Headlice (merged)

elona

When my daughters were at primary school I tried everything.

Finally used a method recommended by a health food store owner. Put a little tea tree shampoo in a container (disposable cup will do) - mix in about 12 drops of tea tree oil and apply to hair - cover hair with cling film and leave for half an hour- then rinse hair (sometimes you can see the little blighters being rinsed out!) Then comb the hair with nit comb.

Repeat every week for three or four weeks - it really worked for us and the ingredients can be kept in case of later problems rather than having to run out to a chemist.

MissMotivation

My Daughter has very long, thick and curly hair. She had headlice on and off for about 2 years and I would be religiously wet combing through her hair 4/5 times a week........each time took about 2 hours.....it was horrendous! As a last resort I went into Boots and just said to the Pharmacist "give me something that will work.....regardless of the cost" he recommended Hedrin which was fairly pricey about £11 I think. It has now been 6 months since she last had headlice!

It's so annoying when you are doing everything you can to get rid of them but you know that other parents obviously couldn't care less.

I still wet comb a couple of times a week to check but so far so good!!

Seanymph

Nitty Gritty combs are the best on the market!

Using one of those alongside tea tree, conditioner - or, make up a plant spray container with water and tea tree oil or geranium or lavendar (I put in all three) - spray it on the hair before school.

My girls say it makes them smell like old ladies but obviously nits don't like old ladies because they haven't (touch wood) had them since!

Rachie_B

the last time my sons had headlice we used just coconut oil and a comb worked a treat

much cheaper and less smelly than nitty gritty we had always used before

we always use tea tree shampoo etc anyway and dot a few drops behind the ears and along hairline

inkie

What needs to happen is that kids are banned from school until they are clear - this happens with other 'contegeous' issues e.g. imetigo - it would go a long way in preventing kids reinfecting each other. My DD got so fed up of picking them up at school (2 yrs nit-free now- wehay!!) that she wanted to go to school in a bandanna - but of course this was not allowed.....!

skintas_2

kids gone to my mums she phoned me to say they have nits. i have it to, got debac gonna get the tea tree shampoo out.my hair is so thick, my boys are ok as i cut there hair and spray on lice repellent. kids at my boys school are not allowed to go to school with lice they get sent home

Smiley_Mum

Use Nitty Gritty comb after rinsing your hair in a weak solution of Dettol and water, they hate the stuff. Keep them away with a coconut oil spray in conditioner and frequent wet combing with the Nitty Gritty comb. I'd recommend the Hedrin solution too, lot less hassle than other products and doesn't smell either.

stefejb

when the girl's hairdresser discovered lice :eek: she said to wash and treat their hair on a friday so it was nice for the weekend but then to leave it dirty for school. she said to tie it up and wind in a tight bun to lessen the chances of them getting it again. i have also bought a new comb which i don't know the name of as i chucked the packaging. it has very long teeth which are kind of spiralled and gets the eggs out as well - cost about a tenner from the pharmacy but worth it. We use cheapo conditioner with a couple of drops of tea tree

stef

Savvy_Sue

inkie wrote:

What needs to happen is that kids are banned from school until they are clear - this happens with other 'contegeous' issues e.g. imetigo - it would go a long way in preventing kids reinfecting each other.

Hate to say this, but when one of mine had Impetigo the GP said it was fine for him to carry on going to school, he'd had it for several weeks before it was correctly diagnosed and he reckoned that anyone who was going to catch it, would have done by now ...

Could have throttled the lady in the pharmacy who said "Oh dear, did he fall over?" and I said "No." She said "What is it then?" and I said "You don't want to know." And she said "But what is it?" and I said "You really REALLY don't want to know." Which I hope was politer than "None of your b..... business."

haynrich

many thanks all above i am off to look on ebay