Bloody head lice/bits

[sleepfortheweek]

Just wrote a huge post but then accidentally swiped it away 🙄

Basically - I found head lice on both my DDs hair a week ago. We've done the treatment and I've gone through their hair EVERY DAY since with conditioner and a nit comb but still finding the occasional baby louse and eggs. Going to use the treatment again tomorrow but we are heading abroad next week and it's stressing us all out that we're not rid of them yet 😭.

Any tips or suggestions?

It's our first time having to deal with the buggers

Title should of course be NITS, not bits 🙈

What comb are you using? Nitty gritty gets a good rep but we have only been nit free since I got the plastic two-phase set that the NHS page on head lice has a link to. You just need to keep up the combing. Sympathies it is dreadful.

There was a comb that came with the solution (Full Marks) but I have also bought one from Amazon called the Nit Not comb which had good reviews.

The volume of their hair is not helping

They are also due to get it cut on Tuesday 🙈

We used hedrin once followed by the combing process, it’s called the Bug Buster kit.

I found the comb doesn't get rid of the smaller eggs, the only way I managed to finally rid my child of them was to carefully go through her hair and pull them out with my nails.
Gross but it did the trick when Hedrin etc and combing wasn't working!

As a child I was taken to the hairdresser by my mum before the bits had fully gone - most embarrassing experience of my life being turned away and really gave me anxiety for ages about hairdressers, please cancel their appointments!

Best way I have found is x2 treatments of Headrin at the recommended intervals and overnight with shower caps on. The white plastic nit combs I’ve always preferred. They also sell a great deterrent spray in home bargains which I’ve found very effective and can be used daily in between the headrin treatments - it could be a case of nursery/school still having contaminated kids and they keep reinfesting!

Use hair straighteners on their hair and cook the live eggs.

I used to slip a piece of white card under strands of hair to spot the eggs and squash them between my thumb nails. They give a satisfying click when squashed. It took a while to check every strand but it helps reduce the population quickly.

Oh will straighteners help? I did wonder!

Have just ordered the bug buster kit 🙏

All you have to do is smother the hair with conditioner when it's wet, wash the tiniest amount out leaving most of it in, the hair will be greasy, but that's the point, they can't hold onto greasy scalps. Every time my son gets nits (he's got super long, thick, and curly hair), I do that, and they are gone within days. Obviously, use a nit comb too

@Cocoalover that's what we've been doing 🙈

I read it so fast I didn't see the part where you said about conditioner 😂 I do apologise! I've no idea how to get rid of the eggs, but I wish you luck!

It doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong. They have a 3 week lifecycle, so it takes around 3 weeks of treatment to get rid of them all. Conditioner and comb treatment every other night for 3 weeks shifted them for us. At least 30 minutes of combing. It felt like they'd never go, but as long as you get the tiny ones before they have a chance to lay fresh eggs you're making progress.

Tea tree oil. Use it in shampoo and conditioner and a few drops in-between.

All very well getting rid of them, but if their friends parents shave not bothered you’ll get them back .

Also is Oh so soft, Avon, it helps the glue and the eggs slip out. Hair washes fine after and it’s cheaper.

Depends on location but live treatment is free under the minor ailments scheme.

I also emailed the school letting them know, with the hope that they would send something out to the parents to check their child's hair but there has been nothing 🙄 so yes - they could be easily re infected! I've told them to keep their heads away from others though. Not a problem for the 9yo but the 6yo is one for rolling about with pals 🤣

Try Vamousse
its expensive ~ £15 a can I think I was in boots
But It works in one treatment
My DC has super thick hair and they were gone in one treatment

@TellmethestoryofO yes I've also been doing that too - I feel like a monkey sitting picking out things from their hair 🙈

Thanks @FijiSea I'll try order some

Then after we treated we all used Vosene shampoo as a family the week after - nobody else caught it

Coconut oil and a nitty gritty comb got loads out of dds hair with that method

@sleepfortheweek i 100% recommend it. My DC’s hair was crawling in it ( combed onto towels etc , saw it against white towel )
Out of my DC only the one caught it , we nipped it in the bud with this treatment for

Also it’s SO embarrassing, we are a super clean household and I take the boys for fade haircuts every 4 weeks so no long tangly hair
I tried to raise it with school the fact the kids all have short hair but they bounced back “ it could be anywhere they caught it “ I said no it’s school can u please ask other parents to treat , they said no due to data protection we can’t say that.
😳
Luckily no reoccurrences

There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Are you embarrassed when you get a cold? So why be embarrassed when your kids get nits? Most primary schools don't even bother excluding children with nits any more. Its annoying when you get them but just keep treating and combing and crack on.

I found the nitty gritty comb awful. It didn't get the eggs at all and was really difficult to comb through even with lots of conditioner.
I was finding eggs for months and months.

What worked for us was the hedrin that kills the eggs too. Had already used the one that kills the living ones from the chemist. Went there next day to Superdrug and got the one that kills the eggs. Used it once and we never seen any again. I was still finding eggs forever though in their hair.

Euch a bloody (adult) louse just fell of my head into the sink!! How is that even possible when I've been going through my hair every day and using straighteners too!!

Seems like a never ending nightmare and I can't believe we are going to be having to de louse ourselves even when we are on our holidays 😭😭😭

That's a ridiculous response from the school! It's not like they need to say that FijiSea's DS has head lice. Ireland here, we'd get a generic text along the lines of "a case of head lice in your child's class has been reported, please check your child's hair tonight and treat appropriately" - you'd never know if a parent reported it or a teacher spotted it.