Headlice (merged)

~evanesco~

I just wanted to add that I also use a bottle of quasia solution. You can buy the quasia chips from health food shops, herbalists etc. You put them in a pan and simmer for a while then sieve and decant the solution into a spray bottle. This seems to repel them. I must remember to buy some more, as all the time I was using it my DD never picked up a single louse.

maria340

flower7 wrote: »

Once you have got rid of the nits either by conditioner, electric comb etc use hairspray. It stops the nits from getting back in the hair when your kids or you are around other people that have them. I don't know why it works but the nits don't seem to like the stuff.

My 5yo son got them all the time,never without them. I tried everything to no avail (seemed to become immune). Since then I decided to wash his hair only if it really needs it (every ten days). This has worked a treat. I still check everyday, occaisionly find 1.

My 2yo daughter has them bad, mostly large clusters of eggs around the hair line, painful. I condition and comb her fine waist length hair (same as me) in the bath every three days. I can't get away with not washing hers (or mine), unfortunately. i will definately try hairspray as it looks like the bugs don't like dirty hair. (we call them bugs and give them names, anything to get her to sit sit for 5 mins)

I've just tried Derbac(sp), don't bother, it didn't kill one. the bugs just all crawled to the top of my daughters head. The most disturbing sight i've ever seen, but i was able to remove a lot in one go.

Carmina_Piranha_3

the moneysaving aspect of this post is to find out if using hedrin and then using it again a week later is similar to wet combing?

also, how can i stop my boy from getting nits? how is he catching them?

i don't know much about headlice. he got them on holiday 4 years ago and i had them then. mine came back a week later and needed doing again.

since then everything was fine until my youngest started to play with some girls from across the street, about 18 months ago. in that time my 11 year old has had nits 4 times. nobody else gets them, just him. they are big ones, he scratches and that same day i find about 7 huge ones.

i'm wondering how he's getting them. the girls come into our house sometimes (but my husband discourages that because their hair and clothes smell of fags) and they are in our car once or twice a week. the 2 year old plays with them but the 11 year old does not. he isn't getting close to them so how is he catching them?

i've dry combed today and they were leaping off the comb, huge leaps like fleas :eek:

so could they be leaping around the car? the sofas are leather but could they leap onto his hair if he is on the same sofa?

i'm assuming it's these girls because everyone else says they always have nits. it's the holidays so he hasn't been to school, but is it possible that these nits i found today are from eggs left behind when i used hedrin 14 days ago? in which case maybe it's not coming from the girls, but from school where he might be getting his head close to other kids for all i know.

i'm just after some advice on how to stop him from getting them again. i can wet comb his hair frequently, but why is he getting them? i don't know of any other high school kid who needs nit combing regularly.

System

once you have dealt with the inital problem you must treat again 10 days later as any eggs will be hatching then ,i use an electronic comb as i dont like using chemicals. i used to have the same problem my DD best friend was permanently infested even the school called her parents in to no avail.touch wood i havent had a problem for a while now as they keep falling out ! you could try using a tee tree shampoo /conditioner .

Spendless

They can only live a short while off a human head. How long I don't know. U.S websites on the subject have you washing everything eg hats, bedding. U.K websites tell you it's not necessary.

Having spent an absolute fortune on headlice treatments that didn't seem to work on my daughter (but did on my son ) I bought nitty gritty, the lotion, comb and repellant spray. This DID get rid, though the 3 items cost cost me £28:eek: but I'd already spent at least that on other treatments so wish I'd bought nitty gritty first.

Since using the repellant spray regularly we have not had another incident.

pulliptears

Carmina_Piranha wrote: »

the girls come into our house sometimes (but my husband discourages that because their hair and clothes smell of fags)

That's a bit mean It isn't the children's fault that the parents smoke around them, why should they be outcast for what their parents do?

as for your problem, I'd suggest getting a spray bottle and filling it with water, add to it half a dozen drops of lavender oil and half a dozen drops of tea tree oil. Squirt it on their hair before they leave the house. It discourages lice.

stefejb

CHRISSYG wrote: »

once you have dealt with the inital problem you must treat again 10 days later as any eggs will be hatching then ,i use an electronic comb as i dont like using chemicals. i used to have the same problem my DD best friend was permanently infested even the school called her parents in to no avail.touch wood i havent had a problem for a while now as they keep falling out ! you could try using a tee tree shampoo /conditioner .

I used to have an electronic comb - satisfying zzzzzt sound as a nit cops it and the girls said it gave them a mild electric shock - just the aversion therapy needed to remind them not to sit next to that bl**dy girl/boy who keeps giving them to them! The nitty gritty is brilliant - plenty of conditioner helps. dd(11) says it scrapes her scalp red raw - again brilliant aversion therapy

TASHMA

To be honest I don't use any chemical product any more as I have never found any of them effective on any of my daughter's hair. I wet comb frequently with lots and lots of conditioner, Every day to start off with, then every other day until I think they have all gone. This can take 10 -14 days though. Then I will check again after about a week just in case I have missed anything (which is easy done as eggs can be so small). I swear buy a bug busting kit I got off the internet last year. It has different size combs for you to use. (detangling comb, comb for crawlies and a comb for eggs). The best advice I can give you is to keep your sons hair short, be vigilant, and don't let him play with anyone you think might have them. I personally think that nits either love you or hate you, as one of my daughters hardly ever gets them and another will get them as soon as she goes back to school. I have had words with her teacher and asked him to send letters home if need be. I can't stand the things and feel that I put all the hard work in when some people are quite happy for their child to be riddled in them

TASHMA

Over the years I have tried repellent sprays, tea tree shampoo, conditioner and neem oil. Find which best works for you and keep up the routine when need be. Hope this helps.

Carmina_Piranha_3

ah, ten days. the hedrin says 7. so this new lot could be left over from the treatment 14 days ago, and might have come from school rather than coming from the girls, in which case i'm being daft worrying about them jumping around the car seats etc

sorry if you think we're mean not to want smoky children in the house, but just being in the same room as one of them has me gasping for my asthma inhaler within minutes. i realise it's not their fault that their parents smoke in the house, but fag smoke is my biggest asthma trigger. car journeys from the park are okay but playing in the house can be hours sometimes, i just can't manage it. besides which it smells bad and my husband is perfectly within his rights to not want it in his house. i don't think he's being mean. if we were mean we wouldn't let our kids play with the children at all. it's not so bad now the weather is getting better anyway, it's their coats that smell the worst.

i don't really want to avoid the nitty children. i like them, and they're my sons friends. not many local kids would want to come round to play with a 2 year old.