Headlice (merged)

shellsuit

Evie82 wrote: »

I am at my wits end!!

For the past 4 weeks running when I do my "Sunday" check of my girls hair, one or the other has had live Lice!
I tie there hair up for school, hairspray it thick so its crispy too but still we have this issue!

At first i was using conditioner and a Nitty Gritty comb which my GP gave me and spending hours combing through. Last Sunday I went for the hard approach and used a lotion from the chemist and then combed through with nitty gritty comb.

And just this minute finished again combing through with conditioner to find 20 living lice on my youngest! So have just treated us all AGAIN - i hate using pesticides but i feel like im fighting the little critters and this is the best way now.

I have reported to school we have a recurring problem and they have done the usual note to the class thing but whats the use???

Am i out of the loop on the latest way to avoid these little bu**ers or am I in the same boat as everyone else? Please help! Im due a baby next week and my back is killing me from weeks of crouched over combing out moaning kids hair while hubby does mine.
:mad:

If you're checking weekly and finding live lice, then they have hatched so have probably been there since the week before, which means you must have missed the eggs when checking.

It's an easy thing to do, so don't feel ambarrassed or ashamed.

My daughter had long thick hair and she had them constant for about 2 months, it was a pain because I'd only need to miss 1 or 2 eggs (which was easy with her mane) and the cycle would start all over again.

I let her fringe grow out and used to scrape it back off her face everyday in a tight plait and she never caught them again.

She gave them to me once, OMG it was horrid, try getting a nit comb through your own curly hair which is down to your bum ~ it's impossible!

Oh and we tried everything on the market but the ONLY thing that worked, was a nit comb, heaps of conditioner (the cheaper the better actually because it's more sloppy) and plenty of time to keep going through it

Pinky15

Just thought I would offer my support as we are just about rid of these little pests. My poorly DD3 who is 1 got them was absolutely gutted. Like others used the nitty gritty comb and brushed thro with conditioner. I bought tea tree shampoo which they apparently dont like. DD1 not wears hair tied in plaits or always up. I do understand this is part of school life but DD told me there is one girl in her class who always has them. She says she scratches like mad daily and her mum is so fed up of them she gives her the nit comb and tells her to sort them out herself. She is only 9 poor things - I feel like bringing her home to sort it out!! Surely her mother is responisble for sorting this prob out? Anyway checked everyone again last night - am keeping fingers crossed tho! x

tori.k

we went thru this years ago with DS3 out of a small class there were 2 lovely kids from the same family that were always riddled and not being treated so re infecting the others, the school stated there was nothing they could do about it, but soon changed there mind when some of us parents said enough was enough and we would keep our kids off school if they didnt sort it, the school nurse called a meeting with the mum and surprise it was sorted out, so school can take a more pro active role when they want to.

On a lighter note, i remember picking my little sister up in tears from school early 80's because Nora Nit Nurse had been round and she didnt have a brown envelope like some of the other kids

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

If you only check when the child is scratching, you've probably got a full blown infestation, as it takes a while for the irritation to start up.

A way of quickly checking if you really don't have time to do the full combing unless they are there, is to drip about 8 drops of lavender essential oil onto the crown of the head, then quickly rub your fingers in it and sweep around the back of the ears.

Within a very short time, nits seem to go 'PAH' and 'bubble up' to the top of the hair. Then, you know you have to comb, but it does calm you & child down while you do it, and the itchy skin eases quite quickly.

Oh, and it's easy to slide the eggs off between thumb and index finger nails. The dark ones mean that someone's home, the white ones that they've gone out for dinner!

bestpud

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

If you only check when the child is scratching, you've probably got a full blown infestation, as it takes a while for the irritation to start up.

A way of quickly checking if you really don't have time to do the full combing unless they are there, is to drip about 8 drops of lavender essential oil onto the crown of the head, then quickly rub your fingers in it and sweep around the back of the ears.

Within a very short time, nits seem to go 'PAH' and 'bubble up' to the top of the hair. Then, you know you have to comb, but it does calm you & child down while you do it, and the itchy skin eases quite quickly.

Oh, and it's easy to slide the eggs off between thumb and index finger nails. The dark ones mean that someone's home, the white ones that they've gone out for dinner!

I don't know; hence I'm checking...

Is that safe?

8 drops sounds an awful lot of neat oil to me...

Katie-Kat-Kins

Quick tip for reducing reinfestation.

Spray hair with a leave in conditioner/detangling spray after washing, this will make the hair too slippy for the nits to get a grip on.

Learn how to french plait and plait your daughters hair tightly each day for school so that there is a reduced chance of contact and so that it is more difficult for the nits.

milliemonster

I really sympathise, my dd is 10 and has them permanently, and I mean PERMANENTLY!!!!, I have stopped using pesticides as it costs a fortune and they don't work. My dd has very thick ultra curly hair so it is an absolute nightmare. But I have no alternative but to comb through her hair every 3-5 days (it takes me an hour) and I always get either live lice or eggs out of her hair. I am at my wits end also.

She hasn't had her hair cut since March as the hairdresser won't cut her hair while she has them and she hasn't been free of them since then so her hair is now long, straggly and getting ruined and I don't know what else to do.

I have tried everything, oil, tea tree, other conditioners etc and nothing works. She has her hair tied back every day but becuase it is so curly, its very bushy and there are always fluffy bits of hair exposed. I really feel for her because her head is sore with the constant combing. Short of shaving her head I'm not sure what else I can do

shellsuit

milliemonster wrote: »

I really sympathise, my dd is 10 and has them permanently, and I mean PERMANENTLY!!!!, I have stopped using pesticides as it costs a fortune and they don't work. My dd has very thick ultra curly hair so it is an absolute nightmare. But I have no alternative but to comb through her hair every 3-5 days (it takes me an hour) and I always get either live lice or eggs out of her hair. I am at my wits end also.

She hasn't had her hair cut since March as the hairdresser won't cut her hair while she has them and she hasn't been free of them since then so her hair is now long, straggly and getting ruined and I don't know what else to do.

I have tried everything, oil, tea tree, other conditioners etc and nothing works

You have to do her hair every day if you want to get rid properly.

I had to do my DD's every night for about 3 weeks to ensure I had everything out of it (including lice, eggs and empty shells which are a sod to get out depending on the colour of the hair)

Every 3-5 days is fine for just checking, but when you know she has them or could have them, it should be done daily I'm afraid.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

bestpud wrote: »

I don't know; hence I'm checking...

Is that safe?

8 drops sounds an awful lot of neat oil to me...

Well, DD2 is now 10, and still has her hair, all the way down to her lower back.

She has long hair and, whilst she was fine with the combing if she actually had them, she didn't want to go through it to find nothing - this was when she was 4 - 8. It didn't hurt her at all, (unlike neat tea tree oil) and I wouldn't suggest it as a treatment, just as a way of stunning the things so that you know they are there to be got at!

shellsuit

Is it just me, or does anyone else love cracking eggs with their nails?

I used to love the sensation of finding one and thinking "gotcha you little shoite" while blitzing it.

I know I'm mad....and sad lol