Headlice (merged)

Seesaw_2

Martin - I know this isn't money related but with your sway in the media could you not call on a national nit picking day ??

gravitytolls

modgit, I reckon bout 2 weeeks. I generally feel safe to stop when I haven't found a live one for about 5 days.

Of course it depends how obsessive you are. There was a child in our last school/playgroup who seemed to always have them, she was always scratching; and as anyone with nits experience will tell you, nit scratch is distinctive from general itchy head scratch.

Anyhoo, for about 2 years our daughter seemed to pick them up all the time, except school hols time.I seemed to be constantly combing our heads, mine hurt I was it so much. When we changed schools, we cleared her, and have only had one bout in the 4 years since moving.

The difference? At the new school, they had twice annual bug busting days, where volunteers checked the whole school. I think the embaressment factor made folk keep kids clear.

When the old school sent afore mentioned child home (we'd already gone by then), mother was mortified, and child was chemically cleared until they were vanquished.

Our local authority has since banned bug busting, and the problem is beginning to escalate again.

Savvy_Sue

Quassia chips worked for me, I used to buy them from Culpeppers but if you search online they are available elsewhere. (It seems to be pronounced Quizzier if you are in a shop! That may help!)

They look like bark / wood chippings, you simmer them or steep them overnight in water. Then STRAIN WELL, rinse hair with it, or spray on and comb through.

If you get it on your fingers it tastes quite bitter. So while the lice seemed to around at school, I sprayed the kids over with this stuff before school each morning. No substiture for regular combing, mind you.

Poppy9

Kimberley wrote:

How can a parent let a child keep getting nits? If the child keeps getting them then it's obvious the parents are not getting rid of the nits properly. Also if the child keeps getting nits then the parents should check their hair at every wash There is no excuse to let your child suffer like this..the child may not be bothered, but she will in secondary school if kids get to know about it.. Fleabag is what kids call them

I think the schools should pull the parents up to be honest, or get the school nurse to give them a visit :rolleyes:

I think this is a bit harsh. My daughter avoided nits until year 3. I thought it was because I was using a water spray every morning with a few drops of tea tree oil in. However she then caught them continuously from Sept. to Dec. This was despite me doing a wet comb through every evening - not easy on waist length hair. I refuse to use chemicals and the conditioner was so messy and you couldn't see the louses or nits easily. I tried an electronic comb - but it just got tangled in the hair as you can only use on dry hair. Also I found out that water paralyses the louses so they are continously moving on dry hair. We seem to get months, even a year of no nits then up they pop again. Last time I was fed up with clearing her and then she would come home from school the next day with a couple of fully grown louses. I knew it wasn't due to me missing eggs as they would have been smaller. I decided to ring the parents of the children on her table to "apologise" for sending DD to school for the last 2 weeks with head lice but I just could clear her and I was concerned she was passing them to their kids. It worked as after the weekend we stayed clear until the end of term.

If kids have short fine hair its a quick and easy tasks. Long hair takes me almost 2 hours to fully clear every night.

juno

I've got a really itchy head, and I was just scratching and saw a bug type thing under my nail afterwards. And just while I'm typing this I've found another one!

I've never had them before, help!

Rikki

Something the children give you for free.

I would wash your hair then put on loads of conditioner and comb through with a fine toothed comb. You can get special combs from the chemist. Repeat this daily and they are soon gone. You don't need to use chemicals.

tru

You need a fine-tooth comb (from the chemist) and some conditioner. Cover your hair in conditioner then comb it, the bugs get caught up in the comb. Repeat a couple of days later just in case you missed any.

I've had head lice a couple of times, caught them from my daughter when she was at junior school. She caught them from a girl in her class whose parents never sorted it out, when you walked past her you could see them moving around, yuk

aliasojo

Rikki wrote:

You don't need to use chemicals.

This is very true.

However.........personally I would want to blast the little b****rs with every poisonous chemical known to man then I would comb them out and set fire to them.

Maybe that's just me though...........

:rotfl:

tru

Oops sorry Rikki, you posted as I was typing

elisebutt65

You need to get a bugbusting kit and use it regularly - and everyone else that you come into close contact with needs to be done as well.