Spinoff measles: lice?

Studious

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 12:47 pm

ora_43 wrote:

Israeli gans and schools do have lice policies. It's just that the policy here is "if a child has lice, parents are informed so they can check their children and prevent it spreading," rather than, "if a child has lice, that child has to miss school until they are completely free of nits."

The CDC has recommended that American schools stop their "no nit" policies because they are ineffective and do more harm than they prevent.

So no, I don't think that the fact Israel hasn't implemented a bad and unhelpful policy means that this isn't seen as a serious problem.

So how about a “no live lice” policy? Maybe that would be effective? Throughout the years my kids kept getting lice. Was lots of work and very frustrating.

Iymnok

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 1:38 pm

Geulanow wrote:

Aren't lice a chatzitza in Israel?

The halacha is no different than anywhere else. You comb with a lice comb the best you could. Anything else. Is considered too small to be a chatzitza. The mikvaos have lice combs. Ask at the desk. The Assy2000's get taken first.

WastingTime

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 2:13 pm

How can you compare!!!??
Lice is ichy but does not put anyone's health or life at risk. Antivaxxers on the other hand...🤬
And I think because it's so common no one here uses chemicals. Maximum the natural products that paralyze them (like ridlice)

amother

Fuchsia

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 3:07 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

Most lice these days have become immune to chemical treatments anyway. They are truly "super bugs".

You can spend a small fortune, and have everyone treated by a "lice lady", which involves hours of combing and non chemical treatment.

Another thing you can do is find some neem oil. Most health food stores carry it. Comb it through, starting on the scalp, and leave it on overnight. Rinse under warmish water in the morning, but don't shampoo it out. Then comb as well as you can. Neem is a natural tree extract that kills both lice and nits. It's a great mosquito repellent, too.

Be aware that neem is indeed affective (works with parasites), but is may also cause harm to a pregnancy (it can cause miscarriage and can have contraceptive affects). I don't know if this is a problem when handled topically, but caution advised if you are applying to your kids' scalp and you are pregnant.
Also, I became aware recently of how potent some essential oils are, so you should check with someone in the know about whether to apply straight or dilute. (I was told off by a herbal expert for leaving pure clove oil on my kids' fingernails overnight in an attempt to remedy pinworm - it does kill the eggs, but also can be harmful to kids when used like that - DO NOT do it!!).

Rappel

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 3:29 pm

Studious wrote:

So how about a “no live lice” policy? Maybe that would be effective? Throughout the years my kids kept getting lice. Was lots of work and very frustrating.

I don't have children in gan yet, but I believe there are already very effective policies in place. Both when we lived in Kochav Hashahar, and now in Itamar, the school year kicked off with a "Louse Operation" - every parent checked their kids heads for a week, thus nipping any problems in the bud.

Rappel

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 3:31 pm

amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:

Double, triple underline.

Pure clove oil contains neurotoxins, and can cause seizures. Do not put it anywhere a child can ingest it!

Miri1

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 3:55 pm

How serious is a lice infection versus how harmful repeated use of chemicals.
I think that is the big question for many.
If it were a one time treatment and you're good to go, I'm sure many more would do that.
But the kids will catch it again next week - and it can't be good to repeatedly apply these chemicals (which don't nessecarily eliminate the lice anyway).

We caught lice alot as kids.
My mother just stopped using the chemicals, and instead as a standard practice, everytime I had a shower I would condition my hair and then comb with a lice comb. I didn't wait to discover I had lice, I just did it every time I showered.

Any new infection was very shortlived - it really worked!

amother

Cyan

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 5:02 pm

THERE IS A KID IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL I WORK IN WHO IS INFESTED AND I THERAPIZE HER SISTER AND EVERYONE IN THAT FAMILY HAS SOME LICE AND I AM FREAKING OUT.
New rule is that the kid doesnt get sent home because there is no scientific evidence that lice spreads from proximity. UM HELLO?!

amother

Crimson

Wed, Apr 24 2019, 6:17 pm

ora_43 wrote:

It’s very effective!! Proof is that people in countries with such policies aren’t constantly fighting lice. It’s the only way to stop lice.

amother

Sienna

Thu, Apr 25 2019, 12:56 am

Chemicals dont work and are so unhealthy. Any method is better. It is not on par with not vaxxing. But maybe a kid in middle of getting rid of it you have to be thoughtful to people that dont want it, like Americans. But not with chemicals, just put out all the natural stops.

My family who dont want lice comb every single day after showers 365 minus shabbos & y"t year round. They also use shampoos with essential oils. This is always to prevent an infestation. If they catch one, they just have a tiny portion of the work to get rid of it.

FranticFrummie

Thu, Apr 25 2019, 2:02 am

The whole time I was growing up, I had never even heard of lice, never mind getting it. My sister and I had hair past our waist. Due to budget cuts the classrooms were extremely overcrowded.

I grew up in central California, where the weather is pretty much exactly like Israel.

I wonder if all the chemical treatments are why we are seeing all infestations now, that are so hard to eradicate.

If you are over 40, do you remember lice ever being this prevalent?

(BTW, does anyone else's head itch while reading this thread? Scratching Head

)

WitchKitty

Thu, Apr 25 2019, 4:13 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

)

But all the stories about Israel in the 1950s have girls who had to shave their heads because of lice

DrMom

Thu, Apr 25 2019, 7:26 am

notshanarishona wrote:

There are plenty of people in Israel who are very bothered by lice and would not appreciate their kids being exposed. I do think it's selfish to not treat right away and that is what makes spread.
I lived in Israel for 8+ years so I understand some Israelis are chilled about it but many are not especially if you are going places with a lot of people I would treat .

I am one of those people. If you are infested with headlice, please stay home.

I do not accept headlice as a ever-present nuisance that we just have to live with. Once one of my kids came down with headlice and I treated it right away, and was vigilant about treating everybody in the household and changing and laundering and drying pillowcases and PJs every night for 2 weeks.

For treatment I slathered everyone's head with cheap conditioner, left it in for 20 min, an then combed it out lice and nits with a very fine metal lice comb. Repeat after 1 week.

Very effective and no harsh chemicals required.

Rosemary oil is a good preventative measure.

amother

Lilac

Thu, Apr 25 2019, 7:57 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I live in EY and lice is fairly common here among gan ages children. Parents are allowed to send their children to school with lice, and most parents are reasonable enough to alert the Gannenet when their kid has lice and to deal with the issue.

I don't like putting chemicals on my children's head. If lice carried diseases (they don't) then I would want to solve the problem ASAP, but they don't so I'm comfortable combing my children's hair thoroughly when they get infested and it's a two week long process until everyone's heads are clean again.

So I discovered yesterday my children and myself have lice. No problem, except we are going to a hotel with my very American and lice phobic in-laws. My MIL is very upset we aren't using a chemical treatment to deal with the issue and protect her from catching it. Also because now she won't be able to to enjoy her grandchildren as much.

I'm strongly provax, because science and protecting the immunocompromised and science. But I wonder if my refusal to use a chemical lice treatment on my kids puts me on par with antivaxers? Genuine question, not trolling.

I think the real difference is life threatening disease vs lice, but something is still bothering me...

There is someone in EY who professionally cleans nits. She has two options. One is with shampoo and the other is thorough checking which is almost 100 percent. Her name is Mrs. Moskowitz and she is supposed to be very good,

amother

Pink

Sun, Apr 28 2019, 8:51 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

What are neem and tea tree oil in Hebrew?

amother

Silver

Sun, Apr 28 2019, 9:23 am

amother [ Lilac ] wrote:

Mrs Moskowitz is also quite a special person.