To think children with headlice that mothers refuse to treat should be sent home with a bottle of Hedrin

[MrsHeffley]

and not allowed back until treated.

I type this as my dd 6 is shrieking and sobbing in the bathroom yet again whilst dp combs her hair.She was clear yesterday after several days combing,she came back today infested with several fully sized adults(quite clearly not recently hatched from missed eggs).

I have to treat my dd as it effects her concentration.She has waist length hair(always tied up) which she likes and wants to keep.We treat/check her hair regularly but it hurts and is expensive when we resort to Hedrin. It's affecting our home life.

There is one child in the class who continually has nits and never gets it treated.My dd likes her and wants to play with her but this evening just said she doesn't anymore after 2 years as she's fed up with us hurting her.DD watches the nits crawling on this girl in lessons.Many parents/kids know and I feel sorry for her.

I feel this PC do nothing attitude is contributing to the nits epidemic and does many children no favours. A quiet phonecall home like we had when I was little and the whole class would be nit free. Kids wouldn't need continuous painful comb outs and more importantly infested kids wouldn't have children avoiding them for fear of catching nits.

Hard hat firmly on.

Yanbu.
Hedrin Once solution is the nectar of the Gods.
I feel so so sorry for neglected kids who crawl with lice permenently. One bottle of the aforementioned and the whole unfortunate episode could be behind them. I expect poverty plays a part so free Hedrin dispensed directly by school would be a great help.

Strawbezza 'The earlier poster who helps 1-to-1 with a boy whose head is crawling... why can't she tell the parent?'

The earlier poster is going to catch them herself...outrageous...time for her to withdraw her labour methinks.

Constant nit infections inadequately dealt with by 'politically correct' Head Teachers are maybe a major push factor for using the private school sector for many people.
Yes they still get nits but private schools can exclude whomsoever they wish.

Bring back 'nit nurses' and let them treat kids at school if parents won't behave reasonably.
It's cruel to everyone to allow this to go on unchecked.

DD is an unbelievable louse magnet! She's CONSTANTLY got them.....we have a few periods when she's free, but then they come marching back.
Nitty Gritty comb and cheapo conditioner. I'm combing several times a week, and finding mainly adults.....she goes to nursery for three days a week, hair in tight French plait, to little avail.

However, as long as your child isn't coming into contact with a supplier, a few nights of combing and conditioner should do the trick.

DS has long hair, and I comb him out once a week...sometimes I'll get a walker or two, but most times nothing.

I think an exclusion policy would be a problem; it worked in the 1970s when you got doused in lindane and plutonium and sent back to school bug-free the next day, but now, insecticides aren't our first line of defence, and it takes time to physically remove the blighters.

YABslightlyU

You just don't know what the home circumstances are. Maybe the parent (s) are battling with depression or financial issues and nits are just not as high a priority as getting up each morning or feeding their kids.

The nit stuff is expensive. Maybe they can't afford it.

I've battled with nits picked up from other kids at school, got rid of at home then picked right back up again. The only thing that works is combing with a nitty gritty and conditioner twice a week, every week. At £9.99 its one of the best investments I have ever made. Perhaps these should be available on prescription because the nit treatments are less effective long term.

I feel sorry for schools. There isn't a lot they can do other than alert people to the problem (if they are made aware of it themselves). Maybe the government should bring back the nit nurses??

My DD is prone to nits.

We cannot use ^any^nit killing solution. She has severe psoriasis on her scalp (she used to be completely covered over 90% of her body but after extreme uv light treatment at the hospital we're currently clear apart from her scalp). We cannot tie back her hair either because of it. It's painful for her.

She consequently gets nits. Her scalp psoriasis causes itching in itself so apart from regular checking (where it's hard to miss the odd adult nit) I'm unsure what else to do? I comb once a week with conditioner and a nitty gritty comb.

I probably have unknowingly sent her to school with nits. It's bloody hard work when you can't just dump a load of chemicals on your child. We're not allowed to use soap either. We have to wash with moisturiser.

