I think it is time for the elementary schools to put in lockers. Our family had never experienced lice until my kids went to school. This year ALONE my daughter had lice 7X in 6 mos. Now that it is summer.......NO LICE!!!!! Coincidence?? I think not!! It is an expensive cure and a pain in the butt with all that has to be done every single time it happens. There isn't nearly the lice problems in middle and high schools because our children each have their own locker. There coats/bookbags are not hanging next to someone elses for little aggrivating buggers to climb onto. I am totally fed up!! The BOE needs to do something because if it happens again this year; I have no idea what I might do (like go insane!!!)

If anyone out there has had luck with something to keep lice off their child, please let me know!!

Thanks for listening.

While this is worrisome and I do think this is an issue. Though I'm worried about why you are getting so many lice infections. This means there are kids out there being housed in some pretty awful and infested areas. Shouldn't we try to be nailing this problem down? It's obivous that these kids should be living a little bit better of a life.


Avogadro

I'm not sure if this still goes on over here in WV but when my daughter was in elementary school the school nurse would check all the students in the class if one came up with lice.And we used to always get the usual start of school paper about lice and not to share brushes,barrettes,etc.

When I went to school the nurse would check us periodically for lice, and I don't really remember that many people getting it, at least none of my friends. Maybe they don't do that in Maryland.

Ahhhhh yes. The lice check, one of those everlasting elementary school memories. I can remember the school nurse coming into the classroom, taking us one by one into the coatroom. They would run their fingers through our hair, messing up everyones hairdo. Its kind of funny when I think about that now (not about having lice, but the sight of everyone coming back out of the coatroom trying to straighten their hair out ). But do they still check for lice periodically in school like they used to? If not they should be.

Its something I think will always be a constant in schools. No matter if lockers are used or not. Kids play with each other to and that is the other main way lice transfers from one kid to another. Bring back more lice checks in school and things wont be as bad.

But also it's like Avo said,what kind of conditions are these kids living in if they never get treated?I know that the treatment costs money but you would think that parents would somehow get the money for it.

Most people go to stores like Kmart no matter what their fiancial situation, which is one place where they could buy lice shampoo and it's pretty cheap.

This is going to sound nutty, but I've used dog flea and tick shampoo on my daughter. The doc wouldn't give a prescription for Kwell, and I had no luck with Rid and Nix. My aunt is a breeder and swears by this, and it is cheaper and worked better than the human stuff. She got the bugs within a couple weeks of starting kindergarten. Luckily, we were in an apartment while our house was being built. Even then, I still spent a fortune on laundry, and trying to get everything cleaned. I can see why people with tight budgets may not be able to get rid of them. It was a lot of work.

I would never had thought of using Dog/Cat shampoo! I bet it was stronger stuff than Rid or whatever else they have out there.

First, I use Flys-Off Lotion insect repellent spray, let it set for 5 mins, rinse out. Then I use Zodiac Fleatrol flea & tick shampoo, lather and let set for 5 min, rinse, then shampoo again and rinse immediately. Of course you still have go through with the comb to get the eggs, but this techinique doesn't fry the hair like the other stuff. I think the important ingredient is pyrethrins. Just make sure you keep it out of the eyes.

You all are right, what kind of conditions are these kids living in?? I would like to know. My son told me that when the school nurse does the lice check she only picks up a couple of strands of hair and says "OK" and that's it. I found the lice on my daughter EVERY time...not the school nurse. After her infestation I made it a regular ritual to check her weekly. I called the school each and every time and told them somebody in her class was coming back to school without being properly treated for this to continue...I got nowhere. Obviously, I figured what was happening was the kid was getting treated but these parents must have not been doing everything else, laundry, sealing stuffed animals, etc.etc.etc. for this too keep going round and round.

Oh, mayo works well too but leaves the hair really oily.

Oh well. I guess I'm done rambling :-) Thanks for all the suggestions!!

My daughter missed many, many days of school while in elementary school due to infestation problems. I tried everything (at least I thought so until I read this forum! LOL).

Our problem was that some of her schoolmates were not being treated due to "religious reasons"

Here is what I found as our effective and safe treatment-of-choice:
There is a device called the Robi-comb. It is available, or can be ordered from most drug stores. Runs around 30 bucks. Check with the pharmacist.

Here is how it works; it is a small comb, like a nit comb, but is battery-powered to zap the bugs to death when they contact the tines of the comb. It only takes 12 days, once a day, and the problem is solved.

It is chemical-free, the only disadvantage is that the kids will feel a little tingle when the bugs get zapped, but my daughter was willing to put up with that in order to keep her long, thick hair.

I think it would be great for clinic nurses to have Robi-combs available for use for kids whose parents do not seem to care enough to tackle the problem, for whatever reason. I know it is annoying and sometimes difficult to get rid of lice, but is necessary (at least in my opinion!).

Hope this helps someone!

What religious reasons would cause someone not to get treated for lice? I don't think God wants us to be filthy and infested with bugs!