Nature & Environment
Should Kids With Lice Be Banned From School? Doctors Say No
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Apr 28, 2015 11:11 PM EDT
New findings published in the journal Pediatrics noted that children with lice infestation should not be banned from going to school. In fact, doctors reasoned that "no-nit" policies are discriminating due to the kids undergoing treatment without missing school.
Head lice infestation is commonly spread through close person-to-person contact according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For instance, in the United States, head lice infestation is most common among school children ages 3 to 11 as the center estimates that bout 6 to 12 million infestations occur in the country per year and are overwhelmingly more common among girls.
Instead of being absent from school, the AAP recommends that children finish the day out and are treated by their parents when they return home. Should the self-medication that's treated to remove the problem fail to remove the parasites, the parents can go to the doctor for a new prescription.
"Many of our unwanted scalp visitors simply won't be killed by this long trusted and safe treatment," Dr. Dassi Leader , director of inpatient pediatrics at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City, said via Health Day. Permethrin still may be a good place to start - it's safe, cheap and over-the-counter. But if the lice are still happily crawling, your pediatrician has other options the lice may not be expecting."
Checking household members for the spread of head lice is also helpful by washing pillow cases and hair brushes and reminding children not to share these personal items with other classmates.
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First Posted: Apr 28, 2015 11:11 PM EDT
New findings published in the journal Pediatrics noted that children with lice infestation should not be banned from going to school. In fact, doctors reasoned that "no-nit" policies are discriminating due to the kids undergoing treatment without missing school.
Head lice infestation is commonly spread through close person-to-person contact according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For instance, in the United States, head lice infestation is most common among school children ages 3 to 11 as the center estimates that bout 6 to 12 million infestations occur in the country per year and are overwhelmingly more common among girls.
Instead of being absent from school, the AAP recommends that children finish the day out and are treated by their parents when they return home. Should the self-medication that's treated to remove the problem fail to remove the parasites, the parents can go to the doctor for a new prescription.
"Many of our unwanted scalp visitors simply won't be killed by this long trusted and safe treatment," Dr. Dassi Leader , director of inpatient pediatrics at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City, said via Health Day. Permethrin still may be a good place to start - it's safe, cheap and over-the-counter. But if the lice are still happily crawling, your pediatrician has other options the lice may not be expecting."
Checking household members for the spread of head lice is also helpful by washing pillow cases and hair brushes and reminding children not to share these personal items with other classmates.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone