LiceDoctors Lice Treatment Service Reports That Schools in Portland Oregon Are Adopting Lenient Lice Policies

Portland, OR, June 04, 2014 --(PR.com)-- School lice policies are determined by individual school districts and often vary among neighboring districts. Not so in the Portland, Oregon vicinity where districts are consistently following the national trend of adopting more lenient head lice policies. In many schools, children may be admitted to school if they have nits; no longer do these school have "no nit" policies in place. Key medical groups, including Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)nd the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) , have recommended that children with nits be allowed to remain in school. The key rationale for these suggestions are to decrease the number of missed days of school for students and to minimize social stigma. These organizations report that since schools have adopted the more lenient policies, there has been no increase in the number of transmission of head lice cases in schools.The groups claim that too many students were missing too many days of schools for something that is a nuisance but not an illness. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that by the time a case is identified, usually a couple of weeks have gone by meaning that children have had plenty of opportunity to pick up a case from an infested child.

This trend toward more lenient lice policies has been met with generally positive reviews from school nurses across the region. One school nurse in Portland maintains, "We are happy with this policy. No longer are healthy kids sitting at home because some eggs are left in the hair. Remember, nits are not contagious; only the live lice are."

Portland and Beaverton school policies state that "student with no live lice may return to school, even if nits are present. Parents are strongly urged to remove all nits from their child’s hair to help prevent re-infestation.” The emphasis is on educating parents as to how to identify lice and nits and how to get rid of them. The West Linn Wilsonville school district revised its lice policy in May 2013 to be in line with the aforementioned districts. The North Clackamas school district has also revised its policy to be a "no live lice policy" but allows students to remain in school with nits.

The trend toward eliminating “no nit” policies will likely continue, according to Karen Sokoloff, owner of LiceDoctors Head Lice Treatment and Nit Removal Service. "There are certainly arguments to be made both in favor and against 'no nit" policies, however children with nits that are left untreated will eventually have live lice and those are contagious. While all children should be in school, parents who have invested time and money into successfully removing nits from their children's hair are understandably worried about their child being re-infested. An important point is that nits are not contagious, but it is very important for students with nits to be treated with a follow-up plan. To remove all lice and nits from the hair, involves hand-picking and is best left in the hands of an expert. If a couple of nits are left in the hair, the case will continue.” LiceDoctors spends time educating parents on how to prevent lice in the future, how to identify lice and nits, how to kill lice and remove nits, and what to do and not do with the home.

To learn more about head lice and your district lice policy, visit LiceDoctors' web site at www.licedoctors.com. LiceDoctors makes house calls and has successfully treated over 110,000 clients using a natural lice treatment plan that was developed by their board-certified medical director 18 years ago. The company has the Better Business Bureau Seal of Approval with an "A" rating and can be contacted in reached in Portland and surrounding areas at 503-715-1726.