Could head lice go extinct?

[Sophism1]

I had this thought that if everyone treated their heads (and children's heads) tomorrow... then surely head-lice could be obliterated?

Could this be possible?

I think I may have been starved of human interaction for too long 😂

No doubt it as it would have to be global!

They live near the scalp so would be a hell of a thing to do them with straighteners esp in a child!

We used lots of conditioner and an old school plastic nit comb. Did it every day for a week or something then every other until all the eggs would have hatched and been caught too, I looked up their lifecycle on the net

Very satisfying if you're not squeamish. Worked a treat. Depends what method you use slightly on what child's hair is like is like probably.

Not recommended for children but as a teacher I often used to get them until I started colouring my hair again, nits don't like hair die.

No. I saw some kids whose hair was so full of lice it moved, unfortunately they were from a home where they had to fend for themselves, so they were never treated for it.
There will always be children that have no one to do it for them, so when they go back to school they will still have them and spread them.

@DuckonaBike do those combs actually work? Been tempted a few times, but then the reviews have been very mixed when I looked into them...

Due to a large family and large age gaps I would say that this is probably the first time in about 25 years that we have havent had a single nit in the house, and its been wonderful!

No scratching, no tears after bathtime, its great.

A treatment I use is baby oil. Smother the hair in it before bed. If you can get one, use one of those elasticated turban things. If not put it up and put a towel on the pillow. Leave it in for 2 days. Boil wash sheets etc. Then wash and comb out. They cant cling on to the oily skin/hair so they fall out (which is gross but...) and are easy to comb out. Do it every weekend for 3 weeks. Works about the same as hedrin but without the strong chemicals.

Dye not die! Good job I'm not teaching anymore

I would have hoped this but a minority of parents wont bother, so sadly they will live on. I do think it should be treated as neglectful if children arent treated, having very uncomfortable insects living in your hair is very unpleasant and the parents should be called out on it when they consistently dont bother.

My tip, for the pp who asked.
Pick them out with your fingers. Sounds gross but it's only the teeny eggs about the size of a grain of sand. Everyone says to comb them, but my nittygritty comb leaves lots of teeny tiny eggs behind. Check hair every day while the kids are watching tv and get rid of every egg.
It's the only way. It works.

Why oh why did I read this thread...

^^

Listerine works well for head lice.

DD kept getting recurrent infestations despite treatment. Once the listerine was involved, bastards never came back.

PyongYang Hedrin is just inert synthetic oil, and is thinner than baby oil (which is usually mineral or vegetable oil based) so spreads through the hair easier. Another bonus is that hedrin is unperfumed. :)

I’ve just evicted another round of lice in this house. Hoping it may be the final lot ever, as the youngest is in year 3 now. Fingers crossed!

@MsF1t yes I would say the combs work. Ours is a Boots one. And you avoid the mess of the oily treatments. You do have to use it consistently every day after an infestation, for I think 2 weeks (been a while since we needed it!)

@loutypips i think it's classic mumsnet that a child can apparently be living in a home where they have to 'fend for themselves' and all that happens is someone else's mum gets annoyed about the nits and gossips about it on here

@RuffleCrow if only it was just on here! I worked in a school with so many children that didn't have loving parents. It was heartbreaking to see kids coming in that had absolutely no support at home and were having to bring themselves up. Unfortunately it will always happen, and we weren't allowed to help them and just had to refer to social services who did nothing!

I think that head lice will grow stronger and stronger. They be immune to treatment and corona virus and anything. Little bastards.

Head lice are only around so much as we have so many lazy parents that just can’t be arsed to treat them properly.

Them lazy sods won’t be treating the dc hair now to get rid of them effectively either

Nah because there will inevitably still be some neglected kids sitting at home with head lice.

My children have never had them luckily and the oldest is 9! The thought of them freaks me out

When DD had them as a kid we got rid during summer holidays
week 1 wash daily, heavily condition (cheap conditioner) daily, comb through thoroughly
week 2 wash daily, heavily condition every other day, comb through thoroughly
week 3 wash daily, heavily condition every other day, comb through thoroughly

then condition every 3 days, then 4 ..you get the picture. That cured then conditioned weekly to keep clear.

My two had head lice last year. It took multiple treatments to shift them. So I did a big order of the stuff online.
Now I have four bottles of treatment sat in the cabinet in my downstairs loo. Haven't seen a louse since.
I didn't know head lice hate hair dye. Ds1 asked me to dye his hair blue, which I have, so maybe that will help!