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Our Nurse:
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When there is an outbreak of cold and virus, leaving your child not feeling their best, I understand you would like for your child to have over the counter medication to help them feel better. However, I must ask you to refer to your child's hand book received at the beginning of this school year. Under the section of Health Services it states, "Students are not permitted to bring prescription or non-prescription drugs to school. All medicine must be brought to the office by the parent." "This is state law." This law refers to all medications, to include, but not limited to Tylenol, Motrin, cough syrup, and cough drops. For the safety of your child Health Services request that all medication be in a sealed unopened container, this insures that the medication on the label and that in the bottle are the same. Understand that no medication will be given with out a completed Medication Authorization form, and only medication you provide will be given. Medication will not be sent home with the child at any time. At the end of the school year, you will receive a notice stating the amount of medication left and requesting your instructions, you may either pick up the medication or it will be destroyed. Call the school and ask for a Medication Authorization form, this covers both prescription and non-prescription medication. Please take a few minutes to review the reverse side of this form for more information. Thank you for your assistance in helping us maintain a safe environment for all of our children.
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Our nurse is NOT allowed to give any medications at school other than those brought by parents. For example: If your child is running a fever, the nurse is not able to provide them with any type of fever reducer unless it has been provided by the parent.
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Head Lice
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History of Head Lice
Since the Egyptians have sailed the Nile there has been head lice, even Cleopatra herself is said to have had them. So what is head lice, and why is it the minute someone mentions it I start itching? They are a pesky little bug that lives close to the scalp and feed on blood, much like a mosquito on your arm. They can not fly, they can not jump, but can move rapidly through out your hair. They are very intent on their survival so they have learned to adapt to their environment. For example head lice on a person with dark hair may be dark in color, on a blonde may be much paler, and on a red head may in fact be red.All too often a rumor will be passed around that one school or another has had a sudden outbreak of head lice. The truth here is, it is not a sudden outbreak, but a large scale screening has taken place. If you are looking for head lice, look long enough and you will find it. Try to notice when you hear of an outbreak, if it is close to the 1st month of school, after Christmas break or after Spring break, these are the times we do school wide screenings. Throughout the year I will do class screenings or grade screenings, and on occasion an unscheduled school wide screening."I found head lice in my child's hair, what do I do?" Treat the hair according to the best Treatment method for your child, manually remove all nits, and call the school nurse. I know you want to keep this a secret, but call the nurse; all I need to know is what class your child is in. With this information I will go to that class and do a classroom head check, and send home any other student with head lice I may find. Parent cooperation has been a key factor in this battle.
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The Battle Begins " I just got a call from the school nurse, she said two of my three children have head lice..........what do I do next???" Take a deep breath, count to three, and go get the kids. Keep in mind that head lice can happen to everyone, and no one person is immune. The children have not done anything wrong, and the easiest way to get head lice, is being a real friendly person. Head to head contact is needed for the head lice to travel from one person to another. Hugging, telling secrets, sharing sweaters, hats or scarves, huddling up to read a book, the younger the children the more friendly they are. "Ok, I have the children, what next?" Take a minute write down a list for the store. Decide what hair treatment method you are going to try and make sure you have all the necessary ingredients. Look for a magnifying glass or reading glasses to help see the nits; the Dollar General sells reading glasses for as little as $1.00. Include a fine tooth metal comb, RID makes a nice set called the Dual Combing System you can find it at Wal-Mart and it runs about $8.00. Some research companies state a flee comb works just as well, all that is recommended is very fine teeth and metal. Check your vacuum cleaner bags, make sure you have two new bags, if not add them to the list. Last check to see if you will need laundry soap, if so add it.
Store List 2 vacuum cleaner bags 1 Magnifier, at least 2 times larger 1 fine tooth metal comb hair treatment ingredients laundry soap
"That doesn't look too bad, what about all the sprays for the furniture?" Every where I have read that recommends the sprays is marketing the sprays and looking to make money off you. The research companies state ".......pesticidal sprays for furniture and bedding are unnecessary and a serious risk to health. Vacuuming is the safest and best way to remove lice or fallen hairs with attached nits from furniture, rugs, stuffed animals, or cars." {National Pediculosis Association} "Spraying the house and bedding is NOT recommended. Fumigants and room spays can be toxic if inhaled or absorbed through the skin." {Center for Disease Control, Division of Parasitic Diseases}
"I am back from the store, where do I start?" I would start with the hair, do the treatment you selected, follow the instructions closely. The hair will be the most time consuming and tiring thing you do, so use the housework as a break or rest period for both you and the children. Take a second to read over the Helpful Hints section below, and be sure if you purchased a product from the store to read ALL the warnings and follow the directions exactly. After you have completed the treatment, you must manually remove each and every nit you find. Unhatched eggs and empty shells are so small that with out a microscope it is next to impossible to determine which ones will hatch and which ones already have. However if you miss one unhatched egg, in tens days or so you will be back in the same shape you are now. The absolute best approach you can take is "when in doubt, take it out!" Also keep in mind, if you received the letter from the school, because Stewart County Schools recognize a NO NIT POLICY, your children must be cleared by the school nurse before returning to class. In short, as long as the nurse finds nits your children will not be permitted in school.
