Head Lice is an ongoing issue for schools and parents around the world and we are certainly no exception to this rule. According to the latest articles on the problem there is no foreseeable treatment that will eradicate the problem once and for all.
As a school we are always caught between parents who want us to do more (check hair, send out alert emails etc) and those that get frustrated when they continue to receive emails about infections.
What we have decided to do is look at the latest recommendations coming out of Australia, New Zealand, North America and the UK to see if our current approach is in line. What we have found is that there are many contradictions and clearly the issue for other countries is such that no one can really agree on the best approach. Unfortunately there are no apparent guidelines provided by the Hong Kong authorities either.
One message that is consistent however across all the countries is that the school and the parents must work together. The literature makes it very clear that a model where the school is relied upon to check for Head Lice does not work. It is also clear that emailing parents every time a detection is noted does nothing but raise anxiety levels.
Nurse Clara is currently putting together an information booklet for our parents and we hope to have this available early next term. It will provide the latest ideas proven time and time again to be the most effective. Of course we cannot guarantee the advice will always be successful and all that we can do is make the information available in the hope that parents look at the advice provided by other countries on this issue.