Headlice (merged)

*zippy*

Have a look at delacet too, its herbal and you don't need to do all the combing. It does stain so watch clothing and your bath if its plastic, but I used it again this week and it is very good.

http://www.healthpol.co.uk/delacet/

Scoflo

We had an enormous problem at my daughters junior school some years ago and at any one time one of my 3 had nits. When it was really bad I had them too! The school was massively involved but really the only thing that helped was persevering with the conditioner and comb and keeping the girls long hair tied up. Sleepovers were discouraged or top & tailed so heads weren't close and of course no-one else had nits - till I spoke with other mothers! When my eldest went up to seniors she seemed to stop and the periods between got longer and longer. Moving to Scotland did it in the end!

I had a zapper and wasn't keen. If the hair is damp it gives an electric shock and can be tuggy to get through hair. I bought it in partnership with my sister (long haired daughter & bloke - he shaved his head in the end) but it wasn't money well spent.

rsdiscos

I bought a Nitty Gritty comb from Lloyds pharmacy.
It cost £9.99:eek: but came with a lifetime guarntee (spelling!!)
so as long as you don't lose it you're safe.
It worked well :rolleyes:

Tao81

Alison so glad to be able to pass this tip on to you. My teenage daughter's has had such success with this method and I've even heard a GP on T.V. recommend it, so I would hazard a guess that she's had a lot of patients passing this little gem on in person?!

Ready?...............It's Brilliant!!..............You're not going to believe just how simple it is?!!.............................and your teenagers going to love it!..............................Zap the little critters with Hair Straighteners, yes you heard right, HAIR STRAIGHTENERS!

I bought a Robi comb (electric nit comb) years ago for the princely sum of £25!! They were a right rip off a few years back!
Never agreed with putting organophosphates on her head for her body to absorb, so chose this route. Very happy with it although extremely laborious & time consuming process. Plus once you captured all the lice, you then had to go after the eggs and try to pick them out manually 'cos you couldn't guarantee it had zapped all of them.......and it only takes one blighter to start the whole cycle off again!! Used to combine this with regular conditioner/nit combing sessions in the bath, what a carry on?!!!! But, it was suitably successful at the time, kept break-outs to a minimum anyway.

THEN......She started senior school, I was really pleased 'cos everyone reassured me lice wouldn't be a problem there as older children don't touch heads as much as they tend to do in primary school...WRONG!! Anyway, carried on with robi comb and conditioner/nit comb sessions until she started to get vain and wanted to straighten her hair regularly......and what do you know?? Not sight, nor sign of a louse since!!!!!!!!! Flippin fantastic, wish I'd realised years ago, could have save weeks of my life and done something enjoyable with the time:rolleyes:

This problem can be the bane of your life, it prevents you from snuggling down with your kid to give them a cuddle, or even cuddle them on your lap without bending your spine at right angles 'cos you always have to be aware of where their head is in relation to yours because the last thing you want is to catch them again!!:eek:

You can't let your little angle get into bed with you for a cuddle because you're always aware that something else will end up crawling on you if you relax your guard for a moment......I really hated it!
Oh yes! people are very sweet about it with their words of comfort and platitudes such as "Dont worry, they only go to clean heads" but that doesn't stop you suffering the distress and disruption of having to deal with these thoroughly unpleasant visitors. (and BTW they do live on dirty heads! I know because I go so distressed at the regularity of 'attacks' at one point, that I banned her from washing her hair until it was really greasy! Just to test the validity of this theory/myth? :shocked:
Maybe, on reflection I should join the bad mothers forum on here?!!):rotfl:

Who on earth put parasites on this planet? I've often wondered??!! (Mind you I've gone out with one or two and actually ended up marrying one of 'em?!) wish I could of electronically zapped him on demand, would have been much more painless and a far quicker process than getting divorced! :laugh:

Anyway, look at me? Sat here at 1 a.m. scribing to you my past woes with lice and nits?!! I'll have to go and get some serious shut-eye 'cos, said daughter, will be returning home tomorrow having been at camp for a week with a load of other teenagers. Therefore, I'll need to be suitably refreshed to deal with the suitcase of laundry and switched-on enough, to remember to brandish the hair straighteners at her the second she walks through the door!!!!!

SO BEST OF LUCK AW - Let us know how your daughter gets on?

brix_2

the straighteners will only work if you can get them really close to the scalp. they won't catch all the lice either, especially not the very young ones that crawl around the scalp rather than the hair itself.

straighteners can also damage the hair when used frequently.

i've tried everything and the nitty gritty comb seems to be the best comb out there as it does get MOST eggs. you just have to use it every day for a few weeks to get rid of them all.

