DS 9 riddled with headlice, have tried everything under the sun. Please help!

[Hanarb]

DS 9 has been riddled with lice for 3 weeks now. I have tried treatment and spent nearly £100 on various remedies. He has very long, thick surfy hair and it is a nightmare to treat. His teacher has notified me which is mortifying. His childminder said she would get the clippers and shave his hair off (I’m not sure if she was joking). I don’t own any hair cutting equipment but this is seriously taking up so much of my time and causing a lot of stress. What should I do?

Nit comb and conditioner everyday. Personally, I found the white plastic nit comb far more effective than the nitty-gritty, but at this stage I would use both.

I didn't find it necessary to use any treatments other than combing and conditioner.

Nearly shoulder length isn’t very long at all! Think how long many girls (and boys) have their hair - at least half way down their back. The only way to get rid of the little buggers - and I speak as someone who’s just been wrestling with the f**kers this last month 😡- is cheap conditioner and a comb every single night for at least two weeks and then every other night if he only has a few left. Their life cycle is 3 weeks.

NB - I have very thick, curly hair and I had them. I found the Nitty Gritty metal comb too painful and hard to get through my hair but the Nitty Gritty lotion (£8 or £9 on Amazon) comes with a white plastic comb which is very fine and absolutely worked with my hair. It’s tougher than the very cheap plastic combs so the teeth don’t bend so easily. I’d pay the £8 again just to get the comb.

The other point is if he’s being reinfected, you’ll have to be more persistent. Also, make sure he ties his hair back and keeps his head away from his friends. It takes a few seconds relaxing your guard for the b***ds to hop on!

^^ So your son is inflicting head lice on all the other children he’s in contact with? I’d be furious if this was happening to my child.
If I was the childminder I would refuse to have him until you sort it out. Just because you love his ‘surfers’ hair your child is itching and unhappy and crawling with lice.
I suspect he won’t be the only one in your household either.

You have to remember that he won’t be sleeping well with a head full of lice (all the itching and biting), and that is really really bad for him.

Also - once head lice are active in a class then they will keep going round, as it is unlikely that everyone will treat effectively straight away. I seem to remember having longer, loose hair makes it easier to catch them, and spread them.
I would go for a shorter cut if it were me. Wash and comb it, then take him to a barber / hair dresser. It will be much easier to deal with future lice, and he won’t overheat too much in the summer.
also much easier to deal with now, and go shorter now (and break the habit of long hair) before teen years (and aversion to personal hygiene (in some teens)) hit. Long, greasy smelly hair as a teen may well cause him problems at school (socially).

@Hanarb you have to make sure you treat the whole family, you included!!! shaving it all off for summer might actually be the best option if you cannot get a nit comb through it easily!

Why is it acceptable to just tell the mother of a son to shave all his hair off if he’s got nits when the same advice is never doled out to people with daughters with lice?

OP-cheap conditioner (buy several bottles) and lather his head in it-like half a bottle of the stuff, and comb comb comb. When my DD had them I did this every day for a week and then for twice a week for the next couple of months. It did the trick.

I have 2 DD with thick, curly, waist length hair and I've managed to successfully comb through (every other day for a good week after they've been treated and then once a week for prevention)

We found Nitwits on Amazon worked the best.

Treat the whole family even if they aren't showing obvious signs.

Your child is currently patient zero and he'll be reinfecting his classmates, you need to sort it.

Brush and straighten his hair - the heat will
kill Any in the lengths. Then it will
be easier to comb through as well.

He just seems to keep getting them for the last 3 week
No. You just haven't eradicated them. It takes hours every.single.day to fully kill them. Miss one and you may as well have not done anything. He'll also have been spreading it at school in this time

I know that you have insisted that no one else has them but that is really unlikely. They can be very, very hard to see, especially if they're not itchy. They are also so fast, they often evade detection.