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Hand pick and remove all nits.
Vacuumed |
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1. Hold the comb with the flat side resting in your fingertips. Make sure that the teeth are facing you. 2. Lift a small strand of hair (about 1/4" thick) . Begin combing in a ‘scooping’ motion: gently push the teeth as close to the hair roots as possible and drag comb firmly from the roots to the ends of the hair (newly-laid eggs are found near the roots of the hair, so it is important to get the teeth very close to the scalp). Make sure the teeth are deeply embedded into the strands as you comb through. 3. Always comb away from the head. Wipe eggs & nits from the teeth of the comb with a tissue or paper towel. Discard all the used tissues or cloths into a bag and dispose of when combing procedure is done. 4. Pin back the 1/4-inch strand you just finished combing with a bobby pin or hair clip. 5. Lift up another 1/4-inch strand and repeat the combing procedure. 6. Continue to comb hair 1/4 inch at a time until entire head has been combed and pinned. 7. After you have combed and pinned the entire head, remove all bobby pins or hair clips and rinse hair thoroughly with warm water. 8. Repeat these steps every two to three days for at least thirty days. As the hair grows eggs imbedded in scalp will grow out and need to be removed. Note: If one egg escapes you all this time will be for nothing. It is very important to remove all nits and eggs.
Options:
Your ready to decide what treatment method will be best
for your family. Check this list and remember that you
are answering these questions for the person being treated
and the person doing the treatment.
_______ Has the child being treated for head lice been
treated with a chemical treatment this time or an earlier
case?
_______ Has the child's home or bedding been treated with
lice spray?
_______ Does the child have asthma, allergies, epilepsy,
AIDS, cancer, or any other illness?
_______ Is the child currently or recently been on
medication?
_______ Is the home or school treated by a monthly
exterminator or frequent bug bombs exposing the child to
pesticides?
_______ Is the person applying the treatment pregnant or
nursing?
If you or the child can answer yes to one of the above
questions, it it recommended a non-chemical alternative be
used.
No treatment method is recommended for pregnant women,
nursing mothers, or children under the age of two without
seeing a doctor first. Chemical treatments are pesticides
or more accurately pediculicides. These chemicals can
build up in the human body and are not always washed away
at the end of treatment, as people would like to think.
The Melaleuca Way can be purchased at: mydeltafire@yahoo.com or www.momswin.com/gracelikerain or buy calling 1-931-232-6310 or 1-931-305-8783 Active Ingredients: Melaleuca oil Directions:
Company offers a preventative plan as well. can be purchased at: www.momswin.com/gracelikerain or buy calling 1-931-232-6310 or 1-931-305-8783 Cost: Melaleuca oil 8oz $10.00, Solu-Mel 4oz 13.00, T-36-C5 Shampoo 1oz 14.00 {Max price listed, please call rep for current promotional pricing.} Product codes to ask about:
Tea Tree Oil Active Ingredients: Deionized Water, Tea Tree Oil, (Oil of Melaleuca alterifolia), SD-40 Alcohol (Pure Grain Alcohol), Polysorbate-60 Directions:
can be purchased at: GNC Cost: unable to provide at this time.
Straight From the Kitchen: Mayonnaise Active Ingredients: Mayonnaise Directions:
can be purchased at: any grocery Cost: Prices vary depending on name brand. I recommend a larger amount, but any brand will work.
The CHEMICAL Choices
Please see "Picking
a Treatment" before deciding. The Chemical Choice may not
be right for you.
Remember that no treatment kills eggs. Hand pick and remove all nits. This is the very most important step. Rid Active ingredients Piperonyl butoxide (4%) Pyrethrum extract (equivalent to 0.33% pyrethrins) Directions:
This can be purchased at:
Wal-Mart
Cost: Kit $17.88, 6 oz. shampoo and conditioner in one $11.97, 2 oz. shampoo and conditioner in one $7.88. Nix Complete Lice Treatment System Active Ingredients: Permethrin 280mg (1%) Directions:
can be purchased
at: Wal-Mart
Cost: Multipak (2 bottles) $15.00 Rite Aid Lice Control KitActive Ingredients: Piperonyl butoxide, technical 4.00%, Pyrethrum extract 0.33% Directions:
{**subject in progress**more to come**}
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