No, fumigating is unnecessary, toxic, and expensive. Proper lice removal methods are sufficient for controlling outbreaks.
Many over-the-counter lice products are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A “No Nit” policy requires that students be sent home from school as soon as nits are discovered. The American Association of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses advocate that the “No Nit” policies should be discontinued. These organizations recommend discontinuation because:
•Nits are cemented to hair shafts and are unlikely to be transferred to other people.
•The burden of unnecessary absenteeism to the students, families and communities far outweighs the risks associated with head lice.
•Misdiagnosis of nits is very common during nit checks conducted by non-medical personnel.
Many schools have discarded their “No Nit” policy because lice are not inherently dangerous and thus, in their opinion, do not warrant children missing school. Attendance is crucial to students’ earning higher grades and to schools receiving federal and state funding.
Lice Perspectives recommends a modified “No Nit” policy, with children being sent home for treatment at the end of the day rather than immediately (unless lice are discovered school wide). as the best way to reduce attendance/embarrassment issues and to prevent the spreading of lice.
With a “No Live Lice” policy, students found to have live head lice are excluded from school and not allowed to return until they are lice-free. Students are re-examined in 14 days to confirm that they have remained lice-free. Students with nits and no evidence of live head lice are not excluded from school.
According to the endorsers (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and the National Association of School Nurses) of the “No Live Lice” policy, studies have shown that school-wide screenings for nits are time consuming, costly and ineffective.
Lice Perspectives disagrees. School-wide screenings, if done by us, are efficient, inexpensive and effective. We believe that the “No Live Lice” policy is dangerous because active cases of lice will be missed as newly hatched lice are to small to be seen on a quick head check.
A “Live and Let Live” policy does not send a child home from school for lice or nits. If a child has lice in her/his hair, the nurse contacts parents but sends the child back to the classroom for the rest of the day. Parents are expected to treat the lice, but no one enforces this expectation. No classes or groups are screened for bugs.
