Headlice (merged)

shays_mum

i read somewhere tea-tree oil is really good as its chemical free & actually works, i got a note from school letting me know 1 of the kids there has nits, so will keep you updated if i need to use teatree oil, anyways hope this helps, goodluck

jaxxy00

I found the 'Bug Busting Kit' which i got from Boots for around £5 (had to ask for it though as the chemist section stocked it and it was under the counter) was the best thing i had ever used. I tried all different lotions and combs but got to the stage where they would go to bed after having the stinky lotion on and wake in the morning with crawling ones again. It just seemed to stop working, like someone else said they have found they have become resistant to the chemicals. THe kids couldnt stand the smell of the lotion though so in the end i tried all different combs, metal ones etc and was paying up to £3 each for them. You dont mind what you pay so long as it works but they didnt.I found you combed the hair but the comb wasnt fine enough and left the eggs behind. The 'Bug Busting Kit' though was a life saver, there are 3 stages of comb in the kit and the double sided opening white one is the one which got everything. There was nothing that could escape it. You also get stickers for the kids when they have been good and let you do their hair and a cape. Just put some conditioner on the hair first to help the comb glide through the hair and get rid of them. Good luck!

Smiley_Mum

There is a letter that you can print off on this site to take to your GP so you can get a prescription to get a Nitfree comb, which by all accounts is very effective. Retail price of the comb is £10.99 plus P&P. This item would be available without charge if you are claiming certain benefits. Given the cost of medicated shampoos etc and the effectiveness of whatever you choose, it can be a costly business so the comb would be worth getting.

See this link for details.

http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/ng/index.jsp

It takes out everything as the teeth are very fine but it doesn't tear up your hair. Plenty info also if you have the misfortune of being affected by the little [email="b@ggers"]b@ggers[/email].

Smiley_Mum

Came across this which may be of use to people with school age kids etc. It's not a nice thing I know but Lloyds Pharmacy are giving away 1 million free detection combs until 31 January 2006. Here is a link for the voucher. It is better to have the items to hand just incase, rather than having to rush and buy them when there is a possibility you are affected.

http://www.lloydspharmacy.com/home-page/health_updates/freenitcomb.htm

From what I have read, it is best to condition hair and detection comb at least once a week to be on the safe side, that way if you do get affected you can get things rectified early. Use tea tree shampoo and conditioner always, or just put a few drops of essential oil in your regular shampoo/conditioner etc. If you do that then they won't like your hair much and you are less likely to get affected. Like they say, prevention is better than cure.

mahgnirtle

Prevention is better than cure, we use a nit comb on our girls every night after their evening bath(needless to say we use coconut shampoo).

4Chickens

My cousin's 13yo son has been kicked out of school for having head lice and has been told he cannot return until he is clear.

My cousin treats her son and the three other children every other day by using a comb.

The problem starts with the fact that the three younger children are at primary school and this is where the infestation starts. It is only during school holidays that all four children are clear of headlice.

Nex problem: The 13yo suffers with severe psoriasis on his scalp, neck and back. Everytime she combs his hair with a nit comb it causes his scalp to bleed and every time she uses lotions he screams in pain because effectively he has open sores on his head.

He has broken down in tears over this and has become very depressed and thinks he's dirty, which couldn't be further from the truth.

My cousin does'nt know what to do next because as long as her younger children are in primary school she can't get rid of the lice permanently.

My opinion is that having headlice is'nt the end of the world. I know they cause children to scratch more often and thus draw attention to themselves but lets face it the 13yo has psoriasis and is constantly scratching his head.

I feel really sorry for them and am bloody furious with the school's lack of tact.

What can they do about:

a) his headlice
b) the primary school where they are coming from
c) the secondary school that has kicked him out

Any advice would be welcome
:j :j :j

black-saturn

I feel for her and him and know they must feel at their wits end. I have a similar problem with my 2 children as I have one at primary school and one at middle school. When the primary school one catches headlice the middle school one isnt usually far off. I've minimised it a bit by using separate hair brushes, separate towels and but constantly reminding them not to touch heads with anyone. But still they manage to catch them now and again.

I arranged a 'nitty gritty' day at the school about 2 years ago where every parent got a nit comb and some tea tree oil for free and every parent was SUPPOSED to treat their childrens hair over the school holidays and come back nit free. It worked for a while then they started to creep back in again.

I would complain to the school the older one is at as it says in any school rules that headlice is not a reason to keep children away from school unless the infestation is really bad. The other solution for boys (but I realise not OK for all of them) is to have their head shaved or hair cut very short. Maybe she could do it at the start of a school holiday so it's got time to grown back before he goes back again.

4Chickens

Shaving his head would be a good idea under normal circumstances but when I say he has severe psoriasis I am not kidding. If his head was shaved the school would probably get the parents arrested for child abuse. You hav no idea how horrific it would look.

I do agree though that they should be talking to the secondary school about this. You would think in the year 2006 with all the health education we have that parents could get together and irradicate head lice once and for all.

Thanks for your quick response though :T

jenniferpa

One thing I would ask is what treatment is this child getting for his psoriasis? Speaking as a fellow sufferer (although not a child, so treatment may be different) I have found that there are some extremely effective treatments available. I suppose it's possible that some doctors might be unwilling to prescribe them for a child (side effects) but it sounds like the side effects of not adequately treating the condition are worse. I have no doubt that it's the scratching from the psoriasis that has drawn the schools attention - there is no worse itch.

Jennifer

helen21_2

I didnt think any school could do this, this is why head lice has become such a big problem, in our schools there are kids walking round the schools live with them and no-one is allowed to mention them, not even the school :rolleyes: all they can do is send letters to all parents explaining of the outbreak and encouraging parents to deal with it :rolleyes: