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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

It's been done to death but ...... Aargh headlice again!

31 replies

weegiemum · 15/10/2012 10:07

I'm so organised with my nit routine. We condition and comb every weekend. Nitty gritty.

Was busy over the weekend so did it this morning (it's half term here). We don't forget to do dh and I as well.

I found them on dd2 in August just after the schools went back, 3 weeks ago and again today. Other 2 dc have had an occasional one or two.

There's a child in dd2s class that isn't being treated, I'm sure of it. I think I know who it is, poor wee thing is always scratching! All we get from school is a note in the newsletter which mentions jauntily that "we've had reports of sightings!".

I know things have changed since the days of nitty Nora, but in don't think I'm BU to feel a bit nostalgic for the nit regimes of the late 1970s!

OP posts:

WorraLiberty · 15/10/2012 10:11

The nit regimes in the 70's meant that a child was given a brown envelope in front of the whole class so everyone knew they had head lice. Or if the teacher was more 'discreet' it would be handed to the parent in front of everyone/anyone.

Taking the 'shame' out of having head lice was obviously a good thing...but I think it also means a lot of parents just aren't as bothered as they were back then.

I think you need to nit comb more than once a week though because you're giving the eggs enough time to hatch.

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:12

god they are little buggers arn't they My dds are older but good god I Used to have nightmares about them,

I once complained to the education department and health board , because as soon as i got them clear they would be back again, A lot of parents don't treat or don't know how to treat them properly and it drove me and the DDs insane

, when I spoke to the health board they dismissed me as hysterical I probably was a bit loony but I do think it is a public health issue,

WorraLiberty · 15/10/2012 10:14

god they are little buggers arn't they My dds are older but good god I Used to have nightmares about them,

Well it was your choice to give birth to them Mrsjay

FutTheShuckUp · 15/10/2012 10:15

You need to comb every three days so you get the newly hatched eggs.
But yes, I agree its a bloody 'mare

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:16

Well it was your choice to give birth to them Mrsjay

Original poster

weegiemum · 15/10/2012 10:16

When I find them I comb every day till they're gone! The weekly combing is precautionary.

Yes, I'm sure it wasn't dealt with especially sensitively back then (though I don't ever remember this happening!) but the thing is, everyone still knows who the nitty child is!!

OP posts:

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:19

Our nitty nora came every 2nd monday morning she was fierce

I can remember My mum washing my hair with foul smelling shampoo on a sunday night and combing for hours I had waist length hair it It was agony getting it combed,

EdithWeston · 15/10/2012 10:21

The big difference between now and the 1970s is the rise of the pesticide-resistant louse. The only option in so many cases now is repeat combing.

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:23

You are right Edith combing is best I stopped using lotions and potions on my DDs they just didn't work very well,

goldenlula · 15/10/2012 10:31

Our school is having a bug busting weekend next week end. The school nurse has already spoken to the children, there is a meeting for the parents this week with the nurse and then Friday they are sending home a comb (not a nitty gritty, some other make that has been mentioned on here) and form that will be sent back on Monday to confirm we have taken part in it. I condition and comb weekly anyway and so far this term we are clear (we had it in the summer hols though) but I will do it at the weekend as well.

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:33

It will be Bug Buster combs that what I used with MY dds they are really effective you could only buy them on the website a few years ago , I think that is a positive of your DC school

goldenlula · 15/10/2012 10:36

After I posted I remembered . Should have been easy to remember, what with the name of the weekend! I think it is a brilliant idea, although obviously there will still be those that do not do it.

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:42

you are always going to be those who don't do it , you can offer people all the help in the world every bit of information going , but you can't make them actually do anything,

monkeysbignuts · 15/10/2012 10:46

eeewww I bloody hate nits :/
I managed to catch them when I was 21 & it was awful! My kids (touch wood) are yet to get them! Do you plait your daughters hair? Its supposed to be really hard for them to get into plaited hair.
It would drive me nuts the frequency your little one is getting them :(

Original poster

weegiemum · 15/10/2012 10:48

Mind you, when I was a teaching student I got scabies.

That was even more ewwwww!

OP posts:

goldenlula · 15/10/2012 10:51

Exactly! I am not complaining, honestly, I am totally happy to do it, as I said I usually do it every week anyway. Plus, I think as the children have been spoken to it may well add a little bit of pressure from them as well. Ds1 has come home full of what is happening, how we are getting a comb even better than our nitty gritty one and how everyone needs to be checked ect. Also, they get a sticker and certificate for taking part, and children love a sticker and a certificate!

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:51

Scabies is ewww I agree I worked in day nurseries in the late 80s/90s and I caught them a few times

Mrsjay · 15/10/2012 10:52

are not is

elliejjtiny · 15/10/2012 10:56

YANBU headlice are vile. There is at least 1 child in DS1's class who isn't being treated. I combed everyones hair at the weekend and DS1 and DS2 went to school stinking of tea tree this morning.

BionicEmu · 15/10/2012 11:05

All these posts terrify me! DS is only just 2, is it now inevitable that he will get nits at some point?

My sister and I both made it through primary and secondary school without getting nits. My mum said we never had them and she didn't know of anybody else at our school who had them - not mentioned in newsletters or anything.

So are nits far more prevalent nowadays? And I've recently heard about worms - are they really an issue too?

GrimmaTheNome · 15/10/2012 11:19

The big difference between now and the 1970s is the rise of the pesticide-resistant louse. The only option in so many cases now is repeat combing.

Some of the treatments (eg Full Marks) aren't pesticides so should still be effective and do a better job than just conditioner (need to wash out with fairy liquid not just shampoo IME). You still need to comb and retreat once or twice. DD had lice once in yr3 and this did the job... none since till now...yr9 and she's brought the buggers home to me. She did have her hair in plaits mostly till this year... wonder if it'd be mean to make her have plaits again at her age?

goldenlula · 15/10/2012 11:19

We have had worms more times than headlice, despite constantly reminding the boys to wash their hands! They are easily treated though.

WelshMaenad · 15/10/2012 11:25

We had this, and I think the 'untreated' girl is still untreated, but have started using the Vosene 3 in 1 nit deterrent shampoo and detangler spray and also tight plaits. I spray her hair (waist length) with the spray in the morning, divide into three, plait each third then plait the three plaits together.

Not a single nit since we started this, which is good as DD reacts to the bites and comes out in a heinous rash.

If you go to www.vosene.co.uk/nitwatch/ you can get a free mini shampoo or spray.

EdithWeston · 15/10/2012 11:27

Full Marks and the other smotherers need to be done in conjunction with combing. I should have been more explicit in my earlier post, as I hadn't meant it to be read as conditioner-only.

BobbiFleckmann · 15/10/2012 11:28

nits BITE? i thought they just itched from the walking around in there.

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