Pests at School - Pinworms and Lice

Pinworms are nothing to be afraid of. Like Lice they are a common in young children.

Naomi Krilla the school Nurse sent home information in the Birney Buzz last week. She recommends that you see a physician if you think your child has pinworms.

Check out this site to read about pinworms WebMD.

Below are some facts and also some preventative herbal remedies to help with both pinworms and lice.

PINWORMS
If your child has a very itchy bottom; looks peaky; is unusually irritable, restless, or tired; has dark circles under the eyes, or suffers from diarrhea, constipation or both, suspect worms; they are epidemic in even the most exclusive schools and Birney is no exception. Recently, pinworms were diagnosed in two Birney Children. To be sure, look at your child;s stools and take a look at the anus an hour or two after the child falls asleep; you may see the tiny white thread-worms emerging to lay their eggs — a highly disagreeable sight.

If you are worried that your child may have been exposed, their are some herbal, non-toxic ways to treat them. There are plenty of foods that will eliminate worms just as successfully. They need to be taken first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, when they will reach the worms with maximum impact, undiluted by friendlier substances. Among foods worms hate (and similar to all the foods your kids hate) are garlic, onions, carrots, cabbage, lemon and pumpkin seeds. The stuff they especially love to thrive on is sugar in any form. Adjust your child's diet accordingly. Try any of the following remedies:

1. A half-glass of carrot or cabbage juice taken fasting three ornings running, then repeated a month later.
2. Pumpkin seeds chewed first thing in the morning; or they can be powdered and mixed with a little water.
3. In the evening, slice an onion into a glass and cover with warm water. In the morning, bribe your child to drink it.
4. Throughout the day, include plenty of raw garlic in salads, and add one or two of the foods unfriendly to worms.
5. At bedtime, crush a clove of garlic and add a drop of he juice to a teaspoon of Vaseline ointment. Smear this around the child's anus. A drop fo pure lavender oil diluted in a couple of teaspoons of bland oil will have the same effect.

Check child's stool to make sure remedies have worked and repeat a month later.

Please remind your children to always wash their hands before they eat or after using the restrooms.

LICE
After three bouts with lice in Kindergarten, I am the most freaked out parent. But I found the best remedy is: Cetaphil - if your child has been exposed to Lice you will need to cover the child's head in this mild cleansing soap, straight from the bottle. Once covered you must blow dry it with a HOT dryer until it is dry or at least gummy, then put a shower cap on their head and let them sleep with the cap all night. In the morning rinse all of the soap out of their hair. If your child's head is already infested, Do the same procedure above for a couple of nights, but you must also comb through the hair completely every night with a nit comb (you can get the comb at any drug store). The nits look like very small dandruff that is stuck about 1/4 to 1/2 inch up the hair shaft. See this link for more LICE description of what to look for.

You MUST (I can't stress this enough) wash all bedding, clothes, hats, coats etc. in very hot water and a very hot dryer. Also, you must bag all their plush, stuffed animals up in garbage bags, tie (so no air gets in the bag) and leave them in the bags for 2 weeks. I thought I could by pass these steps and believe me, lived to regret it.

I must tell you that this all only information I have gathered on my own. If you have a bad infestation of either pest, please contact your doctor and/or Naomi Krilla the school Nurse.