PA - Woman Charged For Sending Kids To School With Head Lice

[Clearly Confused]

You do not need a doctor to treat head lice. Why was the school insisting that she take the children to see a doctor?

Infestations are heck to get rid of, leave one little nit behind and you've got to start all over again. I just have a hard time seeing this as abuse or neglect.

I can see it as neglect. The kids in our school get sent home until it's gone and are checked when they come back. If the parent isn't doing what they should be doing to get rid of it then there is a problem. I say this because I have seen a neighbor of mine do this with her kids. She was a slob and never washed anything in her house so the lice never went away. The kids looked like nobody gave a crap about them. I can't imagine how much school those kids missed because of lice.

I know this is not a "dirty person" thing but if you do not wash and clean everything they will come back.

 

[Kellee]

My daughter had lice 2 or 3 summers when she was little. She'd go spend the summer with her mother and her mother's relatives and come home with lice. I'd go nuts cleaning everything. I'd make everyone in the family do the hair treatment (there were 6 of us); bag up the stuffed animals, wash everything in hot water; boil all the combs and brushes; use the spray on mattresses, upholstered furniture, car and van interiors; and vacuum and clean the carpets. The whole ritual cost me a small fortune - but it was worth it not having to worry about the bugs! All too often, people just treat the hair and neglect to treat all the other surfaces on which the lice might be and they just keep reinfesting!

 

[Eire]

One thing I will say about the refusing to pick them up bit, that school is located sort of out there. It's not in the sticks, but it's not on the bus line either. Some of the school administrators around here can be jerks sometimes when you tell them you don't have a car and nobody can pick up the kids. I can see her not having transportation being turned in to refused to pick them up quite easily. Or, she could have refused to pick them up. I honestly don't know.

I'm going to do a bit of gossiping with some parents and see if I can find some info on this woman.

 

[golfmom]

I can see it as neglect. The kids in our school get sent home until it's gone and are checked when they come back. If the parent isn't doing what they should be doing to get rid of it then there is a problem. I say this because I have seen a neighbor of mine do this with her kids. She was a slob and never washed anything in her house so the lice never went away. The kids looked like nobody gave a crap about them. I can't imagine how much school those kids missed because of lice.

I know this is not a "dirty person" thing but if you do not wash and clean everything they will come back.

Oh winteryns, I had a neighbor like that and she sent her kids to my house for a sleepover CRAWLING in headlice ... not just nits mind you. Her house was disgusting, but I'd never consider her an abusive or neglectful mother. Although, I was always leery going to her home, the stench would stay in my nostrils all day.

Anyway, I had to go to war against them a few times. They are not easy to get rid of, even in the cleanest of homes. And, frequently you can get re-infested over the stupidest things ... like forgetting to vacuum out all the car seats.

 

[Annie]

Has anyone read this without scratching their head? I doubt it. I can't hear about lice without scratching my head.

 

[KatK]

Here are some natural solutions purple text is my own words and notes, quoted black text is from the book.

Barbara Griggs (Author of The Green Witch Herbal Restoring Nature's Magic in Home, Health & Beauty Care.) says Maggie Tisserand's suggestion in Aromatherapy for Women works like a charm. Make *SURE* you have good quality, pure oils that have nothing else in them.

To 2 1/2 oz (75 ml) of oil (use bland almond or sunflower oil) add the following essential oils: 25 drops each of rosemary and lavender, 12 drops of eucalyptus, 13 drops of geranium. Section the hair carefully, applying the oil mixture to the roots all over the head, then carefully comb the oil all through the hair. Pile it on top of the head, then wrap plastic film tightly around it. Leave on for a couple of hours. Then shampoo and use a fine-toothed comb to comb out the dead lice. Repeat after 2 weeks.

NOTE: DO NOT BUY ANY TEA TREE OIL THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE OFFICIAL KANGAROO SEAL OF AUSTRAILIA. (Look on the side of the bottle, probably near the ingredients, it will be a hopping kangaroo looking right, with a circle of words around it.) It may not be properly processed, and melaluca (tea tree oil) MUST be properly processed, there are several synergistic components to it. Thursday Plantation is reliable, and sanctioned by Austrailia. It is what I use.

Tea tree oil is another effective treatment for lice. Use a tea tree oil shampoo boosted with 10-12 drops of the pure oil, or add 15-20 drops to an ordinary shampoo. Leave the shampoo on for 10 minutes, then rinse out, and repeat a week later.

I don't think she means a whole bottle of shampoo either, I think she probably means 2 1/2 ounces (75 ml) again for the above method.

