Head lice - what to use and can school sort it at all?

Wow! Kudos and for that Headteacher
Chapeau! (or rather not, don't share hats people! )

If you've got a 7 year old that has never had nits you've done well.
DD got them from 3 at nursery, and pretty much had them on and off right through primary.
They'll never be irradiated because you'd have to treat every child at a school, and everyone they come into contact with outside school at the same time.
Get some cheap shampoo and comb throught with a nit comb every 2 or 3 days.

When I got fed up with recurrent infestations I went to speak to the Head. She was also fed up with getting it in her hair. The solution we came with was to show a cute video of lice during the school assembly followed my the Head washing and combing her hair in front of 700 children. Every child also got a cheap nit comb to take home. Later in the day I received a phone call from a friend "You won't believe me, both me and my son have lice!". Well, I have been telling her for 2 months to check. We haven't had another case of lice for 3 more years since that assembly (to my knowledge). Head lice is difficult to eradicate unless the entire school joins in the effort. The teachers are probably fed up with bringing it home too so it's worth talking to the school

We had weeks of just not being able to clear them. One twin had tons, oned twins had some, eldest child had none and never has. I had loads, DH has a couple. There's no bloody rhyme or reason but nursery did make a point of telling us they'd been scratching.
We also had a family who just didn't seem to care, it was CONSTANT for months in eldest class, and they all knew it came from the same family. School did have a word in the end and Mom shaved the girls hair really short

We all had head lice a few years ago. I did the Nitty Gritty comb religiously but it didn't work completely. There were always a couple of stragglers. So we used Hedrin Once and it did the job no problem. I don't think I'd ever faff around with combs again.

My process is now:

• Do a comb with a nit comb and conditioner wiping on loo roll/ kitchen roll to establish if there is a problem.
• If there is a problem, I do a thorough combing and get rid of as many as possible.
• In the next couple of days I do a treatment with Hedrin once.
• Repeat step one once a week for a couple of weeks
• Repeat whole bloody process again in a couple of months as DD will no doubt have got them again from someone in her class.

I'm so over it. I'd vote for any party that had bring back nit nurses on their manifesto (only half joking here!)

Haha adults do get them, I got them from DD when she had them. We are just less likely to as we are not in close proximity to as many people.

As for treatment, best advice is to wet comb hair with conditioner, daily for about 2 weeks.

Prevtion is best to keep long hair up and I found the tea tree spray you can buy effective.

No the school probably won't tell individual families.

I'm glad my daughter is no longer in school. Once she got them, she continued to get them every few months for about 5 years. Was very time consuming, expensive and really stressed me out.

Schools can't enforce parents treating their kids. Best thing to do is to treat your dd with hedrin or something but alsoorder a nitty gritty comb. Once or twice a week cover wet hair in conditioner and comb through, it will keep them at bay. Also switch to a tea tree based shampoo and tie her hair up every day.

DS2 used to get headlice occasionally. He had some allergies which meant that we couldn't use the chemical treatments. I smothered his hair in conditioner and combed through every 2 days for 3 weeks until they were gone.

After endless nit issues in DC school the head brought in a new rules that hair longer that collar length had to be tied up at all times. It made a noticeable difference.

In my experience of working in a school there were always a few kids who constantly had nits, obviously not their fault, it's a form of neglect.
When I first started working in schools 20 years ago, as a pp said, those kids would be sent home and not allowed back till treated.
Then there were new guidelines which basically said sending the nitty kids home infringed their right to an education and all that could be done was a general letter to the affected year group. Subsequently there was an explosion in nit cases - the concerned parents would treat, the neglected kids continued to be neglected.
Having worked with a child that had nits visibly crawling in his hair most of the time I think it is time that schools reintroduced the no treatment no school policy to ensure other children weren't catching them, there was no point talking to the parents of this particular child, the office said they'd seen nits in her hairline too.

I'm glad to be out of education now and not having to check my own hair on a bi-weekly basis!

We used nitrid. Did a couple of treatments and all gone. Check all the family.

Don't rely on just a nit comb, they don't always get all the eggs out. I had to pick some out myself!

As pp have said daily combing with conditioner is the most effective way. Section off the hair and wipe onto kitchen roll so you can see what you’re getting! It’s gross but effective.
also if DD has long hair I recommend plaits every day.

I work with kids. I keep a comb and don't bother with products. When nits are about I comb every 4 days with lots of conditioner makes my hair feel lovely. When nits not about I still comb every couple of months it's amazing how long kids can have nots before their parents notice and you always have one family who don't deal with it and reinfect everyone else multiple times.

Don't forget to do your husband. I've seen it where the dad refuses says he doesn't have them and then the poor mum can't rid the kids of them

The primary school my kids went to did regular head lice checks, run by parent volunteers (with working with children checks). Parents could opt in or out of the program and they'd send the kids home with a sheet stating all clear. My kids never had lice so not sure what the process was if they found them.

Try Nitty Gritty headlice defence spray - it's natural, no insecticide in it. I have even used it to kill greenfly in my garden. I've seen the greenfly squirming and dying. You must combine it with frequent sessions of combing through wet hair with conditioner to get rid of any lice and eggs already there.

Lol, how can an immune system get rid of nits?! They are insects!!

Adults get them, I had them while doing teacher training due to exposure to the kids hair.

This
Potions can be expensive- don't work.
This method does

Wow £25!

Found mine in the cupboard the other day, it's a Robi Comb not sure if you can still get this as my DD's are in their 30s. I probably need to chuck it out it possibly wouldn't pass 'elf and safety

Op if your dd has sensitive skin and struggles with different types of shampoo and conditioner then stick with the one you have and follow the lice programme 3 week programme with a nit comb. Most will do the job I personally preferred the nitty-gritty

You can spend so much money but really it's about getting rid of the cycle so follow that programme and you will with the stuff you know your dd doesn't react.to.

There’s nothing school can reasonably do beyond messages and telling parents if they see a child scratching lots when they know there’s been a case in the class. It does get less prevalent as they get older, but we had them a few times when DD was reception / year 1 age. Hedrin and a nitty gritty comb (and dry shampoo to take the greasiness out after) is my personal recommendation! And combing by a window in direct sunlight if you can.

Bug buster kit is the only thing we found that works. Shampoos, lotions etc they are immune to. Nitty gritty was rubbish, just pulled the hair and not worth the cost at all. Preventers/repellents/tea tree oil etc were all useless too. Bug buster is essentially frequent wet combing to break the cycle with them.

My DD just had them constantly for an entire school year.

It's only been a problem in that one year so clearly a case of somebody not treating as despite combing every couple of days and using shampoo treatment regularly we just couldn't shift them.

I was at my wits end as she has very long hair. We did actually resort to cutting it to a bob which is drastic but it helped manage it.

Thanks for the comb recommend. I might add that to my list of weaponry.
As you can see OP, you'll always get a range of responses.
I'd therefore, pending budget

1. do hedrin tonight
2. plus nit combing routine tomorrow
3. followed by hot hairdry
4. then zapper comb once more for
5. then mango or teetree deterrent on Monday

Repeat in a fortnight then weekly