I think dd has had nits for a year. Help!!!

[Graceandlily]

Dd age 14 has had an itchy head for many months. She has eczema and I just put it down to that. A few nights ago she said do you think it could be nits. I’ve got a comb from when she was little so we had a look and she’s riddled.
I’ve started with the conditioner and combing every other night. It’s taking over an hour and there’s so many I feel like we’ll never be rid. I feel so awful I could cry. What else can I do to get rid of them?

@MargaretThursday

What we found best (especially for thick hair) was mouthwash! I think it's called listerin. You pour it over the hair and let it soak in, then put the hair up under a shower cap for 15 minutes. Then wash as normal. It seems to kill the nits very effectively. You do need to do it a couple of times (I did it on day 5 and day 10) as the eggs aren't killed, but it was far quicker and easier (and cheaper) than other treatments.

My dd had thigh length thick hair and it was impossible to get hedrin soaked through well enough, or comb out convincingly enough to get every single nit. Listerin, being more like water soaks in easily. We found half a bottle did her hair really well.

I'd forgotten that! Yes, listerine gold. We went at it with hedrin, a French brand, Listerine gold, apple cider vinegar and cheap conditioner.

The first few combings/treatments break the back of it, then regular follow ups sort the rest. It's not a disaster if a few make it through the initial treatment as long as you do the follow up.

You need a nitty gritty comb, it gets rid of eggs and the lice.
Smother the hair in conditioner to immobilise them, section off the hair, wipe the comb on kitchen roll after every stroke and use sellotape to trap the lice if they're crawling.
We do nit night once a month in our house as my daughters have long hair and are huggers with their friends! Good luck x

My daughter had them in year 9 and I think had had them for a few weeks before I discovered them although it was millions of eggs more than crawlers - it was horrendous though !! It was getting rid of the eggs was the hardest. I bought a notty gritty comb after treating with Hedrin once (but used it twice to be sure ) and had to comb every morning for two weeks
I used a bit of white vinegar as well which seemed to help get the eggs off. The normal nit combs were useless getting the eggs off although the nitty gritty comb does leave the hair in a bit of a state after.
I remember at the time being horrified how bad it was but after one treatment it was just the dead eggs (nits) that were the issue not the lice

You need to do everyone in the house.

Dear love her. Herein first, to nuke the most of them, then nitty gritty and conditioner every other day for about 3 weeks after you see the last live one.

Good luck they’re buggers.

This stuff is brilliant, as I've only ever needed to apply it once, for 15 minutes. It kills both head lice and their eggs.

Products which sufficate them work the best.

There's no particular need for a hot wash of pillows etc, the nits and lice die within 24 hours if they find their way onto a non living surface. Change the bedding, but a normal wash will suffice.

'They're on the head not in the bed' according to a specialist website I looked at.

She needs nit treatment (buy from chemist) to kill the live nits and then conditioner and comb every other night until all the eggs are gone.

Duru Turkish lemon cologne in a spray bottle. Smells divine and kills the lot!
Take care if spraying near a fish tank or any pets.

Oh god flash backs, I suffered as a teenager constantly with head lice and struggled to get them under control. We went for the belt and braces approach and dyed my hair the same colour it already was as the chemicals would kill the little fuckers... hot blow dry and straightening. Wash all bedding as well.

Once treated and nit free, make up a solution of tea tree oil and water in a spray bottle and get her to spritz it on every school morning.

Nitty gritty comb and conditioner works better than any otc treatment

Nit treatment containing dimeticone is best for suffocating the lice and the eggs. Check the label!

Zap them with the chemicals and the Hedrin, which just smothers them.

If you do Hedrin once a week for a month they'll be gone

Nits have been the bane of my life for 6 months.

3DDs, 13/11/6, all with long thick hair. And myself, although short and fine.

Hedrin is a pain in the arse for me to use (like water, goes everywhere) so I use either NitWits spray or NitNots gel. Also, one of the NitNot combs (theres 2) is finer than the Nitty Gritty, so that works better on my hair.

I’m treating us every 3 weeks with one of the gels or spray and conditioner combing every other day.

It feels like all I do after work is comb fucking life out.

The nit chemical treatments are all crap - save your money. I’ve literally seen lice walking around my DC’s head after them (and yes, I got the recommended one, used properly, etc).

The best way is to physically remove the little b**rs by covering the hair in cheap conditioner, sectioning and combing through carefully. You can also pick out the eggs 🤢 Do that every other day to start with.

I also had a really good natural preventative spray that seemed to work well. I don’t remember the name but it had quassia (sp?) in and possibly some tea tree oil too.

You have my sympathy. They’re horrible and getting rid of them physically by combing is tedious, but it’s by far the best solution.

Get some nitrid, it's cheap at around a fiver a bottle. We had 8 years of going back and forth with lice and nitrid ended the infestation in one go. Fantastic stuff.

HEDRIN ONCE

It smothers the eggs and the live nits, killing everything in one go.

Chemical treatments only kill live nits, allowing eggs to hatch.

My DDs had them one after the other and we were caught in this never-ending nit-cycle - as dd1 was clear, dd2 would re-catch from dd3.

The chemicals never worked fully for me - and I tried them all. The only thing that worked was tons of cheap conditioner, and a nitty gritty comb. I did this every single day for a week or so, and then eased up to every few days.

But don't give up, keep persevering for a few weeks. It is a pain but its made worse if you go in half-hearted (like I did to begin with!)

This stuff is AMAZING. Tackled the little buggers on DD's head in one go, didn't even need to comb, and she is notoriously difficult to treat (sensory issues due to autism).

Conditioner and Nitty Gritty comb also a nice addition if your DD will tolerate it, as they will manually remove the (now deceased) lice and eggs after the NitWits treatment.

Good luck! And as other posters have said, treat everyone else in the family at the same time including yourself.

Never had any luck at all with the chemical treatments, followed the instructions to the letter and still found bit comb and conditioner worked the best.

We used Hedrin - at least two treatments recommeneded period apart - everyone in household with hair on same day - and clean combs/brushes and change pillow cases at same time - but also did at least one if not two comb thoughs with nitty gritty comb and lots of conditioner as well.

Then also used the keep away stuff afterwards - hendix protect and go or Vosene Kids Advanced Conditioning Defence Spray Head Lice Repellent - as if they've picked them up in school likely it will happen again until all the kids have been treated - also worth doing once a week check.

If it’s that bad I’d be tempted to shave her head. It can be quite trendy and would solve the problem immediately.

@Alayalaya

If it’s that bad I’d be tempted to shave her head. It can be quite trendy and would solve the problem immediately.

She's 14 ffs surely she should make that decision.