Should we have nit nurses back in schools?

Question

I know there was alot of hear say that they were to rough etc...
But these damn things are a nightmare, they are like some superbreed that just won't go away. 4 times this week my son has come home with them!!!
Everytime i get him clear he goes to school and the damn things are back by the time he gets home, i always check all of my kids hair every day, do some parents just not bother???
It must be so uncortable for the poor kids, i say we need the nit nurse back because at least she/he told the parents of the kid/kids who had them

Answer 1

I totally agree with you we need the nit nurse back NOW!!!!!
I am sick to death of my kids getting these dang pests.
People like us check our childrens heads everyday but they still come home from school because there are still mothers out there who do not check their kids heads , there have been several occassions when i have forced the school to do a full head check on every pupil by calling in the enviromental health people, but still some mothers just dont get the idea that these things are immune to most lotions out there for this epidemic ad the only way to control is nit combing using conditioner every night ! Perhaps we should have every mother in the country to sign a petition and march on downing street they need to recognise this is not a small problem its an epidemic !

Answer 2

Some parents just can't get rid of the damn things; I don't know if nit nurses would help. It's supposed to be easier with boys; apparently the nits don't like testosterone.

Your problem seems to be re-infection, so at least you are able to get rid of them!

I couldn't get rid of the blasted things from my daughter's head for years, but I have now - with the Nitty Gritty comb. It has very fine teeth, which strip the eggs off and so breaks the life cycle. You use it with conditioner, every couple of days for a fortninght. I tried those electronic nit combs and all sorts of lotions, but they don't work because they don't get rid of the eggs. This worked for us! I bought it on-line. £10.99 incl p&p.

Answer 3

Bring the nit nurse back for sure!I've been so lucky my son has never had them but that's because I check him regularly,I always seem to be having letters from school warning us they are about! My friend has the same problem as you with her 3 kids,they always seem to have them and it has cost her a fortune in lotions that don't really work,the only thing that does for her is the conditioner and comb method.

Answer 4

I agree - there are TOO MANY parents who either dont bother or maybe dont treat the whole family and are constantly infested with nits. Bring back the nit nurse and make the same rule that kids stay home till clear !!! xx

Answer 5

Best thing to do if there's such an epidemic is to keep the kids from school for a week and wash them well, using anti-nit products.
Just don't shave their heads, cut it short if you think but don't shave it, it's stigmatising.

Good luck.

Answer 6

absolutely my daughter has long hair to her bum and shes had them twice this year no matter what i do .I plait her hair and she still gets them Ive spoken to the head teacher about nit nurse and we even done a petition to get nit nurse back but all the cut backs they have not got the money to fund it, but at our school there are so many foreigners who don't speak English and you can see they are running alive with fleas but still nothing gets done !!

Answer 7

I AGREE WITH YOU,IT IS A MAJOR PROBLEM. THE NIT NURSE OR NITTY NORA AS WE CALLED HER,KEPT THINGS UNDER CONTROL, IF ANYONE HAD THEM THEY WERE SENT HOME,AND NOT ALLOWED BACK TILL THERE HEADS WERE CLEAR. THE TROUBLE WITH NO NIT NURSE IS, NOT EVERYONE LOOKS IN THERE CHILD'S HEAD.

Answer 8

Yes thy should bring back the school nurse,BUT thy wouldn't have to if all parents checked there children properly every day

Answer 9

I think they need them from nursery age. My two year old caught them although I suspect they were from her 15 year old cousin, and although I treat her hair immediately and warned everyone she had been in contact with, she got them again a week later.

Answer 10

Your asking for a level of commitment to children that a lot of parents don't or won't or can't have. These are the same parents that are leaving their children home alone to play video games and watch movies that are much too adult for the children to see. These are the same parents who "had no idea" that their child was in a gang or planning to shoot up (or blow up) the school because they were "picked on". Parents need to be parents 24/7, not just after work or when it's convenient. If you can't agree to at least 18 years of being on duty and in charge 24-hours a day, then don't have kids.

