headlice again!!!

sammy_kaye18 · 21 January 2007 at 10:03AM

Ok
This seems to be an ongoing saga between me and my bfs ex

we only ever see her son rarely but everytime we do he is crawlign with headlice. Ive had an itchy head for the last week to the point its painful and we've been seeing him since xmas every weekend. Now i just combed through my hair and have found 3 'bugs' so far. as far as eggs are concerned i havent found any on any strands on my own hair ive tested (pulled out)

Went and checked my son and he looks clear - no eggs or bugs etc. looked at my step sons and his head is literally crawling, millions of adult bugs, small bugs, white bugs, eggs you name it its in there. This is abotu the 8th/9th time im going to have to de lice him because if i leave it and tell his mother she does nothign about it adn presumes we are amde of money adn we will do it - soooooo not the case

Now i find it hard using headlice killers/lotions etc as i am extremely allergic ot most shampoos - i have to use johnsons baby and that is it - that i havent reacted too. (thought overuse of that was why my head itched - dandruff etc) so i know its going to hurt like hell when i use this and ill end up missing work this afternoon because i cant let it rest that theres lice in my house. - my washign machine is still broke so ill have to take them up his mothers to wash them, disinfect the chairs, beds, pillows, etc i cant leave it!!!!!!!

just wondered if anyoen had any ideas about anythign else i could try to get rid of them before resorting to the mousse stuff!

coffeeandfags · 21 January 2007 at 10:20AM

I have one of them electronic zappers. it cost about £17 8 years ago and is still going strong! IMHO, its just so much easier and quicker than messing about with lotions and potions. Also, in the long run, i guess its worked out cheaper than buying 3 bottles of lotion for every "episode"!

abbecer · 21 January 2007 at 10:28AM

Get the Nitty Gritty comb it is brill. Really long teeth with a screwdriver design so that once you have gripped the blighters they can't slip through. You will find them online but apparently people have had them given on prescription. Even if you have to pay they are worth the money. I got mine off EBay ages ago. If you did get off there remember Quidco or nectar points etc. Hope this helps.

Rebecca xxxxxx

Seaxwyn · 21 January 2007 at 10:35AM

Hi there sammy

My children regularly get headlice and I would say straight away don't even think about getting the chemical treatments as they don't work.

The only thing I have found that works is putting on lots of conditioner and combing through with one of those plastic combs. You will never get all the eggs out, but if you repeat this every three days you will catch them as they hatch and after three or four goes it will be OK.

It's a palaver but I actually miss it now my daughters have got beyond that stage! The thrill of the chase and all that.

I'm sure you don't need to worry about disinfecting pillows etc. Headlice die pretty quickly when they are not on a head. Just give the pillows a good shake and hoover the chairs if you're worried (I have never gone to these lengths).

Only other tip - get your stepson's hair cut very short!

allIcouldwishfor · 21 January 2007 at 11:10AM

Seaxwyn wrote:

The only thing I have found that works is putting on lots of conditioner and combing through with one of those plastic combs. You will never get all the eggs out, but if you repeat this every three days you will catch them as they hatch and after three or four goes it will be OK.

I second that. I think that headlice are becoming immune to all the chemical treatments - evolution eh?! - and this is by far the most effective way of dealing with the problem I have found.

This thread is making me itch!

f1owers · 21 January 2007 at 11:11AM

Hi

I would recommend the conditioner and Nitty Gritty comb approach too. My 2 step children seemed to be infested every time they came to our house - to the point when I put my foot down and said that if they still had the problem then they were not to come! This was about 4 years ago

The step kids are 13 and 10 and my two children are 5 and 3. For 4 years now, every time the kids are bathed their hair is washed and we go through their hair with the nitty gritty comb and a tea tree oil shampoo. The end result - no head lice for 4 years!

My daughter and son (5 and 3) are so used to having their hair combed they expect it at every wash. Hopefully, this will prevent them from getting lice, or worst case scenario, we catch any lice they do catch and break the cycle before it begins.

It certainly has worked for us.

Hope you sort something out soon!

Flower

MissSunshine · 21 January 2007 at 11:15AM

Seaxwyn wrote:

Only other tip - get your stepson's hair cut very short!

Exactly what I was going to suggest, shave it off to number 3, but check his school policy first.

alips_2 · 21 January 2007 at 11:48AM

hedrin is the new treatment for headlice, it is based on a digestion medicine and coats the hair smothering the lice/eggs, it is meant to be reapplied 7 days apart.
We use this along with the nitty gritty comb.
Ali

apple_mint · 21 January 2007 at 11:54AM

My daughters are grown up now, but we had the problem with lice - mainly because other parents didn't both to deal with the problem and the school seemed to be permanently infected.

The chemicals don't work. We resorted to conditioner and a nit comb (as mentioned above) - having a serious de-infestation session and then every time we washed their hair we went through it with the conditioner and comb. We seemed to beat the infestation this way - they never got the chance to reproduce!

Their hair was always lovely and glossy

... and we only used the cheapest conditioner we could find.

This thread is begining to make me itch :eek:

apple_mint · 21 January 2007 at 11:55AM

I have to say - they chemicals didn't work in our day ... they might be better now. We were very wary after two or three tries with the chemicals because they were so strong and it was only a short time before the little blighters were back.

sare_2 · 21 January 2007 at 11:57AM

Another Nitty Gritty comb vote on here.
You can get them on eBay for around £10.
They're good because the teeth get right down to remove the eggs too.
But they don't scratch your head like normal combs.

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headlice again!!!

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