Tao81

brix wrote: »

the straighteners will only work if you can get them really close to the scalp. they won't catch all the lice either, especially not the very young ones that crawl around the scalp rather than the hair itself.

straighteners can also damage the hair when used frequently.

Have you actually tried this method, over time......Oh Ye of little faith?!!

FYI - AlisonW
You don't have to straighten (complete head of hair) more than once a week (my daughter 12 year old was only allowed to straighten her hair if she was going to her Friday night church youth club) and occasionally straightened her fringe once or maybe twice a week before school, if I was in a good mood.:A
Everyone knows to apply a protective spray or gel before using the them and this must always be adhered to.

You don't have to get right up really close to the scalp:rolleyes: (Ouch that'll hurt!!:eek:)
Just gently straighten as normal and eventually all the little critters and their eggs will die......As soon as they see the remotest twinkle of daylight they scurry away, lice don't solely move around on the scalp, all of them eventually venture onto the hair shaft at some point, even if you have to wait for them to grow they'll come out to meet the hot enemy and inevitably you get to a stage where you are able to zap the last one!
No lice=no eggs, no eggs=no lice.....aaaaagggghhhhh! Breath!.....:T

I think this process is so effective, as over time you cut the numbers down, any existing eggs die, there's less and less being laid and eventually you get the last one and Hey Presto! the cycle is broken.

Keep straightening once a week and I can promise the problem will miraculously disappear!!

My daughters scalp was infested with the tiniest almost transparent lice just before she started straightening her hair. They definitely sat close to the scalp most of the time, but I promise that she didn't do anything other than straighten once a week.
I'm too conscious of the electricity bill and because also I don't want her to become too vain I keep them in my bedroom and she has to request them before use, so I know that I'm telling it as it is!

It was she who pointed out to me that she no longer had lice, this meant that she could always use the straighteners on a Friday evening!; as before her announcement is was not unlike me to say no, just to cut down her usage so that it didn't become a habit!!! (and save my pennies). I think her hair is quite straight enough, she has lovely hair, the straighteners were originally bought for me not her!!

GO ON!....Give it a try!...... For your sake, I hope you prove me right!:p
Just remember to keep it up regularly, every week, even when you think she might be clear. We did this for long enough that she has now gone off using the straighteners so much.
After many weeks of no use, she will suddenly ask for them, and it's because she thinks she may have felt the dreaded familiar itch!!!!!:eek:

Anyway, it worked famously for us and we were so infested, so regularly it was beyond a joke!
I'll leave the cynics out there, to decide for themselves whether or not to even give it a go ?!
(After all, Long-term lice free hair, without chemicals, is an individual choice after all)

BYE ALL :wave: {xx}

Grumpysally

May give the straighteners a try if the nitty gritty comb doesn't work. It means buying some though. Ive just given mine away on Freecycle!!!!!!!
I look horrid with hair straightened and DD1 went mad last time the hairdresser used them on her. She's very anti fashion though if she gets fed up enough of the lice she might be persuaded. She said she might borrow some from a friend. What type do you use?

Tao, I know what you mean about the two legged parasites!!!!!

sahararose

We had this problem for YEARS, tried every lotion, every method and none worked.

We finally tried a new lotion that coats the lice with silicon, so they cant breath....it worked !!! got rid of everything. I cant remember the name of it, but its not toxic to us, so much safer than other lotions. Ask the chemist for the silicon based lotion.

Tao81

AlisonW wrote: »

May give the straighteners a try if the nitty gritty comb doesn't work. It means buying some though. Ive just given mine away on Freecycle!!!!!!!
I look horrid with hair straightened and DD1 went mad last time the hairdresser used them on her. She's very anti fashion though if she gets fed up enough of the lice she might be persuaded. She said she might borrow some from a friend. What type do you use?

Tao, I know what you mean about the two legged parasites!!!!!

:rotfl:Hi, Alison :hello:

Love it when young girls are anti-fashion, my teenager is very much that way most of the time......Shows they have minds of their own....GREAT.... I really admire that.

Only use cheap hair straighteners, Woolworths own!! Good Luck Hun. Hope your endeavours work and you can finally wave bye bye to the little blighters!!

Sahararose - The silicone lotion like a good idea, especially as non-toxic to humans.
Glad to see there are other options out their to beat them with. Feel it's important to have choice, as we're all different and have our own preference on how to tackle such issues.

...I'm sticking with the hair straighteners, 'cos know it works for us and only costs me a few pennies on my electric bill!!

Nice of you to pass your idea on. I'll share it with anyone I come across who doesn't have hair long enough to straighten (particularly crew cut headed boys) and those who don't own, or wish to use straighteners. Thanks.:beer:

*zippy*

I think the silicone one is Hedrin?