Mumsnet Talk

My 6yo dd2 seems to attract nits
I do them every month with hedrin once
Dd1 tends to have a few (5) ds tends to have 1 or 2
Dd2 has LOADS
So dd2 rather upset today as her teacher had told her "tell your mum to get you some nit lotion, your always itching"
I'm <angry> tbh
I only did her on Sunday
She's only just stopped being bullied by other girls about having nits, and had just started to be ok about going to school again
I think teacher should have spoken to me, not a 6yo girl who now doesn't want to go to school

If you did them Sunday and there was none then there should be no huge adult ones 2 days later

No there isn't any today
I think she must have just been scratching her head
She also has eczema so tends to be itchy

Right, well clearly I was confused by you saying she has 'loads'

Tell the teacher she has eczema and not nits and that she was upset yesterday.

Sorry I meant in general she has loads

Once a month is not enough then. Your poor dd.

There is a link on here somewhere to a nit free program that it would be well worth you trying. If you can find it?

Can you nit comb the hair with conditioner every night?

If in general she
'Has loads' of nits then the treatment you are using is not effective, probably because blasting them once a month does not remove all the eggs so they had come straight back. Have you spoken to health visitor for advice?

To be honest I don't blame the teachers do, being fed up, a child who frequently has loads of nits is bound to be of concern.

you do need to comb regularly - every 4 days i think, since nits have a 4 day life cycle? But the teacher shouldn't be commenting on it and embarrassing your daughter like that - the whole reason they got rid of nit nurses was to avoid embarrassing children.

If nits are prevalent in school (or wherever) you really need to be nit-combing with conditioner every week so they don't take hold. Hedrin doesn't kill the eggs, so after a couple of weeks you'll have a nice lot of new babies.

Are you combing her hair every single day, twice a day?

You may be treating your daughter properly but many parents don't sadly.

Don't be putting chemicals on then once a month.
A thorough check with a nitty gritty comb at least once a week, if a lice are spotted then comb 2x a day for at least a week.

Have you had someone check you out for them, for them all to have then that often then you are maybe missing some.

I comb my DDs weekly with the Nitty Gritty and lots of conditioner.

If they have nits, I do the following:

Day1: Hedrin - not the Once, the regular stuff. Comb through with Nitty Gritty until no more live (or dying, I love to see them struggle) bugs found.

Day2: Morning - wash out the Hedrin. Evening - drench hair in vinegar (ordinary white vinegar will do. You will need to cover their eyes with a wet flannel as the fumes are nasty. Leave for 10 minutes, then wash hair. The vinegar dissolves the glue that binds the eggs to the hair and they wash out.

Day 7: Repeat Hedrin treatment - if you find live mature nits, your child is being reinfected.

You will need to tie your DD's hair back and spray the hair with cheap hairspray every day - they don't like this, for some reason.

Nit combing twice a day is really not necessary, but if a letter notifying of nits in the school comes home, you do need to comb immediately.

Fanny, Hedrin is not a pesticide - it works by coating the nits in silicone, which suffocates them.

I hate the word 'chemical' - everything is a chemical. Even water. <pedant>

The lotion is no good anyway. You need to bomb with conditioner daily

Dd has excema and a very sensitive scalp and hedrin made her itch more than the lice did.

Seriously it's not on of the teacher. I'd be mad, she should have spoken to you.

pictures have you tried olive oil? Has the same smothering effect if you're persistent. I agree that eczema can be a real problem with Hedrin, though fortunately DD1 never had issues with it.

my dd had this problem for three years.

I sat with her every sunday night and did her whole head with a nitty gritty comb and conditioner. It got them all out. I know it did cos i got so frustrated i took her to the doctors with them and he kindly pointed out the lifecycle etc

But by thursday she would have full grown adult ones roaming around, but with very few nymphs.

It was only when she changed classes and moved her coat away from the same childs coat she had been next to for 3 years, did it show any improvement....

I believe they were 'travelling' along the coats. these coats are on and off at least three times a day, so the nit wouldnt actually be on the coat for long before it had another nice warm head.

Now dd keeps her coat in her bag, not on her peg, and she hasnt had another infestation.

I'll save that idea for next time if there is one (do they still get headline when they go to secondary school)?

It's a struggle even finding shampoo. We had been using neutrogena but that's supposed to be for over 12 years only. Simple seemed ok but can't get it on any if the shops round here at the moment, don't know why. Dove caused a lot of itchiness so trying Tresemme naturals now.

pictures my DD1 is 11 - she had nits earlier this year but caught them off DD2 who was in Yr4 at the time. I don't think they are nearly as much of a problem in secondary.

With the shampoo - I think you are going to need one without the sodium lauryl sulfate, and most readily available shampoos contain it. I think you need to run this Google search: sodium lauryl sulfate and paraben free shampoo to get some recommendations that will work, and I suspect internet shopping will be your friend.

It's a bugger when they have sensitive scalp - DD1 has eczema and her main problem is her face and the area around her mouth. Which is a pain, because she is a pre-teen and her skin is starting to get a little oily, but balancing the need for soothing moisture with the need for reducing spots is a real challenge.

here is the programme it really does work

please don't let your children be the Nitty Ones

If you comb until you find no more lice then comb every three or four days (unless you find some) you should be able to keep them to a minimum. If your DD is suffering from itchy scalp because of her eczema, think about using olive oil with tea tree and lavender instead for the combing sessions. It might also be worth looking at SLS free shampoos to reduce the itching.

X-post re SLS

The life cycle means that you just have to comb at 3-4 day intervals for 2 weeks. There are no 'special days'. As long ad you comb at least every 4th day you will catch newly hatched eggs before they can get to adult egg laying stage

Nitty gritty also removes the eggs meaning that most won't even hatch.

OP you have been given some good advice about the nit treatment (and I am another supporter of the lice program I used it on my oldest dd when she kept getting nits over and over)

However with the teacher you need to speak to her. Say something like " dd has excema and she is already selfcontious about this. I would there for prefeer if you have any concerns you speak to mem and not dd who feels horrid over what I am sure was not intended to be anything but a kind remark by you"

Thanks all ill read thru all the suggestions once kids are in bed
I'm glad I didn't post on Aibu now!
I've taken on board that my hedrin once a month approach isn't working, and will try some of the suggestions below

I've found the nitty gritty comb to be useless tbh
I've used it a few times, found no nits, then found several with a normal metal comb (that came free with full marks solution)
I do think the teacher should have spoken to me, not dd,

Thanks again

I agree - I think what she said was not acceptable. Does she know that dd had a problem with bullying before? If so, that is even worse.

Hi, my DS has never had nits, I think it is because I have always washed his hair in organic shampoo with natural lavender or chamomile, it might be worth a try. May also solve problems with itchy, sore skin and scalp. Best wishes