 

[JBean]

Oh I have been through head lice with my kids bleck! I had to do the whole carppy treatment on my own thick head of hair and that was a joke. There must be mnore to the story though because this is just bad manners not a crime. Why don't they just call CPS and have them do an investigation?

 

[JBean]

Some people think only people with dirty hair get head lice, when in fact the opposite can be true. This article states that lice love clean hair.

http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/nycap/headlice.htm

The best place to get them is on the movie theater seats! MY favorite!

 

[Filly]

This is right around the corner from me, I'll see what the news or the local paper has to say about it. I don't think we're getting the whole story here either. I know that last year, two schools had major outbreaks and the parents were going nuts trying to get rid the problem.

Get some tea tree oil full strength and put it in your hair Eire. That doesn't get rid of the lice, but it stinks so bad they won't jump in your head. LOL Lice, man my biggest pet peeve. In my opinion RID don't RID crapolla. These are super bugs. They are mutants. Plus that plastic comb ain't gonna work, people. Ya need that old fashioned, little silver one. Ditch stuffed animals too. I rather come upon anything than them bugs.

 

[Filly]

The best place to get them is on the movie theater seats! MY favorite!

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!! This is why I would carry one of them rain slicker ponchos to the movie theater with my daughter. You can easily slip it over the seat as it's a Poncho, and it is plastic. I should have marketed that jawn. I had me an idea, right?

 

[Filly]

Here are some natural solutions purple text is my own words and notes, quoted black text is from the book.

Barbara Griggs (Author of The Green Witch Herbal Restoring Nature's Magic in Home, Health & Beauty Care.) says Maggie Tisserand's suggestion in Aromatherapy for Women works like a charm. Make *SURE* you have good quality, pure oils that have nothing else in them.




NOTE: DO NOT BUY ANY TEA TREE OIL THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE OFFICIAL KANGAROO SEAL OF AUSTRAILIA. (Look on the side of the bottle, probably near the ingredients, it will be a hopping kangaroo looking right, with a circle of words around it.) It may not be properly processed, and melaluca (tea tree oil) MUST be properly processed, there are several synergistic components to it. Thursday Plantation is reliable, and sanctioned by Austrailia. It is what I use.



I don't think she means a whole bottle of shampoo either, I think she probably means 2 1/2 ounces (75 ml) again for the above method.

I'm sorry I hadn't seen this Kat. Considering it's big and purple well I need my dollar store glasses. I did this. My daughter had hair down past her behind. Cutting the hair does NOT get rid of lice as you all know. Sure it would have made my job easier, but why would I cut my kids hair when somebody would just not take care of their own kids heads and give it back again. I was Blessed to be at home and have the time to give this matter serious attention. My generation we never saw a cootie. So I was lucky I had my mom and Gram to help and give me the heads up. No pun intended. I used to take a drop of the tea tree oil. A drop. Put it on the brush and comb it through. It will not kill the lice of course, but it's preventive. Yeah it stinks, but TFB! After spending five days washing, drying, tossing out and putting industrial strength chemicals on my kids head. Oh and worrying I'd get it in her ears with tubes in them I didn't care if it smelled like manure. Cooties obviously gets me freaked. Sorry. Them bugs kept running rampant in my daughters school but she never got them back. Amen!

 

[Taximom]

I read somewhere (I'll go google) that full-strength tea tree oil should never be applied directly to your skin. We put drops in our conditioner. My SIL mixes it with water and mists her kids hair, hat and jacket with it.

My youngest got hers at summer camp last year and nothing I did got rid of the suckers. I finally just kept using the lice comb after I put conditioner in her hair while she was in the shower. It went through nice and easy with all that water and conditioner... That finally got rid of them for her. Gosh, for a while it was so bad we were going to give them names.

Ugh, I've been scratching since I read this earlier!!

 

[Taximom]

I agree with "drops" of the tea tree oil on a brush, but don't just pour it on their scalp.

ETA: Well, I can't find where it said not to use it full-strength. Maybe some are just allergic to it.

 

[KatK]

I read somewhere (I'll go google) that full-strength tea tree oil should never be applied directly to your skin. We put drops in our conditioner. My SIL mixes it with water and mists her kids hair, hat and jacket with it.

My youngest got hers at summer camp last year and nothing I did got rid of the suckers. I finally just kept using the lice comb after I put conditioner in her hair while she was in the shower. It went through nice and easy with all that water and conditioner... That finally got rid of them for her. Gosh, for a while it was so bad we were going to give them names.

Ugh, I've been scratching since I read this earlier!!

