Schools in Cincinnati Go with National Trend of Adopting Less Restrictive Lice Policies

Cincinnati, OH, January 06, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Cincinnati school districts now have more lenient lice policies in place. In accordance with a trend sweeping the country, Cincinnati area schools allow students to return to class even if eggs (nits) remain in the hair after the child has been treated. Like many school districts across the country, Cincinnati and schools across Brown County, are following the recommendations of leading medical associations with respect to loosening their criteria for students to be allowed to return to school following a diagnosis and treatment for head lice. These groups, which include the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), all agree that students with nits be permitted to remain in school.

The rationale for the change is to increase school attendance and minimzie social stigma. These groups state that since schools have adopted the more liberal policies, there has been no rise in the number of head lice cases in schools. The groups argue that too many students were missing too many days of schools, and in some cases weeks of school, for a problem that is a nuisance but not an illness. Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics argues that by the time a case is identified, at least a few weeks have elapsed meaning that the child has already been in school long enough to transmit live bugs to other students. In other words, keeping kids from school is a case of too little too late. Furthermore, students with only nits are being excluded and nits are not contagious.

In general school nurses in Brown County are in favor of the new policy. One school nurse in Cincinnati says, "Most of my colleagues are behind the policy change. We have seen kids miss as much as four weeks for head lice. Whether we like it or not, head lice is a very common occurrence among school children these days, and they can not continue to miss school."

According to Wendy Beck, owner of LiceDoctors Lice Treatment and Nit Removal Service, the Eastern Local Schools state that their lice policy is "Students diagnosed with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun. Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice. Follow-up care includes checking for nits and lice for 14 days post-retreatment.There is no problem readmitting children to school following the first treatment for head lice, even if nits remain. Head lice can be a nuisance, but they have not been shown to spread disease. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice."

The trend toward eliminating “no nit” policies will likely continue, according to Beck, "There are reasonable arguments to be made both for and against 'no nit' policies; it is not a clear-cut decision. While all children should be in school, parents who have spent time and money eradicating their child's lice case do not want their child re-exposed to another child with lice. The National Pediculosis Association in Cambridge, Massachusetts argues that allowing students into school with nits is going to lead to a bigger lice problem for the school. 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. In addition, to remove all lice and nits from the hair, involves hand-picking. If a couple of nits are left in the hair, the case will start up again.” LiceDoctors spends time educating parents on how to prevent lice in the future, what lice and nits look like, how to kill lice and remove nits, and what to do with the home.

To learn more about head lice, visit LiceDoctors' web site at www.licedoctors.com. LiceDoctors has an in-home lice treatment service that has successfully treated over 125,000 clients using a natural lice treatment plan developed by their on staff, board-certified medical doctor 18 years ago. The company has earned an "A" rating with the Better Business Bureau Seal of Approval and can be contacted in Cincinnati and surrounding areas at 513-301-2880. In Ohio, LiceDoctors also makes house calls to Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, and Dayton and surrounding areas and can be reached at 800-224-2537. LiceDoctors is open from 7 am to midnight every day of the year for your convenience.