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To ask is this a nit?

38 replies

Curlyy97 · 28/12/2023 22:18

unfortunately my 4 year old caught head lice at school. I’ve treated and combed and so far I can nor see any more lice ones but I have looked again see these near the bottom of her hair and they are stuck on quite well. I’ve had to pull some out . Is this nits? I’ve not had experience with these before but I’ve read the nits will be near the scalp but these are low down

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To ask is this a nit?
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Amybelle88 · 29/12/2023 00:33

Curlyy97 · 28/12/2023 22:25

@DragonFly98 oh no!
does anybody know any treatments that do work?

Hedrin.

Suffocates the little fuckers.

Saracen · 29/12/2023 00:18

SleepingStandingUp · 28/12/2023 23:30

Sorry to drop in but has anyone tried the electric ones that zap the little shits to kill them?

Yes, I found it really brilliant. For one thing, you don't have to be able to identify and deal with the lice. You just comb, you hear a change in the tone, and you know you've zapped one. (Well, sometimes you get false positives, but usually a change in the sound means there was a louse.)

Also, you can use the electric comb on yourself quite easily if you don't have another adult willing and able to check you or get rid of your lice. Unlike wet combing, you don't really have to comb through all the way to the ends of the hair, just the area near the scalp where the little devils like to hang out.

I first started using the electric comb on a very active two year old, and I liked that I could just have a go whenever - no need to get hair wet or conditioned and have a big session. I'd do my child for ten minutes or five minutes or however long they would sit still. An hour later, I'd have another go. And so on. This is less effective than systematically working your way over the child's entire scalp, but that was never going to happen with this particular child! I figured if I had a go umpteen times a day, eventually I would get all the little blighters.

In common with other methods that only kill lice and not eggs, one session isn't enough. You have to stick with it and keep zapping newly hatched babies before they have time to mature and lay eggs. In time, you'll get them all.

I did find the high pitch slightly annoying, but it was worth it. I guess if your child is sensitive to that sort of noise, they might refuse it. Also, I should think that electric combs would be unsuitable for use by people with hearing loss in the upper ranges. Older people often lose the ability to hear higher pitches first. So they wouldn't know if the comb was working and whether it had zapped a louse - you have to remove the body before proceeding.

ZeldaFighter · 29/12/2023 00:14

Full Stop from Amazon worked for us. Also short haircuts, good luck

WinterDeWinter · 28/12/2023 23:56

Hedrin or conditioner/comb works - but you HAVE to do it again on one particular day after the treatment and I can't now remember which. It's because it's impossible to get every egg, so you have to wait until they will have hatched but before the new lice are old enough to reproduce themselve. Google headlice lifecycle and you can work it out.

It used to drive me insane when parents at school would say their child had been infected again. Nope, you just didn't get rid of it the first/second/third time...

DyslexicPoster · 28/12/2023 23:51

yesyouareyouare · 28/12/2023 22:27

Derbac M. It's very expensive though.

I don't think you buy that any more?

I use a nitty gritty comb, conditioner and days, weeks or endless combing

Hankunamatata · 28/12/2023 23:47

For combing I like a spray clear detangler as you can see the little buggers better.

givemestrength9 · 28/12/2023 23:45

I used the conditioner and comb method then used to go through strands by stands n pull off all the eggs never used shampoos can burn kids eyes

Hankunamatata · 28/12/2023 23:43

Hedrin once always worked for us and I usually repeated it 7 days later. Nit combing every day too

HalloweenIsDone · 28/12/2023 23:41

On Saturday I found my DD 7 had them. She has the biggest thickest curly hair. She told me her head was itching so I had a comb and they the fuckers were. I've done it every day with a shampoo of Headrin to help and tonight I only found 3 eggs and a louse. Fingers crossed they are on their way out.

