Nits, to treat or not to treat?

[dingledangle]

I have had a letter from the school to say that there have been cases of nits in my DS class. The question I would like to ask is do I treat my son or not?

I am aware of the boy who has nits and my son is a close friend of his. I am happy to treat either way but as he is my eldest child and this is my first experience of this I thought I would ask others advice!

My DS has quite thick hair and I had heard that treating with conditioner and combing through with a nit comb is as successful as treating with over the counter remedies. Any experience of this?

TIA

[littlerach]

The combing only works if you do it very thoroughly and frequently.
Not that the nit lotion necessarily works better.
I do dds each week just to check.

[CarGirl]

You need to get a nitty gritty comb (that's a brand) and comb through with that with condidtioner on, it's great at getting the eggs out as well as the lice.

[FranSanDisco]

Why would you not treat your child for nits? I use the conditioner and comb method which is successful for us. Is there new research to suggest leaving them alone and they go away?

[ReneRusso]

No need to treat with product unless you actually find nits. Use loads of conditioner and a nit comb to see if he has nits. If you find some then you can choose to treat with chemicals (eg Hedrin, FullMarks) or you can repeat the thorough combing with conditioner every 2 or 3 days until you get rid of them. If he has short hair then you have a good chance. If you do choose to use the products then repeat treatment after 1 week and keep combing and checking regularly. Spray hair with Lyclear or sprink with tea tree oil to prevent them coming back.

[ReneRusso]

I mean sprinkle!

[FranSanDisco]

Oh I think I get it - treat with conditioner as opposed to over the counter stuff. OK ignore me, I had a late night

[dingledangle]

Thanks for advice. I just had a look on NHS direct and they give quite good info on how to treat with chemicals and how to treat with conditioner and combing method!

[UnquietDad]

So pissed off with nits at the moment. There is one child who DD sees (not school friend) who ALWAYS gives them to her. No coincidence - a week to ten days after seeing X, there they are, every single bloody time. Yet what can we do?