the dreaded head lice

Teg-Rem

haven't read the thread but just to let you know I used to use just ordinary conditioner after kids hair was washed (lots of it) the cheap stuff will do and just comb through with the nit comb. it works. uised all the horrible chemical stuff and got fed up with it. the conditioner makes them stick to the comb for some reason. mine had loads while in junior school. lol.

motherkitty

When my daughter used to get them when she was little I used to buy a bottle of tea tree oil and after shampooing her hair I would pour lots of conditioner into the palm of my hand and put a few drops of the tea tree into it. after applying it to her hair I would just comb it through with the nit comb, extracting any of the little blighters that would come through with each combing, until there didn't seem to be any left. Keep doing this every couple of days until they seem to have cleared.
Didn't find the chemical treatments much good at all.

hermum

A link on nitty gritty & how to get it on prescription.

http://nittygritty.co.uk/site/howtogetaprescription.asp

ladylouise62

When I caught them from my young niece I couldn't risk any strong chemicals so I spent 30-60 mins each of 5 days combing with conditioner, and then every few days I spent another 15 mins or so over the next 2 weeks. It may have been OTT but I can't remember catching any after the first 3 or 4 days, so it it worked.

outtawork

We used teatree shampoo and then quasia chips as a conditioner that isnt washed off. Then 10 days later we did the whole thing again. Quasia chips can be bought from a health food type shop and sometimes have to be ordered, it is not expensive and is not a pesticide. It is an aboriginal remedy from Australia.Follow the instructions,you might have to ask for them. we only had to do this twice and we never had them again, repeat after 6 weeks.

Abbafan1972

*onlyme* wrote: »

Yes another one here for the nitty gritty comb!

You can get this prescribed on the NHS so if it is for your children, ask your doctor to prescribe one and then it is free...

I asked both my GP surgery and pharmacy about this and both denied all knowledge of it, so I ended up having to buy one. Not that I begrudge having to buy it because it's really good.

SpikyHedgehog

I used to childmind my nephew and at one time he was riddled with lice .

I got cheap leave-in conditioner and put about a teaspoon of tea tree oil in in. Every morning when he came to mine, I sprayed his hair, boiled up the kettle so I had a jug of very hot water and got the nit comb & kitchen roll ready. I combed through his hair with the comb, dipping it in the boiling water after each comb through to kill any lice I'd got out, wiping the comb on the kitchen roll to dry before passing through his hair again. I'd do that till I could see no more. (I also did DS1's hair but he seldom had any.)

When we got home from school, I sprayed & combed again. Doing this got rid of any he'd got or had hatched over the day. It also let me say to my sister 'He must be getting them from home...' We already knew it wasn't her (or me) as sis and I would check each other, her boyfriend was adamant it wasn't him aas he didn't itch... Now we know you can have headlice without an itchy scalp!

I've never used anything other than lots of conditioner and lots of fine tooth combing, and I work in a preschool so am more likely to bring them home than my boys .

Kathy535

I was appalled when my dd got nits for the first time, as the years went on it became a way of life! I tried the chemical stuff but it didn't have a deterrent effect so, like others, I used the condition and comb method. I did this every night for a week and then every 2-3 days until I have a week with no critters. After that I did it once a week as a matter of course. We also used the Body Shop tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner and once we started using that the infestations stopped, thankfully.

A couple of things - you can use olive oil to suffocate the nits, altho you'd have to keep combing for the next few weeks. I can't post the link as a new user but if you google olive oil and head live a number of links come up.

And, also, I read ages ago that adults aren't as prone to getting nits which could be because the hair shaft is thicker - too thick for the nits to hold on to - or because they tend to use products and blow dry / straighten their hair. Certainly, once dd got to about 12 and started faffing about with her hair we stopped the tea tree shampoo and the nits have never returned.

Good luck!

Puddleglum

Another vote for the nitty, nit, nit comb here too. They really are soul sapping pests but, rumour has it, once your children get to adolescence, the problem goes away.

Still waiting here!

socks_uk

I work in a primary school so they are an occupational hazard for me! I use the conditioner method EVERY time I have a shower whether I have them or not, but of course that's easy for me to do.