Notthatcatagain · 28/12/2023 23:40

Squidge them hard between the flat part of two fingernails. You will hear a very satisfying crack as the little suckers bite the dust. A small internal cheer is allowed

Trusttheprocess1 · 28/12/2023 23:33

Looks like it. Conditioner and comb, comb, comb again. Then again!

SleepingStandingUp · 28/12/2023 23:30

Sorry to drop in but has anyone tried the electric ones that zap the little shits to kill them?

Greengagesnfennel · 28/12/2023 23:30

Yes sorry, looks like a mature egg that will hatch if left. Agree with prev poster that the nit combs only get hatched ones but don't work on the eggs for children with very fine hair. No matter how much hedrin or conditioner you use. Painfully slow going through each section of hair with your nails to get the eggs and re-treating after 7 days just in case has always worked for us.

Rachie1973 · 28/12/2023 23:23

Lilyhatesjaz · 28/12/2023 23:08

I used to sit the child in the bath put on huge amounts of cheap conditioner and comb with a metal nit comb wiping it on kitchen paper in between.
If you use enough conditioner they climb to the top of the head to try to escape.
I did this every 2 days if my LOs were actually infested and every 2 weeks just in case.
This method is a bit of a pain to do but is effective and cheap.

That was exactly how I did it. I found the lotions and potions useless.

i checked weekly because of my girls long hair ‘in case’ lol

UpendedPineapple · 28/12/2023 23:19

Tea tree shampoo and conditioner- B&M used to do a cheap one. Nitty gritty comb. Every couple of days for a week.

Lilyhatesjaz · 28/12/2023 23:08

I used to sit the child in the bath put on huge amounts of cheap conditioner and comb with a metal nit comb wiping it on kitchen paper in between.
If you use enough conditioner they climb to the top of the head to try to escape.
I did this every 2 days if my LOs were actually infested and every 2 weeks just in case.
This method is a bit of a pain to do but is effective and cheap.

NewYearNewMeMamma · 28/12/2023 23:08

My 2yr old son caught headlice off his siblings. I managed to treat theirs with Full Marks no problem, but it didn't work on him. I went through a few different brands / types on him and the only one to work was Hedrin - we left it in for around 13hrs (put on just before bedtime). So far, they've not come back!

Mumof2teens79 · 28/12/2023 22:58

Hearing works well on live lice.
You just have to repeat 7 days apart, possibly more than once.
The first time you kill all the live ones
7 days later the eggs have hatched and you kill the young ones before they can lay eggs.

Each time change bedding and wash any hats etc, treat everyone in the house.

The other type- the chemical ones- they can become resistant to.

ChickensAndChops · 28/12/2023 22:57

Hedrin Once has always worked for us.

ballsdeep · 28/12/2023 22:54

i agree the hedrin doesn’t work! We had a nutty gritty and nit not that’s the only thing that worked for us!!

Goinggreymammy · 28/12/2023 22:52

Yes, it is a nit. To be honest it's really hard to get any treatment that actually kills or removes the eggs, although lots promise they do. When my 4 Yr old got them a good few years ago her hair was too fine for the nit comb to get rid of all the eggs. I ended up going through her hair with her lying with her head on my sat, and pulling them out with my fingernails one by one. Gross and time consuming but 100% effective.

Vigility · 28/12/2023 22:51

The only thing I found that works is combing with a nitty gritty comb and lots of conditioner. It’s tedious, you have to comb through methodically but after a while you’ll soon spot the eggs a mile off! I used to remove them with my nails.

Altontowersq · 28/12/2023 22:30

Hedrin will kill the live lice but does not penetrate the eggs so the best way is to use it then go through the hair and cut off hairs with an egg attached. Takes forever but they just keep hatching otherwise.

Northsideoftheriver · 28/12/2023 22:29

We usually smother conditioner leave overnight and comb through with the nit comb. Repeat as many times as needed. Haven't had them for absolutely ages but there was a text from school last week saying nits in your child's class. I keep checking!

yesyouareyouare · 28/12/2023 22:27

Hearing doesn't work.

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