Chronic Lice on new student Help!

[Tree Frog]

I have a new student who will be coming to me in a couple of weeks. I know very little of her background, but one thing I was told is that she has been attending school despite having lice because she had too many absences due to the lice and became truant.

I have 2-3 other regular students in the classroom. We have a knot pillow, a really cool canoe, some huge pillows that get beat up, punched, kicked, slept on. The kids love all of these and I don't want to take them away, but I also don't want to transfer the lice. I also don't want to connect removing of any items with the arrival of the new student. 

The thought of lice squicks me out, but I will have a student who needs the same care as my other students. So what can I do? How can I prevent it on me, my other students, my aide? Any supplements I can take that would discourage them? What preventative measures can I take for the classroom? Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated! 

[Heartstrings]

Unfortunately the recommendations now are for kids not to miss school because of lice.  I don’t like that, but it is what it is.  
 

Maybe you can brain storm with the mom on some out of the box treatments?? Or see if you can get a professional nit picker to come help?  

[PeterPan]

It sounds like you have enough time to make covers for the huge pillows. Your local fabric store will have a vinyl type fabric that is not hard to sew, can be done with a standard sewing machine. I made my ds pillows like this for his calming closet, covering down pillows with pleather on one side, something cute and fuzzy on the other side. In your case fuzzy isn't reality. You can add back fuzzy later, and I would just go with the wipe down covers for now. It's a $10 solution for the whole lot of them, something any basic sewer can do. 

Let me think about the canoe and knot pillow. I'm drawing a blank. I think you could ask your OT or another teacher if you could *trade* with something they have that is also good sensory that wipes down. There are big huge weighted mat things that would have a wipeable cover. A trade could be good because then you could trade back. Variety is always good. Or trade the squishing for something else like a treadmill, a mini trampoline, a pull up bar. 

For small soft sensory, you could trade out the knot pillow for a lava light, a projection night light, twinkle lights. 

[Heartstrings]

You might also warn the other parents that lice is going around do they can be vigilant with checking.   It seems inevitable that the whole class will get lice at some point.  

[PeterPan]

In my naivete I'm surprised social services don't step it. My mom SHEARED my head when I was that age because I had lice. The lice wouldn't die and she poured so much on me (chemicals, vinegar, you name it) and stood there picking. Finally she cut my hair off. Not the nicest solution but it ended it. Or my mother was impatient. 🤣

I'm sorry this is happening. I'm thinking there are things that you can do and things that someone else handles. Your idea to keep your room welcoming while washable/wipeable seems wise. Is there a spray you can use as well? I dont actually know. Like would the yellow windex cleaner that kills every living thing kill lice?

[PeterPan]

https://www.joann.com/brown-faux-leather-fabric/19451053.html

Here's an example of what I have on my ds' pillows. Joanns runs coupons. 

https://www.joann.com/yaya-han-cosplay-green-high-gloss-faux-leather-fabric/19113182.html

Wow, look at this green!!! 

It's a start. Maybe you can find a bargain at walmart or something. It's not hard to sew if you take your time. I'd just sew it shut and not worry about zippers and all that jazz unless you like to. You could also buy encasing plastic and encase them and THEN put your wipeable covers over.

[PeterPan]

Googlefu is saying you might be able to do some sprays or to put your items in a HOT DRYER regularly. Obviously don't put pleather in a hot dryer, lol. That would be if you decide not to do the covers and if your big pillows are not washable.

[prairiewindmomma]

Depending on your state or district rules, you may not be able to warn other families about lice outbreaks. 

I would remove the items now.  If she isn't coming for a couple of weeks, there shouldn't be a connection to her arrival in your students' minds.  You are wanting to avoid head to head contact, and all of those items promote that.

AFA prevention goes, we used this daily: https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-Rosemary-Conditioning-Prevention/dp/B000O7JK0A/ref=asc_df_B000O7JK0A/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312053900131&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17217023437903481102&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032905&hvtargid=pla-564590968038&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=64725653400&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312053900131&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17217023437903481102&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032905&hvtargid=pla-564590968038

Dd had long, hip length hair at the time, and she was one of the few students that didn't get lice in the classroom.  We kept her hair in protective styles...buns, braids kept tight to the head, etc.

