Lice must be reported in kindergarten or school?

Lice must be reported to school: important and mandatory!

If you should recognize a lice infestation in your child , it is very important that you immediately inform those close to you about it and isolate your child so that the parasites cannot quickly spread from head to head with further contact. Playmates and their parents, relatives with whom you were in contact immediately before the find, and the school or kindergarten management should be notified immediately. That is why this is so important so that a thorough check and, if necessary, treatment can be quickly initiated within the other families to prevent the further spread of the lice. Parents are also required to report a lice infestation by the Infection Protection Act (IfSG). Read our expert interview on the subject.

KiGa or school reports lice infestation to the health department

Furthermore, the IfSG regulates the reporting of the incident to the health department. This step is usually taken on by the school or kindergarten management, whereby those affected naturally remain anonymous. The public health department can then act in an advisory capacity and support the facility management in initiating appropriate measures to combat lice. Staff are often provided to assist the educators with any investigation within the facility.

Return of the child after treatment

According to the IfSG, the return of a child to school or kindergarten after a correctly performed treatment with a lice remedy is already harmless on the day after the initial treatment, since the child then usually no longer poses a risk of infection. Here the parents are responsible for carrying out the treatment consistently and correctly in order to prevent a cycle of reinfection from developing.

Presentation of a certificate sometimes necessary

If head lice does occur repeatedly within a short period of time, it is reasonable to assume that at least one affected child did not complete the treatment correctly and was therefore reinfected. In such a case, for example, the kindergarten or school management can arrange for a medical certificate that each child is free of lice to be requested before visiting the facility again.

Lice are unjustly a taboo subject

The real problem with long-standing lice infestations in community facilities is the fact that many parents are still embarrassed when their children have lice. Therefore, it is important to realize that having head lice is not a shame. No one is to blame for head lice. Prejudices and mutual recriminations among parents are therefore not justified. Lice infestation is not a question of personal body or hair care, hygienic conditions at home or social background. Lice feel equally comfortable on all heads.

False shame inhibits communication

False shame and the resulting lack of communication between parents and with the school or kindergarten management are disastrous, as this prevents quick and effective action within the whole group. No matter how great the efforts of individuals, if everyone does not pull together to combat lice, new infections will occur again and again and your own child will eventually be affected again. So it’s very important to keep in mind that while you have no control over whether your child gets lice, you do have control over whether they keep them and in turn pose a risk of contamination to other children.

organize parents’ evenings

Parents must develop an awareness of the problem and work closely together. There are many ways to do this that will educate both parents and children. The management of the facility or the health department can, for example, organize a parents’ evening or an information event, also at the initiative of the parents, in order to clear up any uncertainties and to answer parents’ questions. The laying out of special information brochures from the health department is also a way of informing and educating parents about the topic of lice. At school, it is possible to deal with the subject in class and thus create awareness of the problem among the children and eliminate prejudices.

Maintain an open approach to the topic

You should deal with the topic as openly as possible. Not only towards your child, whom you can take away from the fear of an infestation, but also towards the other parents. With weekly, routine checks of your child’s head, you can nip a possible spread of lice in the bud. You can save yourself and your child a lot of inconvenience through quick and consistent treatment and effective communication with other parents and those involved.