Headlice (merged)

Blanche_3

How do I cure/prevent nits? At the moment I keep my son's hair really short as it seems to be the only way to stop the nits. When he gets them, no product on the market works, then I get them and it's nightmare time! All we can do is wash and use a nit comb every day until we are free... Are there any environmentally friendly products that stop them or kill them?

jockettuk

if my daughter gets any or comes home with the letter saying someone in her class has them. i wash her hair put plenty of conditioner on ( buy the cheapest and have in ready) sit down with a video or dvd then go through her hair untill im sure ive got them all or that she has none.. sometimes we do this everynight for a week untill im positive she clear.

Blanche_3

Thanks for the ideas, the thread was brilliant - full of suggestions I will definitely try - don't know whether my son will want to go to school smelling of coconut oil (he's 12) but certainly worth a go.

MATH

Anit comb and conditioner is the best solution and the cheapest

Magentasue

This is mentioned on the previous thread but I think it's worth repeating. I have four kids and the second one seemed to be a nit magnet. We solved it by switching to tea tree shampoo and conditioner. At the time you could only buy it branded but now Asda and Tesco do one and it seems to work.

I use it all the time for the kids and in the last few years have only had one or two times when I've had to do the every other day combing. This involves combing through with a nit comb while they're in the bath while their hair is plastered in conditioner. Only drawback is once they're too old for you to be doing that, they don't do it properly or they don't rinse thoroughly.

It needs to be done for a couple of weeks to get them as they hatch and also because it's possible (likely in our case) that the child who has them at school isn't being treated and continues to give them to your child every day or two! Don't get me started there!

Anyway, tea tree does seem to deter them!

alyssa_mae

I will back u up on the tea tree. I buy mine from avon. It's the natural range and it's really cheap. every couple of weeks after I've put conditioner on I comb through my childrens hair with a nit comb. just a precaution. I actually caught nits from a hairdressers then passed them on to my children. I have really thick hair and it took 2 weeks and some pretty strong smelling stuff that I had to sleep in called prioderm to get rid of them. so beware and don't be afraid to ask your hairdresser if there using clean utensils.

Curlymum

Because one of my daughters always seemed to catch nits (bless her) I rang our Local Authority's nit nurse who told me that as soon as she came in from school to vigourously brush her hair. This breaks the headlices legs so that they can't get to each other and...mate! This done alongside all the other conditioner and combing etc etc seemed to work. Hope it helps!

Beanynut2

Hi

The easiest and least messiest method of getting rid of my daughter's nits was an electronic (Robi) comb. They are brilliant as they actually catch the nits, which can really be hard to see in long (or short hair.

After the initial getting rid of them - then its just a case of running through the child's hair at bed-time.

Argos and Boots sell the Robi comb and although it cost approx £20 it was the cheapest method as I didn't have to buy lotions or shampoos.

By the way - although we managed to get rid of our daughters nits - she would remain clear for approx 6 weeks before catching them again, so its down to the school to be proactive too.

Good luck!

TaBunny

I actually got told by a health worker that once boys reach puberty that they can't get nits dont know if thats true but you never know if he's 12 shouldn't be long now good luck

Plumpud_3

I used to use the loads of conditioner and a nit comb method. It is very effective, but needs to done every other day for at least 10 days. When you have got daughters with long hair, it is very time consuming.

I bought a Robi comb on the recommendation of my friend. It is brilliant. It takes less than 5 minutes, with no hair washing. Gets all the nits, and can be used once a week to check for new, undetected outbreaks.

It is true that they are unlikely to get them once they are at Senior school. It is to do with the way they play. As they get older they don't 'huddle' together. It is nearly always spread by close head to head contact. My eldest didn't get them after she was 12.

SCREAMIN_BABIES

i have to agree with MAGENTASUE .
my son used to come home with nits everry time he came home from his dads and it used to take hours with a nit knit comb and conditioner . but i started using teatree shampoo and conditioner on him everytime time he had a bath even bought some for him to take to his dads and he hasnt had them since (touch wood) that was over year and a half ago and he used to get them every fortnight . ::)