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?

She's 14 ffs surely she should make that decision

May well depend on school rules as well - would be allowed at DC secondary.

Wouldn't be allowed.

Disagree on needing the chemicals. I only ever used them once and never again. Last time one of my DDs had them, again she had heaps I stood in the shower with her and combed through her hair, they came out much easier with lots of conditioner. I did her hair and everyone’s else’s every day for 2 weeks. Not had them back.

My youngest had them for about 6 months once. She was only a toddler she got them off one of my older DDs. I’d think she would be clear, even getting the Drs nurse and others to check but then all of a sudden she was riddled again. Turned out they were laying eggs under her cradle cap. Once I got rid of that i finally got rid on the nits.

Be careful of the chemicals with her eczema, also if anyone has asthma make sure they arnt near the chemicals either as they can make it worse.

Good luck.

@BlibBlabBlob

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.

Forgot the link, doh! www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01J1ZAMTI?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Honestly the only thing that ever worked for us was a nitty gritty comb and conditioner, every night for the first 4 nights and then every other after that for 6 days. I also dry combed whilst sitting behind my DD watching telly after a week to see if I was only getting eggs and not live ones. I did, and after 2 consecutive nights of getting absolutely nothing, I stopped. I then checked weekly after that for the next 60 million years.

None of the chemicals worked for us: Hedrin, Vamoose, Lyclear, etc – all bollocks.

Cheap conditioner and relentlessly daily combing with Nitty-Gritty til she and I were all clear, and now a preventative weekly conditioner and comb because infestations go round and round nursery.

We washed and tumbled hats, bedding, towels, PJs and soft toys just in case when things were at their worst – do the whole house and everyone’s hair in one day. And hoover sofas and rugs! The buggers will crawl around on a stray fallen hair until they have the opportunity to scamper back to a head. And they move fast! 23cm a minute!

we used the solutiont hat suffocates them, not the chemical, as ours all have sensitive skin.

But the pack says leave on for eg 5 minutes, and we leave it on as long as possible, overnight if you can.

Get a nitty gritty comb. It has much longer teeth, so on thick hair it is so much easier.

The trouble with only conditioning is that healthy live lice move fast.
I have combed and combed and combed with conditioner and not seen any lice. Then used the solution, then combed and got loads. So really worth using something.

Then comb every other day for 2 weeks.

None of the chemicals worked for us: Hedrin, Vamoose, Lyclear, etc – all bollocks.

Yep same. Took about 2 weeks with the comb and conditioner but we beat the buggers, and we use a few drops of tea tree in shampoo to keep them away!

Agree you need the lotion.

Pretty sure lice are as prevalent as they are due to so many parents now using conditioner and combing which takes weeks to be effective during which time their kids have infested half the class.

Nitty gritty comb and any old conditioner every night for a fortnight. Then every 3 days until you dont get any for 2 combings on the trot. It will work.

Anything else is a waste of money and just doesn't work reliably (you can tel if you nitty gritty comb after using treatment and you realise how many of the buggers are still live and kicking).

I had similar levels of nits when the kids were small. I just had no idea what was going on and tbh they didnt itch that much. Dont worry about it. It happens.

We’ve had nits three times I think and found normal hedrin didn’t work, but hedrin once did, every time, with no extra combing.

Hedrin Once was ok for my DD's eczema. Other Hedrin didn't work but Hedrin Once is good. Wet combing frequently does also work as long as you can be confident you've got all the adults. Should be possible for a 14yo, I used wet combing on myself but my DD wouldn't tolerate the combing for long enough at the age she had them.

@BlackAmericanoNoSugar

I used to use Hedrin. I'd do the whole family on the same day. Apply Hedrin in the evening, wrap the pillow in an old towel and leave it on overnight. Then wash off in the morning. Doing it on a Friday night means less rush in the morning because you will need to shampoo a couple of times. Repeat 7 days later to catch the recently hatched before they are mature enough to lay more eggs.

DD has the sort of hair that just can't be nit-combed, extra super thick from her asian heritage and curly from her black heritage so Hedrin was the only option. Leaving it on overnight meant that it got spread all over her hair as she moved in her sleep. Also it's just silicon so it didn't irritate me or DS, we are both sensitive to lots of things.

This.

It's so important to do it 7 days later. If you don't, you wasted your time the first time. Do the whole family too. Even if no one else is itchy. If she's riddled with them, the chance that they haven't spread is very slim. You need to wash all her coats, sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats, scarves, pyjamas etc that she's worn recently. Change her bed clothes. Hoover and spray her mattress and pillow with something. I have used a spray bottle filled with a mixture of water and grapefruit seed extract (from health food shop) in the past. Tea tree oil is good too. You could dilute it and spray her bedding with it. If you have a hand held hoover, run it over the bare mattress too just in case. I would also run the hoover over where she normally sits in the car (unless it has leather seats) and the couch, just a once over.

I had to cut my hair really short to get rid of mine. It made the numbers manageable. Then one dose of Hedrin and comb the little bastards out.

This is how we got rid of DD's nits.

Coated hair in conditioner and brushed through with Nitty Gritty comb.

Rinsed, dried, applied Hedrin.

Washed out with Fairy Liquid.

Dried then straightened.

Repeated following week.

Dont forget that as well as treating everyone in the family, and advising school so all friends can be treated, you need to 60 degree wash all her bedding and really really clean all sofas, blankets, soft toys etc.
There is a great Motherland episode on nits, I think series 3, so once youve done all the horrible nit treating, relax with motherland nit episode its so good.

Nitwits spray was the only thing that worked for us. I have psoriasis on my scalp and was fine on that.

Heat does not kill them they like warmth!
Thats why they normally like behind the ears etc
NITTY GRITTY comb and conditioner will work absolutely fine.

Thanks so much for the brilliant advice. I’m going to put on the Hedrins once treatment overnight then continue with the combing this week and see how we get on then repeat the hedrins next weekend. Your help has been fantastic, I was in a bit of a panic but feel like I’ve got a plan now.

I’ve got the nitty gritty comb too x

@Graceandlily no need to go mad laundering everything in sight at 60 degrees, a healthy louse capable of laying eggs will not voluntarily leave its human host unless it encounters a better option i.e. another human host with fewer lice already in residence.

The advice to do deep cleaning is relevant for cat/dog fleas. But not necessary for lice. Maybe just do a bedding change on the night after treatment and make sure any hats/brushes used within the last couple of days are checked.

Not sure that was clear: basically if there are any lice on bedding, clothing etc they will already be in the process of dying and aren't going to cause any problems or reinfestations. :-)

I'm still slightly freaked by our experience two years ago and I really thought I'd never clear the eggs but it was done in a matter or days (with regular checks and combings for a couple of weeks after) also as others have said treat all heads in household - when oldest dd had them and I had t realised , my middle primary aged child was for about three months just having the odd couple of head lice every week and I kept treating and combing and couldn't work out why they were returning - no eggs or anything- and it would have been that she kept getting them from my older year 9 daughter who I haven't realised had them so badly 😱 also me and my son had them but literally just one or two but once we had all been treated at the same time they were gone really quickly .
The one good thing with headlice is once you attack them they're fairly easy to get rid of - threadworms are far worse !!

Try Skin so Soft - it’s Greece going in and everything slides out of the hair. It washes fine with no residue

It works brilliantly

Then buy some tea tree oil and put some in the shampoo and conditioner and a few drops combed in between washes.

Make sure you wash her pillow slips daily on a hot wash and bedding any hoodies!
Tea tree oil works wonders

Just watched an old Call the Midwife and they treated an outbreak at Nonnatus using olive oil and shower caps to bed.