Headlice (merged)

teddy69

Not sure if you're aware of it or not but if you go to a pharmacy that is allowed to write a prescription for minor ailments you can ask them to write you a prescription for nit treatment and get it for free.

Obviously they need to see your child and see that they actually have nits. Only problem is that they can only prescribe certain types, e.g. full marks, so you only get the chemical versions.

But while you are there also ask for a Nitty Gritty nit comb, again you can get it on prescription so its free. I have found that this is the best one to use.

Unfortunately my daughter goes to school with a couple of kids that don't regularly de-nit so I'm forever de-nitting her. I condition comb every time I wash her hair which keeps them at bay but occasionally they do get out of control and I have to resort to the chemicals (fortunately not very often).

Good luck!

Lyndsay_21

i remember my best mate who lived up the road she always had nits, she lived with her dad so i dont know if he was 'up' on the nits thing so whever she stayed over my mum used to give us a bath and de-nit both our hair and call it a 'special' treatment....probably wouldn't be able to do that now without getting arrested!!!

i heard using tea tree shampoo and cond is supposed to work well for preventing them.

re dog poo do what my mum did a nice big poster in the window in thick black marker pen
Dog owners dont leave your dogs s**t here!!
or words to that affect. (yes my mum actually did this)

trace_567

I don't have any kids, and also thankfully have never had nits. Of course that was back when "nitty nora the flea explorer" came to check all heads.

Tea tree is supposed to be very good as a natural solution. I'd suggest buying a good quality tea oil and add it to normal shampoo and conditioner to use every time you wash the hair.

iwanttosave_2

I check my boys hair every Friday for nits. I have very long and thick hair so if he gets them and passes them on to me it wont be an easy task!

There is one mum at school who keeps having to be told about her daughters nit problem but doesn't do anything other than drag a comb through it because "what more can I do, the school should sort if they're that bothered" :mad:

stas4949

I don't use any chemicals/treatments/lotions on my boys, all I do is comb through quickly in the morning every other day...... if I find any then when they get home from school I do a very thorough comb through. One of my boys has quite long hair and gets nits quite regular (his friend is crawling with them, again his parents don't seem too bothered!) but my method does seem to work!

It drives me around the bend that some parents just don't care, I class the little job of combing a basic care need for my boys. I hate to see my child itching and uncomfortable. If I see a child scratching at the school gates I do make a friendly comment to them or their parents along the lines of "oh dear looks like you will be busy tonight, nits again!" I have never had a negative reply......

Carmina_Piranha_3

my boy hasn't had nits from school but he has caught them twice from elsewhere. the first time he passed them on to me :eek: we used full marks at first but then i used something from the pharmacy which was natural. it was just coconut oil. it smelled lovely and it didn't give me eczema or asthma.

my youngest hasn't had nits but i do check his head regularly because he scratches sometimes (he's got a scabby head, still has cradlecap at age 2) and having had nits once myself as an adult i don't want my children to go through that without it being treated. it was HORRIBLE. it's beyond me why some parents don't check for nits. having nits is very unpleasant - i wouldn't want any child i love to have them.

i suppose having boys means we don't get nits as often as girls do. there are girls in my street who are constantly being treated for nits and their parents and teachers know which kids aren't being treated but they can't do anything about it.

mums in the playground say that regular wet combing is the only real way to keep it under control if there are kids who are always infested at school.

i can't remember what the nit nurse used to do when i was a kid. she handed out lotion and checked heads, but what happened to the infested children? were they sent home until they were clear of nits? would that work nowadays, with so many parents at work? i remember the nit nurse giving me lotion once, and mum had to do all of our heads at home that night.

given that the lotion is available for free you have to wonder exactly why some parents aren't treating their children

webbie

Reading everyone's stories it's quite amazing how - once kids seem to get them, it is sooooo hard to get rid of them. Thought it was just me finding it hard!!

I have tried the straighteners - not sure how many I got with them, but I can't get right to the scalp with them. And as nits like heat - I'm now not sure this may be the best idea.

And...I am now scratching again too!!:eek:

Carmina_Piranha_3

there's an electronic nit comb you can get, it zaps them. i don't know how much it costs though, and it probably wouldn't get the eggs so you would have to do it again in a week or so to get the newly hatched ones before they get big enough to breed.

it's surprising how many people don't know about re-doing it a week later. i didn't. the first time. that'll teach me not to read instructions :rolleyes:

all it takes is for one parent at a school to not treat their child and the nits just won't go away. our school sends letters and most parents read the letter and decide to check their child that night - but then how many parents go to get lotion the next day? i went on holiday with a friend who had a daughter and i hadn't realised she NEVER treated nits because 'they'll only come back again as soon as she gets back to school' :eek: the poor girl scratched her head throughout the entire holiday and parents told their kids to avoid her in the pool/playground etc. this was the summer so if she had treated her the girl would have had 6 weeks of being nit-free.

our schooo tried to put on a meeting once but only a few parents turned up to it and they were the ones who already knew what to do and had the information in the instruction booklets etc. so it was preaching to the converted really - the parents who don't treat their kids didn't go to the meeting.

[Deleted User]

I though me having a boy meant I was not going to have a problem with nits, boy was I wrong!

Carmina Pirahna is right, Many people don't realise about re doing their childs hair after a week, and also forget to let grandparents know if they have contact with their grandchildren, so they can check too.

The problem isn't the parents who check their childrens hair, it's the ones who don't (obviously ), won,t and can't be bothered. No matter what can be done or suggested, to try and sort it out, it's the parents job and if they don't want to then what can you do.
My DS LEA say they schools around here can not send children home ( whereas in the area my aunt works as a teachers assistant they can) even though I always tell my DS school they never send a letter home informimg other parents to check.

I think if parents were MADE to keep their children at home till they were clear the irresponsable ones who don't bother to check/treat would soon buck their ideas up, after all I bet they wouldn't want their children at home with them so they'd make damn sure they got rid of the nits!

Carmina_Piranha_3

i can certainly imagine having the children sent home would make the family near me treat their children's nits.

what do the rest of you do when yours has nits though - do they have a day off school each time?

there's been one occasion where i didn't realise spud had nits until the chemist had closed for the evening and there wasn't time to walk to the chemist, get home, treat his hair etc. before school started. i called school to say he would be a couple of hours late (using the quick chemical treatment) and school told me to send him in anyway, and do the treatment that evening.