That's why you either put it into the shampoo (dilutes it a little) or into the oil mix above. I've heard of people using the first mix, with about 15-20 drops of tea tree oil in there as well.

 

[KatK]

I agree with "drops" of the tea tree oil on a brush, but don't just pour it on their scalp.

ETA: Well, I can't find where it said not to use it full-strength. Maybe some are just allergic to it.

I put drops of the Thursday Plantation tea tree oil on my skin with no problem. I use it on cuts, as an anti-microbial. (It kills strep, staph, and molds.) I bought it for wound treatment, but there is also a product line they make (soaps and such) for acne treatment that has a differing proportion of cineole. (I also have their tea tree soap, that I use for washing cuts, and for my face at times.) Some people are sensitive to it, and can get a rash, which is why I tell people to test a little on their wrist first, to be sure they can use it. I have "redhead" skin, very sensitive. I don't shave in the winter, and usually not until it is nearly summer because I get the "winter skin" dry, irritated PAINFUL after shaving. I must have lotion in the winter now. But, I can use the oil directly on my skin with no problem. I've even swabbed a teeny bit on a gum with a cold sore. (NOTE: I barely touched a Q-tip to the outside of the bottle where the oil comes out, and touched that to my sore spot. It was enough that it made me drool a little and I tasted it for some time after, but it helped heal the spot. I didn't swallow so long as that taste was in my mouth, and after a bit I started rinsing.) It tastes NASTY, but it worked. ETA: The AMA did a study on Tea Tree Oil (melaluca) and found that it does kill many kinds of staph, and also most (or all?) strep, and molds. It is an excellent antiseptic.


ETA2: And I see the group researching tea tree oil has found that cineole is *NOT* a skin irritant.

 

[Filly]

I agree with "drops" of the tea tree oil on a brush, but don't just pour it on their scalp.

ETA: Well, I can't find where it said not to use it full-strength. Maybe some are just allergic to it.

Naw it burns, TM. I used the tiniest, tiniest drop on the brush and man it stunk. No wonder the bugs don't go near it. Use your rain slickers from the baseball games if ya go to the movies. They slip neatly over the movie seat. I used to bring the Phabulous Phillies ponchos to the movies. Yo, ya think I cared? Anything better than dealing with them da*n bugs.

 

[Diamond]

One of the schools in our area, had a problem with lice last year. Unfortunately, one of my kids brought them home. I could have, seriously, passed out...seeing them crawl around on his head! I called the doctor and he was given a script for treatment. I washed some clothing/bedding and cleaned the floors (swept/mopped/vacummed), but didn't go to any extremes. Believe it or not, it was a breeze to get rid of them! I'm convinced, getting the medicine from the doctor (& repeating as directed) and checking/picking nits throughly (a couple times a day, for a few weeks...just to be certain, b/c it's easy to miss them) is what did the trick. Lice and their eggs don't live long off their host. I think, the lice live a day and the eggs a few days to a week...? So, I used my time and energy on heads and not the house. It worked...didn't even spread to the family.

 

[Taximom]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9838722
says just a few have reported a tea tree allergy. So use it full strength if you want! lol

 

[MCDRAW]

I'd like to know the "rest of the story" on this one.

First of all, head lice runs rampant once it gets into a school or daycare. I know, because that's how my daughter caught it. It took us FOREVER to get rid of. We bagged stuffed animals and stuffed them in the freezer. We washed everything we could with bleach and sprayed an anti-lice solution on the mattresses, couches, throw pillows and rugs. I spent hours upon hours doing the hair treatment and going through her long thick hair under a bright light with a fine toothed comb and using my fingernails when the comb didn't work --sometimes she even fell asleep with me still "hunting."

So, was the Mom trying with over the counter stuff and just not succeeding? Has this been an ongoing problem (year after year)? Did Mom even know they still had it or had gotten it again? I feel like I'm missing a huge piece of the puzzle on this one.

Personally, I think they will arrest you for anything now.

 

[KatK]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9838722
says just a few have reported a tea tree allergy. So use it full strength if you want! lol

Thank you, I do with no problems. :blowkiss: It is an excellent anti-microbial,* and even the AMA has found this to be so. (I can try to dig up the article from their site if you want me to, I did so years and years ago, and I am not sure if it has reached the "pay to access" status of the AMA archives or not yet.)

*Which I only use for things like cat scratches or if the cat being bathed bites me, (after getting a *NASTY* infection from a cat bite a few years ago, I take no chances now, if it nicks me at all, I wash with tea tree soap, and put tea tree oil on it) wounds that I know are likely going to be especially nasty.