaution I'd wash hair with shampoo mixed with tea tree oil as it's a natural anti-lice treatment.

I just checked him and didn't see anything but a bit of dandruff. From what I have read nits don't come off easily like dandruff.
I'm wondering if the parents know that he had it and are saying they weren't sure...
Yuck. I will be sanitizing and washing everything that his head came in contact with!

Lice like warm places so you'd be more likely to see them behind the ears or at the nape of the neck. I don't envy you the cleaning but at least you'll be reassured!

It sounds like the parent just treated some dandruff... which will probably make the dandruff worse.

I don't allow the kids in my home until all lice or nits are gone. Once they treat, they have to physically remove all of the nits still.

NO WAY. Child would not be allowed into my home until lice is gone and treatments are all finished. Luckily I haven't had to deal with this issue at all and hopefully never have to.

I could be wrong as it's been years since I've dealt with lice but cleaning and disinfecting your home will not kill them. The bedding, stuffies, pillows etc will need to be washed in hot water. I also think I remember being able to put things like that in garbage bags and keep outside in the winter for a week or two and that will kill off the lice? Bring back in and give a wash in hot water.

Lice re-occurs usually because the hair is treated but the home isn't. It's a pain in the butt to do all the cleaning but it's needed. I would keep all extra bedding and stuffies away until the lice is gone for sure.

Update....
After I thought about it some more I called dc mom to find out what was really going on. She said yes they did find nits in dcb hair last night so they treated it. Dad had not quite told me everything. Turns out older brother had this on the weekend and the parents did not think to check the 2 year old until last night. So he was here all day yesterday and the dcps did not think to let me know that big brother had lice on the weekend! I was livid and told mom they had to pick up their son. She thought since it had been treated that he was no longer 'contagious' for lack of a better word. I said yes, you need to keep him home 24 hours to check him And make sure all the nits are gone. Then... Oh the nerve... She asked if I could come pick her up from her work and take her and her son home as she does not have a vehicle and dad does not want to be interrupted at work!! I was so mad I told her I would call her back. In the meantime I guess she called dad and told him and dad called me right away and offered to come get dcb right away.
Wow. I'm still mad at mom's nonchalance and the nerve to ask me to drive her. It may be a cultural thing but NO you can take a taxi and come get him! Not my problem! Dad was very nice and apologetic, he said whatever I want they will do, they really like me and don't want to cause any problem.
Now I am wondering if I should ask him to stay home tomorrow or what... I am washing everything today and checking myself and my kids. Will also wash with tea tree oil.
I will definitely be revamping my illness policy to include more info on lice and asking parents to be sure to let me know if any siblings have anything like this or communicable illnesses.
Ugh.. I am feeling so itchy now!!

My sick policy states:

"Head Lice and Bedbugs - I ask to be notified immediately if any member of your household has head lice or if you have bedbugs. Your child is not to attend daycare until after your home has been completely free of lice and bedbugs for the sake of the other children in daycare and my own home."

This covers the whole family not just the child. There is no way I want to have this in my house!

I feel for you! Just reading lice makes me itchy lol. That is pretty nervy to ask you to pick her up! Sometimes the things people ask/expect others to do is surprising lol.

I have it in my sick policy that if ANYONE in the household has lice that the child is to stay out of dc until the HOME is lice free. They are to also let me know asap so that I can let other parents know and we can all check our heads to hopefully decrease the spreading.

I have only dealt with lice in dc centres but from my experience most parents are embarrassed by it (which they shouldn't be!! Lice is common and not a huge deal. It's not "dirty" like some think). They were all very good at keeping their child home as they didn't want to be the family that spread it!! You are right though, some cultures just don't think of it as a big deal. I remember we had a girl working on an exchange program from Sri Lanka and her hair was covered with lice. I am not kidding, her hair literally sparkled when you took out her braid. In her country, everyone has lice as they have no treatments for it and it wasn't a big deal. Our director took her home and treated her hair for her and said it took days to get them all out!! There was a group of them and all the females got treated and all the males agreed to have their heads shaved!

I agree... Dcm tried to tell me don't worry, it's not harmful, and "it happens with children." That doesn't mean we LET it happen! I could not believe her attitude and that they didn't tell me yesterday that their older son had it on the weekend.
I will be allowing the child back tomorrow but will be checking him and will be emailing out a new policy tonight so that there is no confusion.
This is my home! Not a school or centre! I don't want lice in my home, simple!

