Head Lice at Daycare Centers?

Question

My friends child who is 2 has head lice. She goes to a daycare. Well, she has already treated her hair about a week ago and removed all the nits and lice. She said she got all of them out. Well, her child has been scratching her head alot and noticed that she has head lice again but not as many nits as there was before. This time there were moving lice. She treated her again last night and has noticed this morning that there were still some moving lice in her hair. She dont send her daughter to that daycare anymore. She stays with her grandmother. But she was wanting to know if she could get a different kind of treatment from the doctor and use it once she gets it. Also, she has already washed everything in her house that in washable. But the net says that she has to tie up all the stuffed animals in a airtight garbage bag for 2 weeks. She was wondering how long it would take to kill the lice and nits without being tied up and her daughter didnt touch any of them.

I dont think i made my question clear. It says to tie up stuffed animals, but why do that if they only survive on human hair.

Answer 1

Head lice don't survive because they are on human hair, they survive because they are on human skin where they can feed on blood from their host. This is their only supply of food and moisture.

Treating the house and toys for head lice is a piece of nonsense. If you check the medical journals for evidence of HEAD lice in the environment you won't find any at all. All the washing and scrubbing and bagging up toys is copied from a single paragraph on th CDC web site but it is not supported by any evidence whatsoever.

James Cook University tried to find head lice on the floors of schools known to be riddled with head lice and found ZERO on the floors and over 7000 on the children.

There isn't some instant cure from the doctor. You need to simple remove head lice and their eggs gently and persistently from the hair and it will stop.

The repeated cases of head lice described here are in fact the same one not being cleared up 100% and it take 2-3 weeks before the numbers rise again and you think they are back. The never left completely.

I have put a couple of references below.

Answer 2

Tying up the stuffed animals prevents them from getting to another place. If she just leaves them out (even without touching them there's a 90% chance the child will become reinfected.. If the child has long hair the probability of getting all of the lice out with one treatment is 0, If she can't control them they spread like fire through the entire family.. Thats why they won't let her back into school.. She may end up having to cut her hair, (make sure she bags that too) and if it comes to that have the mother wear a shower cap while doing it. They are nasty little things.. If you have to question wether or not to do it, then just do it.. And may I add, It is not the daycare giving the bugs to your child, it is the other way around.. Parents generally don't spot it.. It's the school who spots it and sends them home.If the parent does not treat it properly the school will not alow the child to return.. When a case is discovered at a daycare or preschool everything is disinfected thouroughly and notices are sent home to all of the other parents.

Answer 3

I think certain times of year bring out nits. Usually when it warms up there will be an outbreak at daycare/school etc. They are small wingless insects that do not jump. They can only crawl. Despite this, they seem to be able to infest fairly quickly due to their quick lifecycle.

The best way to treat headlice is with a cheap conditioner, olive oil or coconut oil. Completely cover your head/hair in it to that the lice slow down and eventually 'drown' in the stuff. Then get a fine toothed comb and comb out all the lice (and hopefully eggs). Lice are fairly easy to get rid of but the eggs are more tricky so repeat this every 7 days for 3-4wks to end the cycle.

Tea tree shampoo is a good 'preventative' shampoo and regular weekly checks should keep you lice free.

Answer 4

This is an ongoing problem with daycares. And it is to be expected. The day care should sanitize everything they own and tie up all stuffed animals that they have for at least 2 weeks. Lice do not jump, they crawl. Stuffed animals and bedding are HEAVEN for lice. There is no other way to kill them but to tie up the stuffed animals. The bedding should be washed in HOT water and dried at the highest heat for about an hour. One place that alot of parents forget to treat is their car. It is a breeding ground for them, and most of the time, that is why they keep reacurring. Make sure that the car is treated. You can spray the car, but unfortunatly, the lice will not die if left untreated. They will continue to keep growing and will not die. They will crawl until they find a CLEAN head to nest in. They prefer clean hair because the oil in dirty hair makes them slide off. The clean hair is oil free and they can attach much easier. Hope this helps!
** now I am scratching my head!!! haha

Answer 5

Pretend these are big dogs for a minute. If they're on a toy, laying eggs, will they still jump around and get into everything or will they just stay on the toys and die for no reason? Hmmm...

Also, if there were moving lice after treatment, the treatment probably wasn't done properly. Usually if there's something missed, it's the nits, not the mommy lice.

Answer 6

Head lice will survive on your pillows and blankets and combs and anything that your hair will touch (jacket collars and such). Head lice are hard to get rid of the first time around if you dont take all the necessary precatutions. Obviously if they are still coming back there is still something that is coming in contact with her hair that has the lice in it. check with the pediatrician on this though as i'm not sure of the ages for the lice treatments. But i've heard not to use them on children under age 4. So check that out.

Answer 7

Head lice cannot live on stuffed animals. Use a leave in conditioner as the conditioner dissolves the glue the nit is attached to the hair follicle with.

Answer 8

the best and safest treatment of head lice is to wash the hair and put heaps of conditioner in it. Keep the conditioner in overnight, 12 hours or so....and then wash it out and comb the nits out.

As for the toys, I am sure treating them this way would work to. Although my gp told me to wash them in the washing machine but to add a little eucalyptus wool mix to the pre wash...this works as a disinfectant and kills the nits on the toys, and sheets.

Answer 9

Beware of treating her with those lice medications they can be harmful or fatal especially to a child that young. Get one of those lice removal combs and use coconut shampoo,it works

Answer 10

You have to put the animals in a airtght bag or she will keep getting the bugs, because it takes 2 wks. for the eggs to die. also try using baby oil in her hair it suffocates the headlice, it may look gross but it works.