Headlice (merged)

lucym

You can buy the ‘Nitty Gritty’ comb online (£10.99 delivered)

http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/ng/index.jsp

They also have a downloadable letter that you can give to your GP to get a prescription for the comb (good if you have children or are on a low income).

happy2woo

t seem's so silly that schools no longer have nit nurse, I keep meaning to write to my MP about it , as it bothers me so much

The nit nurse nurse had no effect on headlice prevention. She would visit a school once or twice a year. Would YOU leave it 6-12 months between checking your childs' head?

Yes it makes me angry that children have enough lice to pass onto others. What makes me angry is that lice will only get to such numbers on a childs' head if parents are not bothering to take a few minutes extra each day to run the nit comb through hair after brushing! :mad:

That's all it takes - the most my 7yr old has had is 1 or 2 that have been freshly caught and removed the same day - and that's in a much larger school where some children have been seen to have so many they are dropping onto their desk!!!

The nitty gritty sounds like my comb, if same it's brilliant- you can be confident that no hair is missed from the check- teeth are so close together and will not bend (to pass anything).

Good luck to anyone struggling to remove their visitors at the moment but esp as schools are going back - remember, it's NOT THE NIT NURSE that prevents headlice it's REGULAR (daily or every 2nd day) PARENTAL CHECKS (with a comb - you can't find 1 louse just by looking) that will stop this being a problem for your child! :A

lesleystrawson

One year when I was teaching I caught lice 4 times in the same year. I (as you can imagine) was very annoyed, and with my head's permission, sent out a letter to every child in my class explaining the situation and requesting parents to sign a tear off permission slip confirming that they had indeed checked their child's hair.

Didn't get them again...

Miss_Behaving

I work in early years and unfortunately come into contact with headlice all the time. I told one mother her daughter had 'visitors' again and she replied that she has three girls all with long hair and she hasn't the time to comb them so they'll have to live with it! It was very difficult to be diplomatic especially as her daughter had just given them to me!!

I tried a product called 'Repel' which you can get at the chemist - it does deter them a bit but by far the best way is to use a leave in conditioning spray and add to the bottle six or seven drops of tea tree oil, three of four of lavender and a couple of eucalyptus. Apart from the smell detering them, I think it moisturises the hair so the little critters can't climb the hair shaft. I was nit-free all of last term!

I did read that if you comb everyday, even if you don't evict them all, you break the legs of any new lice and they can't then lay their eggs. Because wet combing takes so long, I have invested in an electronic nit zapper (about £15 from Argos) which I use when time is short. This works well and makes a really satisfying nose when you zap a nit.

modgit

jockettuk wrote:

i use a little make up brush to get them off the comb then i squash them between my nails and if you hear a crack they nits and they dead. so they cant reinfest.. my mother did this and i thought at the time yuk but now im the mother lol

At the grand age of mid 30's i've just had these blighters for the first time, and yes, my mom insisted on cracking each one.... it's the only way she told me!

Juno, though please please carry on combing your hair for at least 2 weeks after finding your last live one, as apparently their hatching / breeding timescale is 7 -10 days eeek. It took me (I have very long hair) nearly 3 weeks to get rid of the pesky things. I bought tea tree oil conditioner, and my hairdresser told me that the more styling products you use the better, as they can't stick on.

As for your bf dad being the source I did read on a website that it is highly unusual for adult males to have them (perhaps they don't taste as good?!) and my DH didn't, even though me and kids did, but guess others on here are going to prove that wrong.....

gravitytolls

My health visitor told me that women are the preferred choice, and blondes in particular - bizarre.

They are horrid, but regular combing will get rid.

I use a double edged metal lice comb, and they're great, as they remove eggs, nits and lice.

I don't wet comb however, because I read an interesting article by a headologist (sorry can't remember his real title, too many letters), who claimed that conditioning and then combing was, contrary to the advice of docs and nurses etc., simply providing a perfect breeding environment. He claims that wet combing can't possibly remove them all, and those that are left will be in Narnia ( or words to that effect). SoI dry comb, and it seems to work.

nightsong

We had an electric nit-zapper called, if I remember, the Robicomb. It didn't work any better than an ordinary comb, but it was fun hearing them sizzle .

My boys had them a couple of times but once they hit teenagerdom they stopped. I understood that the nits don't like testosterone!

Straykitten

It's back to school time again, which means a high likelihood of the return of those nasty little parasites - headlice.

Here's a great tip - which I discovered by accident - that could mean goodbye to headlice for good! It's most effective on longer hair - the hardest type to treat, but the first to get infected.

If you've ever been unfortunate enough to contract these pesky little critters, you'll know how hard it is to get rid of them.

The lotions and potions are often ineffective because so many people misuse them, allowing the headlice to become immune. Plus they’re messy and smelly.

The combs are a bit hit and miss and, let's face it, are only good for telling you whether you've got them or not. Mayonnaise, tea tree shampoos - the tools of a desperate parent.

I've tried them all and was still scratching.

The solution:

Hair straighteners!

The heat kills the nits and any unfortunate little lice who stray a little too close to the burning hot plates.

Use them over a period of a couple of days to kill the eggs - before they get a chance to hatch (the lice will die without any little heirs to carry on their legacy) - and then once a week when you know there's an infestation, but you can't find any lice in your children's hair - to keep them at bay.

But the damage to my beautiful glossy hair!!...

Okay, so it's not very good for your hair. But those lotions are positively dangerous. They not only damage your hair (can have a frightening effect on coloured hair) they stink, are messy and - most frightening of all - have been linked to some child hood cancers!

So I ask you - isn't getting rid of that itch worth a couple of split ends.

And anyway, at least this way your hair looks fab – as opposed to looking dull, having the consistency of shoelaces and smelling like a chemistry lab.

Directions:

Separate the hair into sections using a sectioning clip (available at Boots and most Chemists) and straighten the hair from as close to the roots as you can go without giving the victim third degree burns*.

To those with short hair:

No - this isn't a solution for you if your hair's too short to use hair straighteners safely. However, your hair is much easier to treat using conventional methods. I found that it was my daughter with long hair who constantly got infected and brought them home to us as a little gift. By keeping the longhaired beauties under control, you're less likely to have an infestation problem in the first place.

Hope this helps! It was an answer to my prayers. No headlice since I started using the straighteners on my daughter - and that's about 2/3 years!

So start straightening now*!

*A word to the wise – it might seem obvious but hair straighteners are extremely hot and could cause serious burns. Always make sure that a competent adult – with experience of using hair straighteners – always does the straightening.

kirstyreanne

My little sister keeps getting nits - usually picks them up at least once ebery few weeks, so this tip is fantastic. I'll be taking my straighteners down with me every time I go & see her now methinks!

Thanks again.

16011996

Would Use It On Myself, But Can't Say I Agree With Using Striaghtners On A Child Hair.