Lice Pose No Health Threat, Yet Some Parents Push Back On Rules To Allow Affected Kids In Class

Any grounds of lice was erstwhile a logic for contiguous dismissal from school, not to return until nan student's caput was lice-free. But what are known arsenic "no-nit" policies person been dropped successful favour of "nonexclusion" rules, prioritizing people clip complete immoderate nuisance caused by parasites nan size of sesame seeds. That leniency, of late, is coming backmost to wound immoderate schools.

Parents successful Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, and Georgia are petitioning for their districts to revive strict rules connected nits and unrecorded lice. They blasted caller outbreaks connected nan inclusive recommendations from nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that let students pinch unrecorded lice to stay successful class. Before nan commencement of this schoolhouse year, nan Hernando County School District, northbound of Tampa, Florida, acted to reinstate a argumentation abandoned successful 2022.

"It's a reinfestation, complete and complete and over," said Shannon Rodriguez, who chairs nan Hernando schoolhouse board. In July, she told chap committee members that she's seen nan vicious rhythm among families. "What do you do arsenic a parent? Put them backmost successful schoolhouse pinch nan aforesaid kid aliases kids that are successful nan schoolroom who person it? It's conscionable a never-ending battle."

Public wellness officials see lice a nuisance, not a wellness threat. Outside of mini studies, information postulation is scarce. With very small information connected infestations, it's difficult to cognize whether much inclusive policies person thing to do pinch isolated outbreaks.

The latest estimates of yearly infestations successful nan U.S. are wide and unreliable since truthful galore cases spell unreported. The CDC puts nan number betwixt 6 cardinal and 12 million, affecting mostly preschoolers and elementary-age children.

"It really is astir acquisition because location are truthful galore myths and truthful galore misunderstandings astir lice retired there," said Cathryn Smith of nan National Association of School Nurses section successful Tennessee. "This isn't a taxable that astir group talk about."

NASN and nan American Academy of Pediatrics person supported nonexclusionary caput lice guidance since astatine slightest 2002. But nan recommendations were taken much earnestly aft nan covid-19 pandemic affirmed nan value of face-to-face schooling.

"I deliberation that group are starting to recognize nan worth of in-person schoolhouse and that really thing that takes them retired of that should beryllium scrutinized," pediatrician Dawn Nolt of Oregon Health & Science University told NPR and KFF Health News. "Head lice is not a valid logic to support a kid retired of schoolhouse aliases beryllium dismissed from school."

Nolt co-authored nan latest guidance issued by nan AAP successful 2022, which incorporated caller investigation but mostly echoed anterior recommendations. It discourages wide lice checks successful schools, arsenic a study published successful nan Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal recovered that lice are often misidentified, which leads to unnecessary curen and isolation of lice-free children.

It takes 4 to six weeks for lice to spell from nits to a full-blown infestation. Only past would a kid beryllium seen head-scratching uncontrollably, caused by an allergic guidance to nan parasites' saliva.

"Kicking them retired connected a Wednesday erstwhile they've been having it for nan past 4 to six weeks is not going to do anything. But it's going to return that kid retired of schoolhouse and shame that kid and shame that family," Nolt said. "I conscionable deliberation that's not acceptable."

Inclusion is nan priority, moreover if it whitethorn inconvenience others aliases sow financial costs. Over-the-counter remedies, specified arsenic creams, gels, aliases shampoos, tin adhd up. Professional treatment, which often involves manually picking retired lice and nits, tin tally into nan hundreds of dollars per person. And sometimes lice hits an full household. 

This summer, a preschool extracurricular Nashville, Tennessee, endured its biggest outbreak yet. Roughly a 3rd of nan kids astatine nan Creative Youth Enrichment Center ended up pinch lice.

Owner Tonya Bryson knew nan latest recommendations were to play it cool. So she kept everyone successful school, and they faced nan dreaded four-letter connection together. And past she talked openly astir nan experience.

"It's not arsenic bad arsenic you deliberation it is," Bryson said. "I mean, yes, we had rather a fewer kids pinch it, and it went to parents and siblings. But it's manageable."

Among nan affected families was Stephanie Buck, who besides teaches astatine nan time care. Lice ran done her household, requiring pricey treatments to free them each of nan infestation.

Buck said she's torn astir nan champion attack to combat lice, balancing nan shame and stigma pinch nan applicable matter of containing an outbreak.

"Because my girl was really embarrassed erstwhile she recovered retired that she was nan first 1 who sewage checked and she had it," Buck said. "It's hard. You want to protect your babies' hearts, but you besides want to support them from getting lice."

This article is from a business pinch WPLN and NPR.