Lice in Home Daycare

I had this happen once in my home daycare. A little girl I watched had it and the dad said it HAD to have come from my house. He was being pretty snotty but I checked my 2 children, myself and my husband. Sure enough, my daughter had lice! I spent the next 24 hrs cleaning every nook and cranny of my house to make sure I had gotten all areas. No one could come to my house for an additional 2 days to ensure there was no recontamination. I now routinely check all children who come to my home (even teens! LOL!) periodically for head lice.

Since I was a cosmotologist, I knew that I could use mayonaise instead of those expensive kits for the follow-ups. You could use mayo period but I always liked to be sure and used the Rid first. I used the mayo like a deep conditioner that you heavely covered the entire head and hair (nice and thick layer) then covered the head with plastic wrap as tight as your child can stand it. After an hour, I rinse the hair well and use the Rid comb. Then I would rinse again and shampoo like usual. The mayo smothers the lice and is so oily the eggs slide right off.

But if the daycare provider is not treating each member of her family, plus pets, plus mattresses, sofas, chairs, carpets, every towel, sheet, blanket, clothes and stuffed animal; the lice will return. She's obviously either not treating something/someone or another child's parents are not treating their child/home before coming back to daycare.

Did you know that lice can not attached itself to dirty hair? It's true! I got this straight from my doctor. Only clean hair/children get head lice.

I would talk to your daycare provider. Maybe she needs to do what others have suggested and take 2 days off and deep clean. If the lice is not killed the eggs will attach over and over, no matter how many times you treat it at home.
I talked with a friend of mine who has a son in a larger facitily. They deep clean at night if a lice case comes in. My husbands school is fight lice right now and he has spent many nights cleaning desks, floors, and any place they could attach themselves (keep in mind, he is the phy ed teacher, not the janitor).
Good luck. It is not a fun thing to deal with for you or your daughter.

I have my daughter in a Center and occasionally, there is a lice scare, and the daycare takes immidiate action. They post signs in the rooms and the front door of the center indicating that there may have been a case of lice. We are to take home ALL belongings and wash in a HOT wash nightly until further notice. ALL items brought to the center should be washed in HOT water. It lives in anything, even baby dolls with hair. It can live in carpet, blankets, jackets, etc. I'm not super sure of that would happen if it were a real case, because like I said, it's always just a scare and non of the cases have been confirmed. But, I'm assuming that they notify the parents of the infected child that they CAN NOT return until the lice is gone and they all have a written notice from their Doctor that it is o.k. for them to return to daycare or public places. Since Lice is a family problem, I'm assuming that ALL family members would have to be treated and cleared by a Doctor. The whole family would need to be kept from infecting other kids, and so therefor, even the parents would not be welcome in the center. They would also have to have a carpet cleaning company come to treat the carpeted areas of the center. I'd be concerned if I were you, and a little worried that the lice is never fully managed. It sounds like it's getting passed around, either by other students, or a parent, animal or even in the carpets. I've been told that they can live in diapers too, but I don't know if that's factual. It's a costly infection that effects so many people. I think that's why daycare centers are so careful. Good luck.

Actually we just went thru this over the summer I run a small in home daycare so I closed for 3 days to clean and get everything organized and everyone had to have an at home treatment before they could return to daycare weather any were found on the child or not. they also had to do the follow up treatment in the 7 day period. And thankfully we got rid of them but for about a month I washed everything and sprayed everything daily just to keep them away.

Personally I wouldn't let a child back in til they are lice free and I would check the child every morning. Being a parent I would freak out if my child was subjected to lice over and over. It is annoying and exspensive to get rid of. I've never had lice and never want it. Surprisingly those that I have known to have lice seem to always have it and seem to never get rid of it fully. I have an aquaintance who's daughter has had it on and off again for 3 years now. This child is not allowed over to my house and her mom gives her a treatment on her hair and shaves this poor little girls head but she's not getting rid of it at home.