Head Lice

[lizzydrippin]

My grandson is forever getting head lice at school. We get it sorted and by the time he has been back to schoo; for the week he has them back again. It seems the only time he is free of them is when he's on school holidays. Obviously there are some excellent treatments on sale in the chemist of which we sometimes use but its not good to keep putting these heavy chemicals on his hair. Other than sitting for hours on end combing his hair out with a nit comb does anyone have any other maybe natural remedies that work. PS My Mum swore by vinegar as a preventative measure (in the hair rinse water) but I cant honestly say that its doing the job. Whatever happened to the Nit Nurse that used to regularly go round the schools when I was a kid?

[minibusman]

i have had this problem with all of my kids.. it only takes one parent not to care enough to clear the head of their child and whoosh it goes through the class like a wild fire... i ind that if you leave conditioner on the hair (only a tiny bit) after you finish washing it helps stop another infestation.... also my son (who is now 6) loves having his hair gelled to look 'trendy' and since we have been plastering him in gunk i have not had any lice...saying that he will more than likely come home with the pests tomorow..
i agree about the chemicles though and the chemist told me that once a few parents start using the same ones the lice become immune to it anyway....
i hope this has helped...good luck

[lilacben]

Head Lice are alwas a problem theses days. Don't forget however everyone in the family needs to be treated at the same time to stop them spreading. You would be surprised how many parents just treat the child concerned and never do the other children or themselves, even grandparents if they have been with the child.

[lizzydrippin]

Cheers minibusman, I'll try that with the conditioner. I do use it to comb through his hair in the bath checking for nits but I didnt know that it helped to leave a little on. My grandson is 8 and Im surprised that he doesn't already use hair gel. I'll suggest it to his Dad (who he lives with).
Yes lilacben, you're dead right, everyone that gets close enough is prone to get them so we all check eachother regularly and so far myself and husband have managed to avoid them and his Dad keeps his hair close to the wood. I dont think its a very good idea to put these chemicals on your hair as a matter of course just because youve been around someone who has them. Check first to see if you have them. Not everybody catches them so easily.

[lilacben]

Hi lizzydrippin The reason I said that was because I used to work in a pharmacy and that was something we alwas had to tell anyone who was buying nit lotion for there children. Another thing my daughter uses is an electric nit comb they are very good and make a high pitched noise when they pick anything up.

[lizzydrippin]

Hi lilacben, cheers for the electric nit comb suggestion, Ive heard of electric flea combs for pets so I suppose they all work on the same principle. Can you recall where your daughter bought it?

[winny]

Hi after also working in chemist for years irrisponsible use of chemical has led to immunity. It is like hoovering, you can hoover one day and the dog hairs are back the next and if there are no dog hairs there is no point hoovering. I did not try thr chemical for this reason. Once upon a time we recommended treating everyone regardless but then found that unless there is actually anything in the hair it was pointless. The lotions have to be applied correctly and the other reason they are claimed to not work is because people slap them on incorrectly as they think they are a quick fix. Check everyone with a fine comb, even grandmar.
The conditioner works well but I have girls with long hair so I lather it on. Tescos T Tree conditioner 43p is good as they dont like the smell (the nits) they also struggle to cling on to silky hair. I checked with the hair dresser and only washed the hair once a fortnight but conditioned and rinsed twice a week and to be honest the girls hair had never felt so nice.
It is not always an irresponsible parent not treating kids as they are sometimes present without you finding the *******. I checked my girls hair twice a week and found some huge ones which I hadnt found 3 days earlier.
I purchased a Robi-comb pro electric comb from Lloyds chemist but are available on net too. The one in Argos was not as effective. It was very good and when used regulally not only got rid (it did take a while as new ones hatched daily and it only kills live ones) but used regulally kills the suckers on the day they arrive. The kids think it is good too cus they can hear them getting zapped.
Gel works too as they cant crawl about on it so once rid I suggest promoting the gel idea. My girls has a spate of them and me and hubby both use a bit of "product" and have long hair and did not get them.
Good luck

[Neilzulu1]

hiya,i would recommend a head lice comb called"Nitty gritty"it is brilliant and it does get rid of them,you can get it on prescription of your doctor.all i use is a cheap but nice smelling conditioner and the Nittygritty. hope that helps.

[Neilzulu1]

nitfree comb
available on prescription
you wont be dissapointed

[meltoadhall]

i use the nitty gritty comb almost daily on my girls and wet comb rather than chemicals. Although my pharmicist did recommend Derbac M, which was brilliant, no chemicals as one of mine has asthma.
putting up long hair also helps on girls and telling them not to touch heads too.
yes you have no lice all holidays and the day they go back to school there they are!!!

[lizzydrippin]

Thanks so much everyone for your helpful answers. I reckon the little critters that jump on my grandsons head from now on are most definitely dicing with death!! Cheers.

[banjobabe]

Hey Lizzydrippin,

I was told that they can't have nit nurses any more as it is classed as a type of child abuse! How ridiculous is that? But unless you can get written permission for each child you are not allowed to be poking around in their hair.

The only way to guarantee no nits - no hair! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[lizzydrippin]

Cheers Banjobabe I really have heard it all now! child abuse! maybe the cops should arrest the nits for it hey! Ps can you play it? (the banjo)

[Fairie]

my daughter used to get them regularly too, but this year i have been using tea-tree shampoo and conditioner (leaving a little on) and going through with a detector comb once a week. also another thing that might be helping, on occasions i straighten her hair with my straightening irons, i have just one problem left, 'nitts' (the eggs they leave behind) i just cant get them all out! she has really long thick wavy hair, any suggestions?

[corraine]

Have you tried using tee tree oil in there shampoo, each time I buy a new bottle of shampoo I put in about 10 drops of tee tree oil, iv'e been doing this since my kids were very little and have had no adverse reaction to it, and neither of my boys have ever gotten head lice I also check their hair every night when it is washed.

[lizzydrippin]

cheers corraine, thats a good idea, Ive never thought of actually putting the tea tree oil in the shampoo, I doubt whether the content of tea tree oil is that high in the ready made tea tree shampoo. Certainly will work out more econmical doing it that way too. Good thinking!