I'd be pretty upset if someone confronted me in the playground. I honestly do the best I can

www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/theliceprogram/

A mner posted this up a while ago...it is a v v v good system for getting rid of the wee buggers.

Ooh, Harry, that sounds tough.
I'm sure anyone who was daft enough to have a go would end up feeling much worse than you, though.

I haven't read this whole thread but wanted to offer my opinion YADDNBU to be so frustrated by the lack of treatment for this poor child.

My DD is a teenager now, however, at primary school there was a family with a few children who were always 'lousy'. DD also had waist length hair and got lice on a few occasions from the little girl in her class.

I really don't know what the solution is to this 'blanket leafleting' that the schools are obliged to send when there is an outbreak, as it very obviously doesn't have the desired effect on the very small minority who don't/ won't or who struggle to treat their children but I don't remember such a persistent 'situation' when I was at school and the 'nit nurse' came for her regular visits.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the school to foot the bill but as a post up thread explains, British pharmacies will provide free treatment if you take a nit / louse to them, so there really isn't an issue with having to pay through the nose.

Overall it's the children who are suffering when their classmates begin to shun them or say horrible things.

Thanks Minou

It's tough but we're getting there. I dread to think what the other parents think when my dd sits in class and scratches her head. This is just life for her at the moment. I ^bet^ they all think she's the 'nit' girl

How shitty harry. It sounds like your poor DD has it really tough right now.

I'm not sure what you can / can't use on psoriasis that won't inflame or hurt and I'm probably most definitely telling you how to suck eggs here, as I imagine you've explored every possibility you can think of but I wanted to post just in case but what about a few drops of tea tree oil thoroughly diluted in water as a natural treatment/ repellant?

As I say probably of no use.

I really hope your little girl is able to find some relief from her psoriasis.

We haven't had them yet but checked the other night for them.

When people say conditioner and combing - do they mean on yet hair after shampooing? We tried and it was all wet and producty. Are nits big enough to show up in all that?

If you carefully part hair with a comb would you see eggs at the base of hair shaft?

Just getting ready for next stage in life!

How do you KNOW this child isn't being treated? You're not immune to nits after being treated. Some children are unlucky and seem to get them time and time again.

I've spent over £100 on treatments this school year
Dd managed just one last lot before term end last week
I don't know who it is that has them continuously as I don't get to the school gate. My two children who haven't had such a child in their class have never had them. The two that do had them constantly.
I dry not comb dds hair every day now and with conditioner every hair wash. Poor girl

Btw Harry I have sympathy with your daughter. I also have psoriasis on my scalp and dread dd coming home with them again each time as I know I will feel itchy and something will have to be done

Though hers sound loads worse bless her

Thanks itsall, yellow and Tom

To be honest, aged 6 - 7 was so so much worse (she's just 8 now) that just dealing with the scalp is a bit of a dream. After 3 months of hospital treatment 3 x a week I feel I can cope with anything! It's just the paranoia from other peoples opinions I feel when she scratches. 90% of the time it's just the psoriasis, but then I find a nit and feel stupid/neglectful. I know some parents look at her and wonder
why her hair isn't in a pony tail etc like most other girls.

I have a tea tree spray thanks yellow. I have no idea if it works but I still do it anyway

For the psoriasis I use heavy emollient once a week to sink into the scalp. It helps a bit but doesn't really clear anything. Dermatologist cant really prescribe much else. I heard on the web somewhere about using a baking powder or bicarbonate sofa compound on psoriasis that may help but haven't investigated yet.

Sorry, hijacking thread a bit!

It is neglect if they are that bad. I remember a girl at my school who s hair was white with eggs underneath. Makes me shudder and itch just remembering. Mind you her mum didnt really care about her children.
Me and my friend used to play at her house and once gave her younger sister a bath without her mum knowing as she was so filthy. No one even noticed.