[EKS]

25 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

You might also warn the other parents that lice is going around do they can be vigilant with checking.   It seems inevitable that the whole class will get lice at some point.  

It seems inevitable that the whole class will be getting lice again and again.  I don't understand how this is fair to the other students and their families.

Edited September 16, 2023 by EKS

[Heartstrings]

18 minutes ago, EKS said:

It seems inevitable that the whole class will be getting lice again and again.  I don't understand how this is fair to the other students and their families.

Me either.  There was a school year I got lice over and over from having my gym locker next to a girl with chronic lice.  It was awful, I have insanely thick hair.  So many hours spent picking nits out of hair.  The next year, no gym, no lice.  

[Tree Frog]

49 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

You might also warn the other parents that lice is going around do they can be vigilant with checking.   It seems inevitable that the whole class will get lice at some point.  

I'm not sure how to share that info without implicating the little girl. From what I understand, she has had a fair amount of trauma and I want to avoid causing any more. 

[Tree Frog]

51 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

In my naivete I'm surprised social services don't step it. My mom SHEARED my head when I was that age because I had lice. The lice wouldn't die and she poured so much on me (chemicals, vinegar, you name it) and stood there picking. Finally she cut my hair off. Not the nicest solution but it ended it. Or my mother was impatient. 🤣

I'm sorry this is happening. I'm thinking there are things that you can do and things that someone else handles. Your idea to keep your room welcoming while washable/wipeable seems wise. Is there a spray you can use as well? I dont actually know. Like would the yellow windex cleaner that kills every living thing kill lice?

 

46 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

https://www.joann.com/brown-faux-leather-fabric/19451053.html

Here's an example of what I have on my ds' pillows. Joanns runs coupons. 

https://www.joann.com/yaya-han-cosplay-green-high-gloss-faux-leather-fabric/19113182.html

Wow, look at this green!!! 

It's a start. Maybe you can find a bargain at walmart or something. It's not hard to sew if you take your time. I'd just sew it shut and not worry about zippers and all that jazz unless you like to. You could also buy encasing plastic and encase them and THEN put your wipeable covers over.

 

45 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Googlefu is saying you might be able to do some sprays or to put your items in a HOT DRYER regularly. Obviously don't put pleather in a hot dryer, lol. That would be if you decide not to do the covers and if your big pillows are not washable.

I can do this, though my students will likely demand to know why they changed. The pillows are like 2 and a half feet wide and tall. W have a dryer at school, but I don't want to risk spreading lice to the special Ed  classroom I would have to go through to get to the dryer. And I don't want to bring them home for the same reason. Covering them send like the easiest way to go. 

[Heartstrings]

23 minutes ago, Tree Frog said:

I'm not sure how to share that info without implicating the little girl. From what I understand, she has had a fair amount of trauma and I want to avoid causing any more. 

We always just got a generic note home when I was in school.    “Lice has been detected in your child’s grade.  Please be on the look out.”    Maybe add some tips on preventing it, like tight braids, using gel or other products, etc.  

[cintinative]

I'm not sure how appropriate this is, but my SIL had a student with lice and she actually cleaned and picked her head herself after school with grandma present. I am not sure how it was handled at home though--I assume you could just reinfect yourself? I think in my SIL's case the grandma just didn't quite understand how to do the nitpicking, so that was really all that was needed.  

[Tree Frog]

4 minutes ago, cintinative said:

I'm not sure how appropriate this is, but my SIL had a student with lice and she actually cleaned and picked her head herself after school with grandma present. I am not sure how it was handled at home though--I assume you could just reinfect yourself? I think in my SIL's case the grandma just didn't quite understand how to do the nitpicking, so that was really all that was needed.  

I'll confirm later when we have a staffing, but it sounds like home is where she is reinfected.. 

[Jaybee]

37 minutes ago, Tree Frog said:

I can do this, though my students will likely demand to know why they changed. The pillows are like 2 and a half feet wide and tall. W have a dryer at school, but I don't want to risk spreading lice to the special Ed  classroom I would have to go through to get to the dryer. And I don't want to bring them home for the same reason. Covering them send like the easiest way to go. 

If the kids ask about it, I think a simple and true answer could just be, "I decided we needed something easier to keep clean, and this way, we can just wipe them off!" They might complain that they aren't as soft, but you can still move it back to the cleanliness factor. Really, it's more sanitary anyway.

