Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think if every person responsible for a child checked hair nits would be extinct.

54 replies

McNewPants2013 · 14/05/2013 21:06

yet another letter home saying the nits are in the school yet again, this is the 4th letter home this month.

how hard is it to get a bottle of cheap conditinor and a tooth comb and go through a child hair.

especially during 1/2 and end of terms holidays

OP posts:
MyFunDay · 14/05/2013 22:35

By the way, never saw any move in our hair. Just knew by the itching.

GW297 · 14/05/2013 22:36

I always think that there must be a way to decrease the amount of nits in this country - a national campaign perhaps?

Original poster
McNewPants2013 · 14/05/2013 22:38

National nit day :)

OP posts:
hokeycakey · 14/05/2013 22:40

I don't think it's too much to wet comb once a week I do it BUT shit happens people miss a small louse they breed etc i just don't see the point of getting all stroppy about someone else not being good enough etc it is just a pointless waste of energy to me,
But dh would disagree and say they should all be lined up & shot.... I guess that's why we work as a couple :)

Gossipmonster · 14/05/2013 22:42

www.national-awareness-days.com/

Not sure if you can request one? :)

myroomisatip · 14/05/2013 22:42

YANBU

I am frankly disgusted at the parents who fail to check their kids hair and treat them if they have nits.

I think it is sad that in this day and age they are rife :( I never had them as a child because we had a nit nurse!

My daughter had long hair and it was back breaking leaning over the bath with that comb and the conditioner but I did it every other night to keep her hair clean. Who wouldnt?

If all parents made an effort over the next month I am sure it would make a huge difference. And shame on those that don't.

MyFunDay · 14/05/2013 22:44

Yay for the nit nurse. Bring them back!

kansasmum · 14/05/2013 22:51

My Ds had them recently and I use conditioner and nitty gritty comb every night for the past 2 weeks and think I've got s of the buggars! My Ds thinks its great cos he sits in front of TV while I comb his hair- extra tv time!!!

No excuse not to treat your child- but we frequently get letters home too.

Must admit my Ds' hair is really short so I was quite surprised he'd got them but that's kids I guess!

Mintyy · 14/05/2013 22:55

Oh I don't know. There are a lot of very determined pesticide-resistant creatures around. In the end it won't be global warming or nuclear war that wipes us out, it will be tiny things like insects or bacteria.

louisianablue2000 · 14/05/2013 22:59

There would be a lot less if people did check regularly but TBH going through the Hedrin treatment is OK occasionally whereas combing the hair of my three children every week is just a pain in the neck. DD1 had an infestation back in October, we used Hedrin on everyone, wetcombed every second day for a week, did the repeat Hedrin and wetcombed every second day for a week and then once the blighters were gone checked the DDs every week for several months until I got bored because we didn't find any. We'll no doubt check at half term.

School was useless BTW, I told them and they didn't do anything, and the mother of one of DDs friends who had found them in her daughter's hair separately had also told them so they couldn't pretend it was just one child.

cahu · 14/05/2013 23:03

A girl in my daughters class has had them since year 1 ... they are now in year 6! I have seen them walking down her fringe, walking down her parting etc etc.... have spoken to her Mum but she just doesn't seem interested. Very frustrating.

AThingInYourLife · 14/05/2013 23:23

YABU

Nits are persistent little buggers. I think they'd find a way.

nokidshere · 15/05/2013 00:37

We had "nitty Nora" too when I was at school. Children still had nits! As a newly qualified NNEB back in the early 70's we checked and treated (if necessary) every child every monday morning. But there was always someone with nits.

It doesn't matter which method you use, or which treatment you use - someone will always have nits. When you think that they are the size of a pinhead and quite dark, its hardly surprising that they get missed during treatments.

flanbase · 15/05/2013 00:42

yanbu - some parents just can't be bothered.

DoubleLifeIsALifeHalved · 15/05/2013 00:54

so give some words of wisdom to the uninitiated - when do they start getting nits? is using the liquids without combing ever going to be any use? and generally... eeeeeugh! they sound disgusting!