Saying this,
my son had long surfer hair when younger and he chopped it all off and it was lovely short too :-)

I didn't know how to cut hair either at the start of lockdown. I figured it out. Many of us did. Just get it done
Ds has always agreed to keep his hair cut since his one experience with nits. He passed them to me. I have long thick hair and DH not capable of combing. So we're keen to avoid that again.

As above. Nitty gritty comb with tons of cheap conditioner is the only way. It is different to other combs. We have two and they have lasted us through three children x primary/secondary school and now used by my daughter who works in childcare lol.

Would people also suggest shaving a 9 year old girls hair off due to headlice?

Nitty gritty comb and Superdrug’s own brand headlice lotion. Also comb daily with the nitty gritty and cheap conditioner.

Many years ago we had the same situation... bit the bullet, gave DS a grade 1 and treated, it was the end of the issue

Honestly, just get on and do it. The alternative is nightly combing section by section with conditioner in good light...I know which we found easier!

Was just about to say this.

Shave his head or buzz cut, let the child minder do it as she offered, or take him to a barber to clip in some cool shapes to help soften the blow

I highly recommend using the Alberto balsam tea tree shampoo and conditioner, cheap so no need to skimp, use 3 x as much conditioner than you think, comb through with metal not comb, repeat nightly. Unfortunately there may be another kid who isn't treating so do tell the school if he picks them up again

I did seriously consider it for Dd but she was happy to sit still and let me do the nightly combing

Please only shave it if ds is ok with the idea, nobody would be suggesting shaving if he was a girl just to get rid of nits.

The heparin kills them immediately if you soak it enough, its likely someone is giving them him back. Treat all your own hairs too and tell the teachers he's getting them again from someone

In that case, you’re going to spend the next few years constantly treating his for lice!
My advice is to bite the bullet, get his hair cut and start from scratch. He will need daily combing with a nit comb for at least 6 weeks to break the life cycle. Harsh chemicals kill lice, but not the eggs.

Are you also treating all his bedding and clothes/hats by washing at high temperature? Isolating all is stuffed animals in sealed bags for two weeks? There can be transfer and re-infection.

Although long thick hair is lovely you have to look after it. Not brushing thoroughly will cause matting, not washing thoroughly and combing through and not drying completely will also not help.

If you're not prepared to look after the hair cut it short. It must be in desperate need of a cut if the child is 8 and it's never been cut!?

If you don't shave it off you'll need to go through section by tiny section and comb comb comb!
Every day until they are gone

Natalie in my brother's class - all through infants and juniors. Was grim, you could see them moving in her hair

Op you need to weigh up whether or not you prefer your DS to have long, unmanageable nitty hair (which is categorically a sign of neglect, no matter how long you claim to have spent combing), or shorter, manageable nit-free hair.

At 9 his mates are already taking the piss about his long hair, believe me. Add nits to the mix and you're doing him a real disservice.

Gosh, I'm really hoping all the people recommending OP shaves her son's hair will be doing the same to their daughter's when they get nits. It is so interesting how this is popular advice for a boy, but not the standard approach for girls!

OP, sorry, I can't offer any advice further than what has already been shared, but I hope you get it sorted soon.

You still need to remove the eggs from the root of the hair shaving alone won’t solve your issue if there is eggs still at the root!!

sorry I’m going to sound harsh, I have 4 kids, all with extremely thick hair, two have tight curly hair, all of them had it very long at versions points of childhood. (My daughter has curly hair and severe cerebral palsy, still managed to comb her hair in her wheelchair with a head rest in the way and constant moving!). You are the parent, you don’t give them the option of not sitting still and getting treated properly, you put a film on, get some treats, tablet time too if needed and explain that having nits isn’t nice and kids can be mean about it so you are going to sit and comb every day till all the eggs are gone!

As others have said you can put as many lotions on as possible, if you are not removing the eggs you won’t end the cycle, make sure that comb is starting right as the root of the hair. You need to section on off and drench in cheap conditioner, no hair is impossible to use a nit comb on, it’s just time and patience!