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, Tree Frog said:

I can do this, though my students will likely demand to know why they changed.

Multiple options it 

1) You're a woman and women like to change things

2) We're working on dealing with flexibility. Autism can be very rigid and we need to practice dealing with change. We're going to change the colors of the pillows. We're going to rearrange the rooms. We're going to play FLUX every day till you agree change is ok. (I'm not saying go that far, haha, but it is ok to say you're working on handling change.)

3) They were worn out.

4) It's a holiday and we decorate for the holidays.

5) There weren't enough pillows for all the students so we're ADDING a pillow and freshening everything so they match.

Somewhere between truth and useful lies. Like think up the lie you need and make it become the truth so it's no longer a lie. 🤣

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, Tree Frog said:

I'll confirm later when we have a staffing, but it sounds like home is where she is reinfected.. 

Well that was obviously the answer but it's still gut wrenching.

[KSera]

4 hours ago, Tree Frog said:

I can do this, though my students will likely demand to know why they changed.

You could truthfully say that fall and winter illnesses are starting to circulate and you want to be able to keep the pillows clean for everyone (both statements being true). 

[lmrich]

I had a student with  chronic  lice  once. She was only  one of two white girls in my class. The other girl got lice just twice. (My other studeents typically wore their hair in  braids). I think the music  teacher got  lice from her,  too. 

I  was pregnant at the  time and really  did not want lice. I kept my hair in a  ponytail and sadly avoided hugging her. We isloated her coat  and backpack.(if you only have a few students  this is not  too hard; I had 32 students; she left her coat in the halllway and I put  it in rubber bin when the kids weren't  looking -  but I am sure  they all knew  what was going on)   I also  made sure she did not sit next to the other girl with long unbraided hair. I removed all soft pillows  etc... I  had beanbag chairs with that  plastic -y coating. It was not a big deal; I  was always  changing things up anyways. 

After the third  or fourth  time, we got the social worker involved. Grandma came to  school and  was  educated. The  litle  girl started  wearing  braids  and  looked like she had greasy hair (which lice don't like), so I think   Grandma was  putting sometthing in  it. She  still had  lice on and off for  the year, but  the  social worker always dealt with and  got  her the shampoo and stuff. And a letter always went out to the whole  class each time she had it. 

[sweet2ndchance]

Younger dd got lice twice in first grade and after that I made sure her hair was styled with hairspray everyday. She never got them again.

As far as getting rid of them, OTC lice treatments never worked for us. A mayonnaise hair mask overnight and then a vinegar rinse in the morning. Then daily combing with a nit comb and vinegar in a spray bottle. Once they were gone, I would do the combing with vinegar spray about once a week during the school year.

For transporting things to the dryer with spreading the lice, use trash bags. Gather everything up in the trash bag and then carry it over to where the dryer is.

[Melanie32]

When I taught pre k we had a little girl who  constantly had lice. Back then they weren’t allowed to attend school if they had lice so we had to constantly send her home. It got so bad that I had to check her head before her mom could leave her in the mornings. We had so many blankets and pillows and stuffed animals in our classroom that it would have been next to impossible to treat them all regularly. 
 

I wore my hair in a bun and kept it sprayed with hair spray religiously for a couple of months and I never caught it. Through research I learned that lice rarely infest blankets and pillows and such. They prefer to stay on their host. They are most often transmitted through heads touching and through sharing hats and brushes and other hair accessories. 
 

Once the child with lice finally got rid of them, we didn’t have any problems with other students catching them through items in our classroom. 

[Innisfree]

14 hours ago, Tree Frog said:

I'm not sure how to share that info without implicating the little girl. From what I understand, she has had a fair amount of trauma and I want to avoid causing any more. 

This might not be appropriate, depending on the relationships between the families of your present students, but perhaps you could send out the generic “lice have been detected in our grade/class” letter shortly before the new student arrives. If the parents of the present students are talking frequently, they might figure out it’s actually the new girl. If they don’t talk together, though, it would be less likely to be associated with her.

[Murphy101]

Idk. I’m itching just thinking about this. 

I’m livid that schools no longer are require being nit-free.

