HIT: headphones/lice

[Sarah Larson <sarahplarson@HOTMAIL.COM>]

I received so many responses to my headphones/lice query that I will
summarize.  Several people said that students are expected to buy individual
headphones which they carry in a ziploc bag.  Other schools add the cost of
headphones to the student fees and purchase in bulk.  Prices of individual
headphones used seemed to range from $1.00 to $10.00.

Many schools do have students share headphones without obvious spread of
lice.  It is best to avoid the foam earpads if headphones are shared.  Most
people clean them periodically with alcohol.  Some clean daily or even after
each class.  Sometimes students do the cleaning before or after each use.

Some brands or sources  mentioned were KOSS, School Specialty, Radio Shack,
Calrad, Nova 44.

Some specific comments:

Our nurse suggested wiping them down with alcohol wipes between uses, so
that is what we do.  Time consuming, but effective.
----
Headphones are required school supplies, sold at registration and in the
book store. We purchased in bulk so we were able to buy a decent quality,
very strong. It also has volume adjustment individually on each set. There
was no parent objection, it's considered like science goggles or assignment
notebooks. Students keep them in their lockers or carry them in trappers if
they know they will need them. I am not aware of a single pair breaking this
year.
------
We are a 7-12, 440 students. building with a language lab. Everyone takes at
least two semesters of a language with at least 8 labs assigned a year. At
the high school level we have NEVER had a problem with lice or other
infections.
I remembered that our school nurse passed out info page stating that the
louse cannot live more than 24 hours without getting blood from a host. So,
if lice WERE on the headphones, each weekend the lice would die as the
creature would be without a host for over 24 hours. I searched for internet
info and the following site gives the life span of the louse.
http://www.gotlice.com/faq/faqlice/lousology.htm Our school has had students
with lice from time to time, but we still share headphones and lice do not
seem to be a problem. More information here
http://www.headliceinfo.com/faqs.htm
-----
We got a deal a long while ago for $3 each and the students bought their own
and kept them in their lockers. It was a big pain cause they were always
forgetting, breaking, sharing you name it. We ended up dropping it and
started using headsets at each computer. Our lab tech wipes them down with
alcohol at the end of a day when they are used. It's still a pain actually.
-----
Our computer lab keeps little rubbermaid containers by each computer filled
with alcohol soaked cottonballs, (jumbo, not regular). The kids come into
lab and are to immediately wipe down the headphones before placing them on
their heads. They wipe them before, not after so the responsibility is on
each kid for their own headphones. We've done this for at least 8 years, and
it seems to work well. I also keep some by the library computers. A lot of
the kids choose not to clean them, but this way it's their head if they
catch anything. (What a pun!)
-----
Brodart has the perfect product for you. We have new personal headphones
with a one year warranty, that are affordable at 4.95/ea. These were
designed with exactly lice problem you describe. The low price allows each
student to have a personal headphone assigned to them. They are packaged in
a plastic bag, when sealed for storage, this kills lice in 24-48 hrs.
without use of chemicals. Also, available is a refresh kit, so that when a
student is no longer at the school, the headset is refreshed with new ear
cushions and bag.
-----
I teach in a lab of 30 computers with headsets. We also have had lice in the
school. I read one comment that said that lice can not be on headsets, but
it is conceivable that they can get on headsets and be transferred to the
next student using them. I still use the headsets, but here is what I have
done to prevent any problems. I work carefully with the school nurse, who
tells me when a case of lice is present in the school, and especially what
class the child is(and siblings are) in, and I tell them no headphones are
used that day. Secondly, I have the volume high enough that the students can
hear at the individual seats with the headsets hung up on the monitor, but
not loud enough to be blaring out a distraction. Additionally, I encourage
them to put their headsets around their neck not on their ears, because I
need to have them hear me when I give instructions, and the headsets put
them in their own little world. Thirdly, the type of headsets that I bought
are more expensive, because they are NOT those cheap little foam ones that
lice could cling to. …

Thanks for all the information.  I feel much more informed, and will
continue to work on this pesky little problem.  Sarah Larson, Beechwood
Elementary School, Whitehall, OH



_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
All postings to LM_NET are protected under copyright law.
To quit LM_NET (or set-reset NOMAIL or DIGEST), send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu   In the message write EITHER:
1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
4) SET LM_NET MAIL  * Please allow for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help see: http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
Archives: http://askeric.org/Virtual/Listserv_Archives/LM_NET.html
 See also EL-Announce for announcements from library media vendors:
    http://www.mindspring.com/~el-announce/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=