argh! head lice!

Anya

I just found them in my little girls hair a week ago. And I admit that I was in tears - it was my worst nightmare coz she has long, really curly hair. I keep it plaited all the time coz if I leave it down for more than 5 minutes it tangles up and take ages to get through it again. I was dreading her getting nits and within 3 months of her starting nursery she gets them!

I marched straight dowm to Boots and got some of that Full Marks mousse. It was so hard getting it to her scalp, coz her curls were in the way and kept bouncing the mousse back up. Four hours later after screaming and crying and sitting in the bath combing (that was me as well as her!!!) I thought that would be it. But here I am, a week later, still combing and still getting live ones out. I have spent an hour each day conditioning and combing. Please someone tell me that I will eventually get rid?! As I look through her hair now I can still see little brown eggs on the hair itself and the comb just isn't getting them. I try to pull them out with my fingers but there's not enough time before she gets fed up.

Is there any combs out there that get mini eggs! and the actual nits out. The comb I've got gets fairly small lice but is missing the eggs. At the moment all I can imagine is this cycle of eggs hatching and more lice coming. Anybody have any words of comfort/wisdom for one stressed out mum?

foreverskint

If you have used a good lotion it's likely that the eggs are dead. they stick really hard to the hair and I have seen them get to half way down the hair as the hair grows,before.

Just keep checking to make sure that there are no live ones hatching, but don't worry too much about the eggs, still stuck to the hair..
It's taken me ages to type this as I can't stop scratching my head argh!!!!!!

I remember the first discovery i made on my children.. We were camping on a farm with nothing but a portable shower, but as I hate creepy crawlies I wouldn't wait until we got home. It did take weeks to get rid of them but I found the best thing for small children was a conditioner type nit killer that only had to be on the hair for30 mins. It also smells nicer than a lot of the lotions and does not need to be left on overnight.

The best infestaation I have seen was on my step-daughter. (mother claimed she had checked her hair. i found 80+ adult lice and so many baby lice I lost count. You could see her hair moving!!

That's it i'm off for a good scratch now

Anya

I'm probably being paranoid. It just seems that there are too many little lice around for it to have killed all the eggs. Every time she sits on my knee I can't help but study her scalp - poor girl!!! She probably dreams about me ordering her to "sit still for a minute!"

I'll just have to keep up with the combing every day I think for as long as she'll let me. I was tempted to take her to the doctors as I think they give out these packs now with different combs for different things, like a comb for toddlers heads and one for getting the nits out. So I might still end up doing that if I carry on getting lots of baby lice.

Don't know what I'll do once we manage to get rid of them - it's become a hobby now!

Pooky

Best way we found to get rid of them was...

15mls oil (veg or olive oil)
5 drops of tea tree oil
5 drops of ecyluptus oil

Mix it well and massage into dry hair - cover the hair in clingfilm and leave on for half an hour.

Take the film off and comb hair through - the lice will be either dead or on their last breath - the teatree stuns them and the ecyluptus and oil just smoother them and block their airways.

It's a !!!!!! to wash out afterwards but works really well, smells better than teatree on its own too.

You need to do this every 3 days for 2 weeks....Was the last time we had any trouble with lice...although I do add a few drops of teatree to their shampoo, keeps them at bay.

kazd

Only ever used chemicals once when my son got them at the age of 4, he passed them on to his sister who was 2. I used the chemical on him, it ran into his eyes and he was in agony, have never used it since.

Since then my daughter has had them two times and I do the wet comb method. She was itching the other day and I had spent 15 minutes going through her hair and had almost given up when I found one.

I did come across a woman who said that she treated her kids hair once a month as a prevention, we were gobsmacked and couldn't believe that anyone would be that irresponsible to apply chemicals like that on a monthly basis.

Anya

Does that tea tree oil mix kill the eggs as well - thats what I'm mostly worried about. Can get the little lice with the comb, but can't get the eggs!!! Nice thread this isn't it?!

frizz_head

Anya, you must comb the eggs out - otherwise the cycle starts all over again when they hatch in two weeks time. Use a carrier oil, someone mentioned Olive Oil. I use Almond Oil. Cover the hair in it, cover with clingfilm or showercap, leave for 30 minutes. Then using a metal tooth nit comb (much better than plastic) comb and comb and comb. The eggs should just slide out.

With each stroke of the comb, wipe with a piece of tissue paper - so you can see whats coming out. Very satisfying.

When you have finished, you have to really wash the hair thoroughly - several times - to get all the oil out.

On a daily basis, I have a water spray bottle that I fill will water, and about 20 drops of ecalyptus, geranium and lavender oils. The scent deters the little blighters from my daughters normally lice attractive smell.

This method really does work. Touch wood, we've not had any for over a year now!!

Good luck Anya.

Anya

Thanks frizz_head. Where do you get almond oil and all the essential oils from - a health shop or would they stock them at the supermarket? After going through her hair again this evening I only got a few lice and quite a few eggs which was refreshing!! Are the brownish eggs ones which haven't hatched yet?
Anyway thanks for the advice, I'll try that if she'll keep the cling film on?!

frizz_head

I don't think the clingfilm is really that essential - just really to keep the oil from dripping everywhere!

I got my oil from Holland and Barratt and the essential oils. But I think the larger supermarkets will stock these items now.

Someone mentioned Olive Oil, and i am sure that will have the same effect - in that it suffocates the lice (live ones) and makes the nits (eggs) easier to comb out.

The nits are brown and tear shaped and depending on how close to the scalp they are, the more recently they have been laid. The lice lay them close to the scalp (where its warm) and 'cement' them to the hair shaft. They take up to two weeks to hatch. Once hatched (or empty) they are white.

Good luck Anya.

bj-sailaway

A friend who is a district nurse told me that hairspray kills the eggs. Good dose of hairspray in the evening, good brush through, even fine comb if you have time in the morning. Still wetcombed every 2 days, but it did seem to stop them in their tracks! Also, if you know someone in the class has nits, fine spray of hairspray does seem to help protect them aswell. We have never had them again, even when loads were going around.