what am I doing wrong re nitts and how do I eradicate them.

[TheEnthusiasticTroll]

dd had nitts two weeks before school ended, I got them under control combing with conditioner daily for two weeks, however a week or so after that she had them again or still had them.

I used hedrin once spray which did not even rid 1/3 of them, so did condition combing for the week after the hedrin and did the 7 day follow up, still did not get rid. I gave her a few days with nothing and then used lyclear wich got rid of them strait away and did the follow up treatment even though there was no evidance of anymore.

The lyclear worked but, she has had basicaly a week or two of the school holidyas nit free and I checked her two days ago and she was clear and so braved getting her hair trimmed today. However after combing and admiring her new hair cut with her, i noticed she has a few tiny clump with tinny nits on her hair shaft.

she has not mixed with the same child/ children over the holidays to pin point one carrier, she has been with a couple of friends from school once or twice, a few friends out of school, family, kids from the street and we have just returned from a weeks holiday. tee tree does not seem to work and the voseen shampoo leaves her hair grasy and limp. any suggestions? they areb tinny so they are not being left completly untreated, it seems to be either new infestation or a new life cycle each time.

Also treat myself every time too.

*their homepage.

www.nittygritty.co.uk/site/home.asp

yes thats what i just ordered on amazon, thanks.

Have a look at the website. I found lots of tips on there. I think that's where I got the jug of water tip from. The other big tip is that you can only get the hair out of the teeth by going all the way to the end of the shaft. You can get it out half way down cos it does grip the hair, so make sure each section is properly detangled.

you sure about using permethrin (lyclear) and malathion?
aren't they toxic? (not only to lice I mean)
try rinsing the hair thoroughly in vinegar and then blow drying without rinsing it off.

Nope, my PCT no longer prescribes anything for free if the OTC cost is less than the prescription charge. Even though children's prescriptions are free, they still base it on the £7.65(?) cost. Unless it is something that is only available on prescription. If it is available OTC, and costs less than the prescription charge (or sometimes more), it won't be prescribed.

Urine dip sticks for diabetics? Not prescribed. Hydrocortisone cream for severe excema? Not prescribed. Headline lotions? Not prescribed. This is far from an exhaustive list btw.

Even my DS3's Nutramigen, which is the only milk replacement he can have due to being severely allergic (not intolerant, allergic) to CMP and soy, I only get 6 x 400g tins a month prescribed, when anything else could kill him, he gets through 10-12 x 400g tins a month with using it in cooking too, and each 400g tin costs £15. When normal formula costs £7-ish for 900g.

My PCT are tight bastards almost bankrupt.

I have no idea, possibly are toxic, but then maybe lots of my house hold and personal washing products are too. I admit to being ignorant to these things.

Nelly, tried the vinegar trick too. Didn't work. They little fuckers are pissing me right off now, so Malathion it is, as permethrin (Lyclear) didn't work.

I say, bring back the foul sheep dip stuff they used in the 80's. It fucking worked.

Disclaimer - I know it was banned because it can disrupt the CNS of humans as well as lice.

It bloody worked though.

go on the link above and print the letter for the prescribed nitty gritty, at least that may be more benificial. I just ordered on amazon and the bus fare to the docs is more than the comb so I just ordered one

eww lice....I remember my vile smug sIL telling me that HER child NEVER had them because she was CLEAN...biatch!
One friend swore by vodka (for the lousy hair,not for her)
I bet peroxide would work....

or wait, couthy I have had a brainwave!
buy a horse wormer with ivermectin in and comb that through the hair and leave it in overnight!
it worked for scabies another parasite I had to deal with.

I think everyone in the world should be treated on the same day - eradicate headlice day. Surely if we can eradicate smallpox, we can eradicate a bug of a few mm in size?!

I HATE the bloody things, and we had been free for well over a year until one sodding visit to soft play. Grrr.

I had lovely thick hair as a child and would constantly catch nits, I remember sitting for hours having my hair combed through and various treatments but my mum says the thing that worked the best was to just dye my hair
Depends on the age of your dd really
I guess the problem is as soon as you clear them she will at some point be around children wo do have them and they'll be back again

Making me itchy just thing about it!

I hate head lice! As a teacher, even with my long hair up in a bun I caught them repeatedly with one particular class. Interestingly I found hedrin the best stuff, and although it needed lots of rinsing etc it left my hair really soft and shiny!

Only way I got rid of the little fuckers finally was with daily combing by DH who to start with I discovered was manically cutting hair strands wherever he saw an egg using a nitty gritty comb. I was raving about them to all the parents.

Good luck, I have enjoyed being able to wear my hair down without paranoid itching over the summer!

I have hair dye in the cupboard for me. I forgot the dye kills the little buggers.

