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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be angry at parents who do nothing about their kids' headlice?

144 replies

atthecarwash · 14/02/2011 20:03

I've just spent the last 45 min getting rid of the headlice and nits on my two youngest.

I've used a 15 min treatment plus conditioner and comb and it's the 3rd time in a month I've had to do this.

There are parents who simply can't be bothered to get rid of them and they are infecting everyone else. Aren't they disgusted by these pests?Am I overreactng?

OP posts:
mercibucket · 14/02/2011 22:06

it does reach a point where you are managing the numbers rather than eliminating them. ds1 was a magnet - he could have been cleared every day and still had them by the evening. i didn't use to use products on him, just nit comb and conditioner. ds2 had one tonight for the first time in years and was itching straight away so got the one little blighter before it could do any damage or spread around the family. dd likes them and thinks they are pets 'aww look mummy it's waving at us' (squash)

parakeet · 14/02/2011 22:35

There is zero evidence that hairspray or tea tree oil work by the way.

The only things proven to work are wet combing (if done thoroughly enough), insecticides (if nits are not resistant) and Hedrin.

LindsayWagner · 14/02/2011 22:43

Fraid it's you. They'll be back within three weeks if you don't dose them twice (unreliable) or do what bibbity says. At least 3 combs after the last nit you find, I reckon.

magicmummy1 · 14/02/2011 22:46

Aaagh, I hate this too. Spent ages yesterday evening going through dd's hair yet again! Angry

nikki1978 · 14/02/2011 22:53

Oh Blimey I never comb my kids hair looking for them. I presumed there would be obvious itching! I never got nits at school and I am pretty sure the dcs have not had any yet but I will be checking them after reading this!

Megglevache · 14/02/2011 22:57

I hate this too. I have even seen crawling lice on other kid's hair at my dc's school/nursery. I do not think children with live lice should be allowed to school. It really fucks me off that some lazy arses cannot be bothered to check. My dd suffers with them terribly, then we have half term/hols and surprise , surprise- nothing.

I check their hair every three fudging days now- my son has long hair too and sensory issues so it's a nightmare. Angry grrrr

Megglevache · 14/02/2011 23:03

I use hairspray too and spritz mine with that nitty gritty lotion which is loaded with essential oils.

muminthemiddle · 14/02/2011 23:05

Yanbu

My dd is upset because she has to sit next to a child who is renouned for having head lice. I keep telling her not to put her head near the child but it is very difficult when they are writing at the same table.

Amieesmum · 14/02/2011 23:07

Just to add, my aunt is a homeopath & gave dd a course of staphysagria, we have been lice free ever since. Something about it makes the body produce something the lice don't like so wont settle on her head... or as i understand it anyway.

i'm all itchy now thinking about it.

Megglevache · 14/02/2011 23:11

Homeopathy
Staphysagria

The remedy is most often used for complaints involving the nerves, such as neuralgia, teething problems, cystitis, sties, blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelid), and headaches that feel as if a weight is pressing out from the forehead. It is also useful for women with new sexual partners, who have pain during sexual intercourse.

Source

You sure Aimsmum? Does your dd have headaches? I'm off to find my kids a homeopath

ledkr · 14/02/2011 23:14

try pony tails and not pigtails,i found this stopped it all together,there is usually one child who isnt treated,Did anyone ever see the embarrassing bodies episode when the child was literally so infested they hoovered them out bnefore treatment,i wanted to slap the mother.

LindsayWagner · 14/02/2011 23:17

meggie, find your kids a chemist or a doctor.

Megglevache · 14/02/2011 23:20

Linsay, what do you mean?
Where do you think I got all of my supplies from? Halfords?

OliveOnThePaulMcKennaBus · 14/02/2011 23:28

This thread is making my head itch

Amieesmum · 14/02/2011 23:30

Yeh I'm sure thats the stuff i know when you google it, doesn't sound right - it's odd homeopathy, some remedies do lots of different stuff - like for example i take Belladona for sore throats, but if you take it & dont have the symptoms it will give you a sore throat or head ache.

Grandmar · 14/02/2011 23:31

Oh God! I offered to check all of the children's heads at playgroup once, as I was so annoyed at my kids coming home with the little monsters. Apparently, if I checked other children it would have been child abuse!

Please, please bring back 'Nitty Nora' who would check children's heads once a month - but then again with the 'cuts' perhaps nits will be a minor problem, 'body lice' might become the new 'nits'!

Amieesmum · 14/02/2011 23:32

ps where abouts are you based? Can give you my aunts number if you like, she practices and goes up and down the country for her work as a HV

Grandmar · 15/02/2011 00:24

Sorry this was down in Margate, but since moved back to Solihull, but moving, problem is countrywide. Would be prepared to spend a day combing through hair to eradicate these little pests.

jester68 · 15/02/2011 08:02

I am lucky that my nearly 5 year old has so far never had nits (touch wood). But she has nearly waist length hair that I wash and condition at least twice a week and comb through after.

I also always have her hair up at school (not sure if this makes a difference or not)

Going to look into getting one of those nitty gritty combs though as they sound good

belgo · 15/02/2011 08:06

YANBU. But in Belgium, head lice are not just difficult to get rid of but expensive as well.

It has cost me more then 80 euros to get rid of head lice (with the insecticide free stuff); the nitty gritty comb is not sold here, just the plastic combs.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 15/02/2011 08:09

My DD always got nits from her BF. I would email the school nurse and class teacher to let them know. When I saw BFs mum I casually told her that DD had them and I didn't want her passing them onto friend. Friends Mum said that her DD always had them but since the dad was out of the country theycouldn't be treated. I asked whether she'd told the nurse and teacher, she said it wasn't their business.
In DDs current school, anyone with headlice has to be kept off sick.

TyraG · 15/02/2011 08:10

UGH I'm totally dreading ever having to deal with lice.

My girlfriend in AZ had one of her DD's friends from school (and her mom) over to play and the little girl asked if she could play with the dress up clothes, her mom said yes, then she said, "But I had lice on Thursday mommy: (it was Tuesday). The mother didn't even bother to tell my friend when she called to set up the playdate (the mother called my friend). Turns out the girl had lice three weeks before and was actually at school on the Thursday the girl said she had it.

TrinityMotherOfRhinos · 15/02/2011 08:11

you only need conditiner and to do it every few days for weeks and then keep a check on it at least once a week from then

dd1 is in a class with a girl that you can see is crawling so we have to be doing it pretty much constantly to keep them at bay

TyraG · 15/02/2011 08:11

Forgot to add, that after they left my friend went through and sterilised her whole house. Anything that couldn't be washed or sterilised was thrown out.

Bonsoir · 15/02/2011 08:13

If little boys get head lice, just cut their hair very short! It makes a huge difference to ease of treatment. We kept DSS2's hair really short for a couple of years, until he started getting better at washing his hair.

Agree with others that conditioning and nitty gritty combing are the most efficient ways of dealing with lice - very time consuming, though.