But also. I’m going to be frank that treat lice can be very time consuming and expensive, and for people that already do not have time or money to spare, this may genuinely not be possible for them effectively treat, especially repeatedly.

And social services will do nothing bc technically lice and bedbugs are not considered a health danger.  Now I know all of us reading think that’s nuts but since they do not tend to transfer dangerous diseases, that’s the view of most health and child welfare depts.

A friend last fall was literally in tears nearly the entire semester bc they were treating their two girls and the house and everything and were just miserable with scalp abrasions from scratching until they bled and it didn’t matter bc no matter how much they would think they’d gotten rid of them. 2 weeks later the scratching would start again. Maybe with some classmate first but it always came back around. And in the mean time she felt disgusting and ashamed and isolated and broke from spending money they already didn’t have bc she didn’t want to go anywhere she didn’t have to but school and work were places their family had to go to pay the mortgage and buy food same as everyone else.  It was awful but the most awful part was the school policy that perpetuated the problem.

I just feel horrible for people in these situations.  Our whole family no joke at all got PTSD dealing with bedbugs many years ago. And I’m sure my friend’s family has traumatic emotions with lice too.

I just can’t understand how it could ever be reasonable for the community to have policies they permit such infestations.

[Heartstrings]

All of the store bought shampoos and stuff are worthless.  The lice had immunity to all of that when I was a kid.  You really have to look at more of the old wives tales, I used the sleeping with mayonnaise under a shower cap technique on the theory that it suffocated them, and it worked well, was cheap and no chemicals.   Now they have electric nit brushes, which I wish they had had when I was little.   The brushing is the most important part, but it’s so time consuming and would be nearly impossible for an elderly person, anyone with arthritis or poor eye site.  Ugh, lice is such a hassle.     

[Terabith]

When my kids were in fourth and sixth grades, they got lice three or four times in the same year.  It was awful.  OTC shampoo did absolutely nothing; we had to get the prescription stuff.  And it required combing everyone's hair for days, including mine and our housemate's to make sure we hadn't contracted them.  The last time I shaved my head because I just couldn't deal with it any more.  If it wouldn't have been abusive (and also against their school's dress codes), I would have shaved my kids' heads.  It was so awful.

[Starr]

Cetaphil soap is my favorite treatment. I’m having trouble linking directions . It’s easy as far as these things go and non toxic. 
i was a school nurse and when the lice arrived my head itched for months just thinking about it. It generally started from going to camp. 
 

[Tree Frog]

21 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Depending on your state or district rules, you may not be able to warn other families about lice outbreaks. 

I would remove the items now.  If she isn't coming for a couple of weeks, there shouldn't be a connection to her arrival in your students' minds.  You are wanting to avoid head to head contact, and all of those items promote that.

AFA prevention goes, we used this daily: https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-Rosemary-Conditioning-Prevention/dp/B000O7JK0A/ref=asc_df_B000O7JK0A/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312053900131&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17217023437903481102&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032905&hvtargid=pla-564590968038&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=64725653400&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312053900131&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17217023437903481102&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032905&hvtargid=pla-564590968038

Dd had long, hip length hair at the time, and she was one of the few students that didn't get lice in the classroom.  We kept her hair in protective styles...buns, braids kept tight to the head, etc.

I had another person recommend this to me. Did you spray it on items or hair? 

[Tree Frog]

5 hours ago, Innisfree said:

This might not be appropriate, depending on the relationships between the families of your present students, but perhaps you could send out the generic “lice have been detected in our grade/class” letter shortly before the new student arrives. If the parents of the present students are talking frequently, they might figure out it’s actually the new girl. If they don’t talk together, though, it would be less likely to be associated with her.

I really like this idea. The parents aren't in contact with each other at all. 

[Drama Llama]

21 hours ago, Tree Frog said:

I have a new student who will be coming to me in a couple of weeks. I know very little of her background, but one thing I was told is that she has been attending school despite having lice because she had too many absences due to the lice and became truant.

I have 2-3 other regular students in the classroom. We have a knot pillow, a really cool canoe, some huge pillows that get beat up, punched, kicked, slept on. The kids love all of these and I don't want to take them away, but I also don't want to transfer the lice. I also don't want to connect removing of any items with the arrival of the new student. 