Comb, comb and comb again. Then start over! You need lots of cheap conditioner or use oil, any kind you like.
Need to get live lice out so don't lay eggs. Then tackle eggs. Once you have combed, dry hair, section and go through looking for eggs. Any you see, remove (I squish them to kill them) and dispose.
Can tell how long had infestation & what stage it is at from size of lice and position of eggs on hair shaft. Lots of big adult lice means they've been there a while. Empty egg cases lower down hair shaft ditto.
New full egg casess, close to scalp means recent arrival.
Helps in that you know if you dealing with recent infestation, so few live lice or older infestation so expect lots of lice and eggs.
But our experience is don't rely on lotions alone to clear them. Comb & look and repeat regularly so they don't get chance to get established. I get them in early days and can confidently clear in a couple of sessions now. But still check regularly , each hair wash. Also means you have good idea where they may have been picked up and can discreetly advise parents to check too.
Good luck!

Forgot to say, sit child or yourself on white sheet, wipe nit comb on white kitchen towel and rinse comb in water (we have white basin) so you don't miss any of the pests. I burn the tissue and wash sheets, towels on 90° wash.

No need to treat bedding imo. They don't survive long off the hair shaft so (unless you afternoon nap) any that are on bedding will be dead by the time you go back to bed.

Also if you use a nitty gritty you really don't need to go back through for eggs as it does it all at the same time. Personally I slather in conditioner and comb with wide toothed comb. I then carefully nitty gritty all the way around the head without sectioning, keeping the comb as close to the scalp as possible. This will get out a fair few of the biggest fastest crawlers. It also (once you've done it a few times) gives you a guide as to how bad the infestation is and how meticulous you need to be when you proper comb.

I then rinse jug out in sink or toilet and start sectioning the hair. Work on small sections. Put comb in close to scalp pointing down towards the floor. Hold the hair horizontal to floor. Then put comb in sideways (i.e.pointing towards the wall), and then back pointing down. Rinse comb and then do the next section, overlapping it with the first. Pointing comb at different angles is important so the corkscrew touches different sides of the hair shaft.

One of the most important control measures in our house is that everyone has their own brush/comb to prevent spread when we have them.

With a lot of practice that comes from having 3 girls with long hair it really is possible to effectively treat a mild-moderate infestation within 3 days with a nitty gritty (but I always follow up after another 5 days to check).

When we used the plastic bug busting comb and 3-4 day routine we were given from school the girls were itching in between combs because the eggs were hatching. The nitty gritty really is effective on eggs (as long as you are thorough enough to come into contact - don't need to be physically removed), so they dont tend to itch between combing because very few eggs hatch it any. I also think it helps spread cos you prevent the eggs (which don't spread) becoming crawlers (which will spread around the class.

'Bug busting' is still the method and kit preferred by schools and the NHS, but I really think it should be replaced by nitty gritty as it would help curb the spread from those that are being treated. The only reason its not imo is that there are 'clinical trials' showing the bug busting to be effective (and better than potions). Nitty gritty is still a very small company and no one has yet funded similar research to support this kind of NHS recommendation.

Some great advice on here
I shall be combing tonight and forever more

I once considered giving nitty gritty combs away in party bags to the children who's parent never treat them

Most docs won't prescribe any lotion as they tend not to work.

Also lice can live for up to 2 days on bedding. They won't always but they can.

Nitty gritty combs are fantastic

I just rememberd years ago battrey powered combs that electrocuted the lice were all the rage they were very strange

Oh god, I had one of those battery powered nit zappers when DD was younger!

They were crap. Can't beat a decent metal nit comb, conditioner and patience. I am going to buy a Nitty Gritty comb - but would I need one for every person in the family? That would be prohibitively expensive!

I also considered giving combs away!

I'm itching :o to make a you tube video showing how to do it properly...but I think it would be patronising to many.

Imo the 'technique'is diffrent with a nitty gritty compared to a plastic comb but not difficult.

You will only need one. It does rinse easily but if you are a concerned a rub with an old toothbrush if you use it direct on someone else would suffice.

Remember lice are hard to see on a metal.comb which is their criticism, but you can get around that with a jug of water.

I feel I am becoming repetative now so will shut up :)

warmandfuzzy Hedrin does not and never has used pesticides - sorry

I do think part of the issue is people believing half truths like 'lotions don't work' when they do - they really do IF used correctly. It's difficult for headlice to become immune to not breathing

We've found that head and shoulders seems to nuke them. I got them really badly from dd last year - even bites on my shoulders back of the neck. 3 washes with h+s and nitty combing after each wash, and I was nit free. It seems to leave some sort of residue on the scalp that they don't like.

Chemicals DON'T work. You need to take each one out with a nit comb and then kill all the eggs.