I never had any, my sister never had any, and so far ds hasnt had any, but he's only 3... I hate the sound of it all!

Startail · 15/05/2013 01:00

Because you get to the point where you have to physical hold down an 11yo who can run faster than you.

Yes I could probably have bribed her with threats to remove her lap top or something mega serious, but she knew there were far worse offenders in her class and that it would take several hours to be certain there were non lurking in DD1s hair.

She rightly thought it quite unfair that it was her shorter fair hair that was easy to find the buggers in.

Either there is less hugging at secondary or most of the girls hair is so long and thick that they are living quietly undetected. I can't believe they suddenly vanish, but I haven't caught one for a while.

flanbase · 15/05/2013 01:01

Doublelife - I use conditioner and a nit comb and go through the hair once a week or more. Just takes a few moments to check as any nits will just slide off the hair and onto the conditioner liquid on the nit comb. Behind the ears and right on the top of the head are were I've mostly found them located.

flanbase · 15/05/2013 01:05

If you find nits then nit lotion and follow instructions on when to do a second round, change of bedding & towels, vacuum carseat, cuddlies away for 10 days, clothes in the hottest wash or set aside for 10 days. Keep combing everyday for ages afterwards as it's likely there'll be other kids with them at school

goodiegoodieyumyum · 15/05/2013 06:54

In the Netherlands all bags and coats are put into a bag rather than just hanging on a peg it helps stop nits being spread as it is often coat to coat that nits spread, they also check the childrens hair at school every week and inform you if any one in the class has nits, my dd has been at school 18 months and never had nits although children in her class have.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 15/05/2013 07:07

Because both DCs have thick tangly hair and hate it. I check them visually, and both have scratched like mad when they have had them. They are 9 and 7 and we've only had them twice, both times they have been got rid of with Hedrin and a few weeks of combing. Never hot washed clothes or teddies.

I check them with the comb when we get the letter or if I notice scratching. I don't think anything will ever eradicate them totally.

LynetteScavo · 15/05/2013 18:15

I'm not actually buying the "my child doesn't like to sit and have their hair combed".

My DS has aspergers and sensory issues, and haircuts have always been an distressing experience. (He currently looks like a yetty because hair cuts are a BIG THING) But he sits in front of a film he really wants to watch while I apply Hedrin, and comb through.

Because there is no way any child of mine is having nits.

MummytoKatie · 15/05/2013 19:19

So how big are they? What colour are they? How do I recognise them once and for all?

Dd (3) often has black bits in her hair after nursery but they wash straight out when I wash her hair. Presumably that means not nits?

She has very fair, very fine hair. Would I be able to see them? Could I miss them?

I'm a bit paranoid about her getting them. Feel really itchy just thinking about it.

IfNotNowThenWhen · 15/05/2013 19:33

It would help if parents plaited long hair. I see a lot of girls at school with long loose hair. I had them lots in the 80s but got doused with toxic chemicals. Ds never had them ( yet) but I always put a little leave in conditioner in after hair washing, so maybe that's it.

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 15/05/2013 19:35

One of mine has exactly the same issues as yours Lynette but won't sit and watch a film while I do it (he won't watch films more than about twice a year anyway) and I'm not putting him through that every week just to avoid catching nits once every two or three years (as it has been so far).

As it happens I am extremely shortsighted and can do a very close up examination by eye, so that makes things a lot easier. When you've seen them once they are easy to see again (with my eyesight anyway).

HorryIsUpduffed · 15/05/2013 20:08

Tea tree shampoo/conditioner is meant to be good because they don't like the smell or something. Worth a try I suppose.

I used to be a prep school matron. We checked every boy once a fortnight (I don't know if girls were checked more often) and I find it a really calming job to do . We only had one case in a year - a boy caught them from his little sister over half term and came back absolutely crawling.

As soon as we get our first dose in this house (so far so good) I am getting a Nitty Gritty. I gather they're worth their weight in gold, and then some.