The thought of lice squicks me out, but I will have a student who needs the same care as my other students. So what can I do? How can I prevent it on me, my other students, my aide? Any supplements I can take that would discourage them? What preventative measures can I take for the classroom? Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated! 

Am I reading this right that you have 4 kids in your class?  

Could you set up some stations, in 4 different corners of their room and then rotate week by week, and clean whatever came from the kid with the lice really well (so one thing a week)?  Lice only live a day or two off a human host, so you could clean it on Friday and even if you missed them they probably wouldn't  last the weekend.  

That way the kids would still have the sensory experiences and the coziness, but wouldn't share.

[Tree Frog]

1 hour ago, Starr said:

Cetaphil soap is my favorite treatment. I’m having trouble linking directions . It’s easy as far as these things go and non toxic. 
i was a school nurse and when the lice arrived my head itched for months just thinking about it. It generally started from going to camp. 
 

I had never heard of this. Thank you. 

[prairiewindmomma]

16 minutes ago, Tree Frog said:

I had another person recommend this to me. Did you spray it on items or hair? 

Hair. This brand has a shampoo, conditioner, and spray on leave in conditioner. We found with time that the spray on leave in conditioner was sufficient. Lice supposedly don’t like the smell of rosemary and the like. And, fwiw, the above posts mentioning a lot of treatment options as being ineffective is correct, IME. Mechanical removal is your best bet should you get infected. Most infection does come from head to head transfer, but constant reinfection at home suggests bedding or mattress or towel contamination….hence my concern about classroom pillows and other places where heads touch. Lice cannot hop or fly, but they are adept crawlers.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

This is the Cetaphil lice protocol: https://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Head-Lice-with-Cetaphil

It’s the same idea as the mayonnaise one, but Cetaphil is ph neutral for sensitive skin and less greasy.

Edited September 16, 2023 by prairiewindmomma

[PeppermintPattie]

I have read on fb teacher groups that tea tree oil shampoo is effective if you think you've been exposed to lice.

[Heartstrings]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

This is the Cetaphil lice protocol: https://www.wikihow.com/Treat-Head-Lice-with-Cetaphil

It’s the same idea as the mayonnaise one, but Cetaphil is ph neutral for sensitive skin and less greasy.

I wish we had heard of that.  It’s so gross washing Mayo out of your hair.  I think it’s interesting that this protocol recommends drying it onto the hair then sleeping with dry hair. I would think wet would work better for suffocation.  Dry is more comfortable though.   I do appreciate that it recommends repeating twice after exactly 7 days.  That part is crucial.  

Edited September 17, 2023 by Heartstrings

[Emba]

If she’s getting reinfected at home, it could be that others in the household also have lice ( but don’t know it or treat it), or relatives/friends they see often.

 When my kids had lice in early elementary it was nerve wracking. For two weeks I was using the little zapper comb and then the nit comb on all three every day, and daily running pillows through the dryer, washing jackets and hats, etc. Luckily they didn’t get reinfected once we got rid of them, or I might have lost my mind.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Emba

[prairiewindmomma]

4 hours ago, Heartstrings said:

I. I would think wet would work better for suffocation.  Dry is more comfortable though.   I do appreciate that it recommends repeating twice after exactly 7 days.  That part is crucial.  

Wet hair allows the lice to still move. The drying method essentially bakes them in place. Really gross, but essentially they are covered in a thick lotiony soap which you bake into a shell around the lice with the hair dryer. It suffocates them and they can’t crawl away. The drying is the magic.

[busymama7]

We got lice once when I had 6 kids the oldest being 11.   The youngest was 6 months and bald and the only one who didn't have them.   The thing was we were sick and had been laying around on couches and such and I hadn't done the girls hair so didn't see them 😔. Once we were better and I was combing and parting their hair to braid it I saw them but by then it had spread.   We did the commercial products and washed everything and sprayed the couches etc. They came back.  I bought a metal lice comb and we washed and combed everyone's head for 2 weeks every single night.  It was tedious but we would play a movie and just get it done.   It is so easy to miss one with cleaning etc that the removal every day was the only way.  It worked and we haven't caught them since. 

For your classroom, I don't know what to do but I would remove soft things like pillows and also arrange the schedule in such a way as to not encourage close play between students.  You could probably get rid of them on her if you could get permission to comb every day but if others in the household have them too then that won't work 😞