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Uploaded: Thursday, March 21, 2013, 7:15 AM
Updated: Friday, March 22, 2013, 7:28 AM
Parents push for changes in school lice policy
District plan changed to reflect advice from experts
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by Glenn Wohltmann
Pleasanton Weekly Staff
Parents got some of the changes but not all they were hoping for in a recent update to the lice policy by the Pleasanton school district.
A meeting was held Monday night after the district received a petition with more than 300 signatures requesting that the school provide notices to parents when one of their child's classmates is discovered to have head lice. That is something the district, following new guidelines, had deemed unnecessary.
About 30 parents, mostly mothers, attended the meeting at Alisal Elementary School about the new policy. The meeting began with an announcement from Kevin Johnson, senior director of pupil services, that the district will resume sending such letters.
"We are going to provide notice," Johnson told the group. "We understand, you want to be noticed so you can check your children."
Some people left after hearing that news, and the meeting then veered into other aspects of the lice issue.
School nurse Carrie Stavropuolos said the policy change came about based on information from the Centers for Disease Control, the California Department of Public Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of School Nurses and the Harvard School of Public Health, among others.
Stavropuolos said about one in 100 children will get lice on average.
"When kids get it for the first time, it takes four to six weeks before they start itching," she said, and by that time the lice will have already spread.
She said lice are not a sign of poor hygiene, are not associated with any diseases, and that lice can only crawl, not fly or jump. That, Stavropuolos said, means lice can only be spread by direct head-to-head contact, and that only individuals, not school or buses can spread them.
Several parents noted that children at school frequently touch heads during class or while playing.
Parents were also troubled that the insecticides used to kill lice are toxic. One mother who'd researched the issue said one common chemical is labeled a mild carcinogen, although a pediatrician at the meeting, Dr. Jonathan Flanzbaum, said the treatments are all approved by the academy of pediatrics.
Lice can also be removed by the use of a special comb, which removes the lice as well as nits, which are the eggs of lice.
That same mother was concerned that, like ticks, lice will be found to carry diseases at some point in the future.
Others worried that a child with lice might return to school without being treated, and one big concern was that a child with lice could be ostracized by other children.
One parent said a boy who been allowed to return to class was embarrassed when a girl next to him noticed them and said, "Eww, there's bugs in his hair."
Johnson said he and the nurses will consider an additional change in school policy that would keep a child out of class after lice are discovered.
Parents have been advised to check their children for lice every week, paying special attention to the area near the neck, although there were some concerns that those who need it most will not get such attention from their parents. Household members of children with lice also should be checked.
A Danville woman at the meeting, who professionaly treats children for lice and is dubbed the Lice Lady, said she had seen "hundreds" of cases recently, although Stavropuolos said there have been fewer reports in Pleasanton this school year than last. Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by anon, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Mar 21, 2013 at 10:15 am "Parents were also troubled that the insecticides used to kill lice are toxic. One mother who'd researched the issue said one common chemical is labeled a mild carcinogen..."
Like it is the PUSD responsibility regarding the chemicals the parents use on their children. Why would you even bring this concern up at this meeting, bring it up to your pediatician.
"That same mother was concerned that, like ticks, lice will be found to carry diseases at some point in the future."
How about we cross that bridge when we come to it. How can you predict the future.
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Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Mar 21, 2013 at 10:50 am (Post makes no sense and has been removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff.)
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Posted by Sam, a resident of the Oak Hill neighborhood, on Mar 21, 2013 at 12:08 pm (Post makes no sense and has been removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff.)
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Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Mar 21, 2013 at 3:09 pm (Post makes no sense and has been removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff.)
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Posted by chill, a resident of Livermore, on Mar 21, 2013 at 10:52 pm (Post makes no sense and has been removed by Pleasanton Weekly Online staff.)
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Posted by Concerned parent, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Mar 22, 2013 at 8:27 am "Johnson said he and the nurses will consider an additional change in school policy that would keep a child out of class after lice are discovered."
This should be done. No child with an active lice infestation should be allowed in school, and if the lice are discovered at school, the child should be sent home immediately, that is the only way to avoid spreaeding lice.
The article says that schools and buses do not spread lice: wrong! If a child with lice sits on the bus, the lice can move to that seat, where the child's head was, and then if another child sits on that same seat, well, there you go. Same goes for chairs, sofas, carpets at school.
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Posted by Misinformation is causing overreactions, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Mar 22, 2013 at 9:06 am "This should be done. No child with an active lice infestation should be allowed in school, and if the lice are discovered at school, the child should be sent home immediately, that is the only way to avoid spreading lice."
