The National Pediculosis Association Says "Keep Your Wits Not Your Nits"™
Rather than acknowledge the overwhelming percentage of schools supporting no nit policies, the National Association of School Nurses is encouraging its members to remove no nit policies and is reasserting its opposition to them at a session on head lice at their national conference in July 2004.
(PRWEB) April 13, 2004 -- According to the National Association of School
Nurses (NASN), “Over 90% of schools in the U.S. have adopted no nit policies
despite NASN’s and the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that this
may not be necessary.”
A no nit policy is an administrative standard to
assure children are in the classroom lice and nit free.
Those who support
a no nit policy see it as a pro-active approach to protect children from
unnecessary exposure to head lice and potentially harmful head lice treatments.
The National Pediculosis Association's (NPA) No Nit Policy provides
education in advance of outbreaks, promotes routine screening and early
detection and enables families to send their children to school lice and nit
free avoiding any need for dismissal.
The NPA has supported the no nit
philosophy since the agency was incorporated as a non-profit organization in
1983. The NPA's No Nit Policy is available at: http://www.headlice.org/downloads/nonitpolicy.htm
Those
who object say that dismissal for head lice is unwarranted and that no nit
policies interfere with education. In other words, they believe children should
be allowed to remain in school with lice and nits -- a position unacceptable to
today's parents and many school nurses.
The NASN and the American
Academy of Pediatrics' position against no nit policies evolved from the
"Guidelines for the treatment of resistant pediculosis" printed as a
paid-to-publish supplement in the August 2000 issue of Contemporary Pediatrics.
(See one school nurse's reaction to the Guidelines at http://www.headlice.org/news/2003/pr050103.htm)
Parents
who are not informed predictably turn to prescription pesticides or to over the
counter products to which the lice have been proven resistant. The NPA says it
is this reliance on pesticides that needlessly risks children's health, keeps
them infested and missing school.
Rather than acknowledge the
overwhelming percentage of schools supporting no nit policies, the National
Association of School Nurses is reasserting its opposition by offering a session
at their national conference in July 2004 with “… focus on the role of the
school nurse in advocating for appropriate treatment and removal of no nit
policies in school districts.” The session is sponsored by the pharmaceutical
company that sells the pesticide Malathion in a lotion marketed as a treatment
for children with head lice.
Head lice are a community problem that
require community cooperation. The NPA says its No Nit Policy is consistent with
all that is known about controlling communicable diseases and the importance of
taking every available opportunity to protect children from unnecessary exposure
to pesticides.
Head lice are endemic in America and a part of raising
children today. The National Pediculosis Association encourages parents and
school nurses to visit http://www.headlice.org where they will find helpful resources
and free downloads to share with others in their community.
Simply
stated, NPA says, "Keep Your Wits Not Your Nits!"™
This important
awareness message can be sent as an e-card http://www.headlice.org/sendcard/
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/4/prweb117216.htm