as documented by k.
the day, i am afraid, did not end well. with the discovery of nits in the girls hair! i went from shock to horror and back again a few times. then - on alice's sage advice - picked up a kit at the grocery and treated all of us. then proceeded to do laundry for the next 48 hours. (and bagged any upholstered items that couldn't be washed. and vacuumed like a crazy lady. all mothers' day. sigh.) it was certainly worth the work. we are in the clear now. thank god. i hesitated documenting this experience. wavered back and forth. but am so saddened that the stigma around lice has created a climate of shame at our elementary school where it is spoken of in hushed tones. and where the girls obviously picked it up last week. i am going to invite this group to come speak at our next parent meeting. and work on a new school policy. had we known earlier, we could have taken preventive action. today - i notified the school and they proceeded to pull kids into the office for inspection. when i left 8 additional cases - from one class - were confirmed.
double sigh.
5 comments:
EVERY mom i know has had to deal with nits in school - but the stigma remains. Such a pain.
Head lice, bed bugs and cockroaches will be the last three things standing, I swear.
What a huge annoyance and pain! But the start of your post was all loveliness- I miss Alice's hair cuts!
been there, done that. it totally sucks, doesn't it? and you did the right thing by notifying the school. it drives me crazy when people don't tell others that they have been exposed. (keep checking the girls - if someone at school goes untreated, they could get it again. i know this.)xo
you wont believe this but when lizzie was in her last year of preschool (called "preppy k" because she is a december baby) she got lice every single month for a year!! no kidding!! she would get them, then emily would immediately get them too, we would treat them both, scrub the house down, have a reprieve for a few weeks and then she would get them again. it was CRAZY!!! the school could not get a handle on it. i tried every treatment out there because i felt so bad using the hardcore stuff on them month after month (i even used cetaphil and blew their hair dry with it on... they cried and cried because it took so long and it didnt work though) the school got rid of all stuffed animals and rugs, they disinfected from top to bottom day after day and somehow, the kids kept getting them. we havent had any lice since then (two years now) but if one of my kids scratches their head, my husband and i have a panic attack. we literally set up a "lice picking station" on our dining room table with a special light and magnifying glasses to get the nits out one by one. i have read that lice are resistant to the treatment now and you just have to pick and pick and pick every single day until you get every single one. it was BRUTAL!! the only good thing was that chris and i never got them, not even once the entire year (even though i felt itchy every time we found some on the girls) i think we can call ourselves nit picking experts (literally!!) ha ha!
Thanks all. Good advice Erin! We are taking it :) And Leslie - what a story! Craziness! xo
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