Actually, The CDC does not recommend sending children home immediately. One must consider the ridiculous and uneducated social stigma associated with head lice. If a child is discovered to have an active case of head lice in school they have had lice for quite some time and if they are going to spread it it would have likely already happened. However, school is not the most common place where lice are spread. Parents should be notified and they should decide whether they want to expedite the treatment or not by picking their child up immediately. Sending the child back to class for a few hours is not putting the others at risk of infestation any more than they have been at risk for the past weeks (or even months). Children found with live head lice should remain in class, but be discouraged from close direct head contact with others. The child's backpack and coat etc. should be discreetly placed away from the other children's things. A head lice situation should not disrupt the learning process or cause a child unnecessary emotional trauma by sending them home and over dramatizing the situation. Yes, head lice is a huge pain but it's not a health concern. Parents get carried away with it and too often a mob mentality emerges. Check your kids on a regular basis, that is all you can do to keep a head lice situation from getting out of hand. If your child is exposed to head lice it is much more likely to occur during a play date, at a relative's house, extracurricular activity or sport, borrowing an article of clothing or hair tie, sleepover, summer camp, vacation to Disney, etc. Activities during school rarely encourage head to head contact.
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Posted by Creepy Crawlers, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Mar 22, 2013 at 9:26 am My kids went through their entire school "career" without ever getting lice. They played sports and wore community helmets and never got lice. I think the panic in all of this is outrageous. Out of all the classes my two children have been in, there was only 1 instance of lice. A letter was sent home. Only one child in the class was ever infected. I do believe, however, that a note should be sent home if a child in a class has lice. That way parents who aren't routinely checking their kid for lice can begin to do so - kind of a "head's up" sort of thing. While thinking about lice make my skin and head itch, I think "catching" it is pretty pretty difficult.
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Posted by Concerned parent, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Mar 22, 2013 at 4:22 pm "Activities during school rarely encourage head to head contact."
In the lower grades? Are you kidding? And just because the CDC has issued guidelines that are not necessarily correct, does not mean school districts should follow them. The CDC has been wrong in the past: remember the fluoride guidelines in the past? And how cases of fluorosis resulted, many years later, ion the CDC adjusting those guidelines? The CDC is not always right, and they do change their position on things. Same with the AAP (circumcision for instance)
If PUSD is concerned about school absences, I would think they'd try to minimize the number of students who could get infested, and for that, a child with a lice infestation should not be in class.
And what do you mean having the child "be discouraged from close direct head contact with others."? Isn't that making him/her feel worse than simply going home?
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Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Mar 23, 2013 at 3:39 pm seriously though...lice should not be allowed to live on somebody's head and get fat...i rest my case...
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Posted by Resident, a resident of the Stoneridge neighborhood, on Mar 24, 2013 at 8:14 am For those parents hoping to avoid permethrin to treat lice, try drenching the hair and scalp in Listerine and placing a shower cap over the hair for at least 30 minutes, followed by a rinse. Then use Suave coconut conditioner and remove nits with a fine toothed nit comb. Repeat the process at least once a day for 5 days. Wash all clothes and bedding in hot water and dry hot cycle. Listerine works better than permethrin and is not neurotoxic.
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Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Mar 24, 2013 at 6:52 pm i must say that over the years i've seen few cute fleas...
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Posted by Mr. Geeneyuss, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Mar 25, 2013 at 10:00 am Wow. Eight posts and nobody has blamed BART, Obama, the Tea Party or the PUSD for this condition.
What has happened to this board?
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Posted by Steve, a resident of the Stoneridge neighborhood, on Mar 25, 2013 at 3:21 pm My child's friend had lice twice this year. We were never notified by the school, but found out from the parent. Kids in elementary school hug, wrestle, trade clothing and, in short, have head to head contact ALL THE TIME. The CDC should NOT be concerning itself about social stigmas. I don't want the expense and work of cleaning my house multiple times and throwing out bedding because someone might get stigmatized.
Elementary school is one location the CDC admits is a source of lice. Parents need to be notified and the child MUST be taken out of the school environment when they are found. If not, then I think I have the right to sue the school for liability for my cleaning costs.
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Posted by Another , a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Mar 25, 2013 at 6:12 pm Atta boy, Steve. That's telling 'em. I'm sure that part about throwing out bedding -- you know, sheets and pillowcases and such -- is what is most concerning to you.
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Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Mar 25, 2013 at 7:19 pm i recommend that if you've got bugs it's best to scratch where it itches...
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