As far as the lice, it's a common problem in any close public environment. The easiest cure I found when my children came home with it was:

Step A -- remove ALL stuffed animals and anything not washable from your child's bed. Remove ALL throw pillows, lap blankets, ect. from your living room. Put ALL of this stuff into black plastic trash bags, and store it in your garage for the next month. Basically if you can't toss it in your washer and dryer, it needs to be stored. Realistically, you can't store your couch and living room carpet, but you get the idea. Do this for everybody and every room, no exceptions!

Step B -- wash everything that's washable in the hottest water possible, without ruining your clothing items. Dry them in the dryer at the highest heat setting possible, again without ruining your clothing items. Don't forget to wash hats, gloves, mittens, coats, jackets and such. Do this for everbody and every room, no exceptions!

Step C -- throughly vacuum the carpets, matresses, couches, chairs, etc. Anything you didn't store or wash gets this treatment! Take the vacuum outside and get rid of the bag immediately!! Spray everything you just vacuumed with lice/nit killer -- available in the health and beauty department right next to the "Rid" and other lice products. Again, do this for everybody and every room, no exceptions!

Step D -- soak EVERY comb and hairbrush in the house in a 50% solution of bleach and hot water. Or better yet, if you have an automatic dishwasher available ... put all of the combs and brushes in a mesh laundry bag and put them through a hot-water cycle of your dishwasher.

Step E -- set your child in the bath tub and soak their head down with olive oil. Yes, the same olive oil you cook with! Literally, sit them in the bath tub and soak their heads in the stuff. The oil coats the bodies of the adults and suffocates them. The oil also helps lubricate the individual hair shafts so the lice/nit comb will slide through easier without pulling on your child's hair.

Use the lice/nit comb to throughly comb through their hair, one small section at a time. Use paper towels to wipe the comb off after EVERY pass through your child's hair. Yes, it's messy but that's why they are sitting in the bath tub! When you have ran the comb through every single strand of hair on their heads, repeat the combing!

When you are 1000% sure that you have combed every single hair on their head with the lice/nit comb, have them wash their hair. It will take 3 or 4 washings in a row to remove all of the olive oil. When they get out of the shower, blow dry their hair -- the heat helps kill the little boogers, too. Then repeat this step for everyone in your home whether you see a "nit" or not -- you, hubby, and the other kids.

Repeat the entire treatment plan every week for the next 3 or 4 weeks because it takes about 21 days for the nits to hatch. Wash everything, vacuum everything, soak or wash all the combs and brushes, spray everything, treat everyone's heads. Once again, I'll say -- everybody and every room, no exceptions!

Now for an interesting side note ... the lice actually prefer clean hair over dirty hair. So getting lice is not a sign that your child is "unclean" or "dirty". Lice don't understand addresses or bank balances, so it's not a socio-economic problem related to one group of people. Lice also don't understand what church you go to or what the color of your skin is. They are, quite simply, a human paracite. They are not a feline or canine paracite, so you don't need to worry about "Fluffy" or "Fido" getting lice too. Lice are the human equivilent of fleas to your cat or dog, and just has hard to get rid of -- although fleas aren't as picky and will feed on any warm-blooded creature they come across.

Sorry you have to go through this. You will, of course, have noticed that I didn't use a product like "Rid" on my children. I didn't believe that putting a poisonous product on my child's head was in their best interest. I did an internet search for an "all natural" lice treatment, and came up with the olive oil treatment. It worked well on my 3 kids, and I've passed this treatment routine onto other parents with the same problem with equally good results. Whether you choose to use a "Rid" type product or not, you do need to repeat your treatment every week for 3 or 4 weeks because it does take up to 21 days for the nits to hatch. If nits hatch, they will start to feed and breed on your child's head -- and the problem will be back in full force, literally over-night.

Happy combing.