Mom is right but like you said, we have the option to treat it and we should when others are involved. It can be very hard to get rid of if just one home doesn't get rid of it all but continues to send their child.

Lice itself isn't the big issue but rather all the cleaning and treating you have to do to get it all. That would be my concern.

Exactly. I have the responsibility to have a clean and hygienic home. Parents expect this. Now I have the additional chore of checking kids heads.

Does anyone know how long until we are 'safe,' ie, if there is no transmission to the other kids, how long to keep washing sheets and checking heads?

Once you have washed everything once you are safe in checking heads upon arrival. A week to 10 days usually as they suggest doing a second hair treatment 7-10 days after the first one which for most families means the closest weekend after the first treatment was done.

We have been through 12 months of having lice in our house off and on and so, I have educated myself on these persistent little critters. First, the shampoo. With pesticide will only kill and live lice, not nits. Shampoo alone will not get rid of lice. Second, the new breed of lice that infects us is resistance to the pesticides in lice killing shampoo. The only way you will get rid of lice is to invest in a good metal tooth comb (there is one on the market called Licemeister) and comb the hair every single day for the first three weeks. You will be shocked by how many combing sit takes to get every little bit out. The eggs are laid millimeters from the scalp an are almost impossible to comb out, but as the hair grows they become more visible and easier to remove. Use conditioner or olive oil on the child's hair to ease the nits out - this also very temporarily slows down any live lice making it easier to catch them with the comb. All members of the family should be checked and treatedwith daily combing. If you or your clients don't stay on top of this the lice will come back.
Next, wash all bedding, towels, etc and dry on high temp (the high temperature is what kills them). Vacuum any upolstry an carpets thoroughly. If a nit or live lice is on there and attaches itself to a scalp, you have another infestation. Bag all stuffed animals etc that can't be put in the dryer for 2 weeks.
Pass this information to your clients and tell all Of your clients that their child may have come into contact with headline and they must be checked daily to prevent an infestation. Tell them that you will also be checking the children at daycare and if you find anything they will be required to pick up immediately. Good luck!

The info gravy train gave you is excellent ..... My policy book states that children are not permitted back into care until after the second treatment (7-10 days depending on which treatment they purchase) and all nits have been removed and I have the right to inspect before admittance into care

I was up until midnight washing everything, bagging up toys, etc so hopefully we will have got everything. Apparently dcb only had the nits so hopefully no live ones fell in my house.
When I told dad this morning what I had done he seemed surprised that I had gone to all that work. I really hope they have done the same washing at their house. Talking to mom last night, sounded like they had.
I have been checking all the kids and so far, so good. My head still feels itchy though. Yuck!
New policy goes out tonight.
Thanks everyone for your advice.

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Originally Posted by AcornsFalling

I was up until midnight washing everything, bagging up toys, etc so hopefully we will have got everything. Apparently dcb only had the nits so hopefully no live ones fell in my house.
When I told dad this morning what I had done he seemed surprised that I had gone to all that work. I really hope they have done the same washing at their house. Talking to mom last night, sounded like they had.
I have been checking all the kids and so far, so good. My head still feels itchy though. Yuck!
New policy goes out tonight.
Thanks everyone for your advice.

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Just so you know you cant have a nit without and adult. a nit is an egg which is layed by the adult louse. so the boy had to have at least one adult in his head in order to have nits... the reason I ban them from my house until after the second treatment is because it takes 10 days for a nit to hatch so if they miss even one nit it starts all over again .....a louse cant live off the body for more then 2 days and they don't live on pets so as long as you vacuum a few times to make sure you got everything and bag the stuffies and anything you cant wash for two weeks. im sure youll be golden ...just keep searching heads for a few days.

I had a case of head lice last year.. Actually went into a head Luce clinic and got myself and son all cleaned up. Washing your current clothes stuffys is okie, but live cant survive off the human. Head for more then. 12 hours or so, so a good vacuuming of the house/couches/carseat and needing just once shoukd be fine. I'd look up online a bit, they have lots of good info! Definetly put stuffys and things in garbage bags for a week so that the Lice die