To be pulling my hair out at head lice

[Flatasawitchestit]

Excuse the pun

My daughter is 7. Sunday night is usually nit night and I run the nitty gritty through her hair (and bribe her to do mine as I love the feeling ) within a week of being back after summer break she was crawling with the nits.

I informed the school and went back to nightly nit watch. Did the usual running the bedding on a hot wash, she always keeps her hair in a plait as otherwise she looks like one of the twits with her curly unruly mop I tend to pop a few drops of tea tree oil through it too.

We got rid, they returned. We got rid they returned. You get me? We ended up using a treatment although I hate this as I read that chemicals are becoming ineffective and its the combing that does the trick. She had a weekend free of them, and recent half term we were de-nitted. Back go school last week and guess what?

I've sat for an hour again tonight and found them. This was after a free few days.


What am I doing wrong? I'm tempted to ask her to change seats at school in case its one of the girls sat next to her. AIBU? I'm getting mightily pissed off now. The head has sent 4 letters out after I emailed each time saying she was infested.

AIBU to assume some parents are just dousing their kids in shitty chemicals and not taking the time to comb through and take time?




Are you all scratching your heads now?

[mrsjay]

It was just relentless I swear i thought we were all minging I am sure dd2 had them for nearly a year ,

[pointyfangs]

Hedrin and vinegar are the only things that work in my experience, that and checking at least weekly - by which I mean complete strand by strand combing with conditioner and nitty gritty.

If you find any live ones, you use the Hedrin on day 1 - and you MUST comb it through so that the hair is completely coated, it isn't a non-comb treatment and I think that is where a lot of people go wrong.
Then on day 2 I soak the hair in vinegar, leave for 20 minutes and wash out - this dissolves the glue that holds the eggs in place so that you end up washing them out.

On day 7 it's the Hedrin again to pick up anything that might have survived, but I have to say I've never found anything alive on day 7 with this method.

Hedrin isn't a chemical method, it suffocates the lice.

[fluffyraggies]

mrsBungle i don't think you are doing anything wrong. I have no experience of the comb you are talking about (my last nit combing session was about 5 years ago when youngest DD left primary) but i've never seen a comb fine enough to pull out the eggs.

I used to do finger nails as well. Ugghh. I think dark eggs are supposed to be live - pale eggs were empty cases .... ? If that's any help AT ALL!

It's all just horrible isnt' it?! :) :(

[mrsjay]

yes i used to pick them out too especially from under neath the hair dds have thick wavy hair and they hide everywhere, as fluffy said it is just horrible

[IfIDontKnowAndYouDontKnow]

OP, havn't read all the thread yet, however YANBU!

I cannot stand nits, we have an infection a few years ago. I was crawling the walls at the end of it all. I tried everything for months. DS kept coming home with them. In the end I gave up, shaved both my DS hair and cut my very long,lovely hair v. short.

Hate hate hate them.

[fluffyraggies]

The first time i found a nit i nearly died!

I was walking home with DD1 who was in nursery - she had fine white/gold hair - i looked down and there was this (to my eyes) single humongous dark brown nit wandering over her baby hair

I picked it out with shaky hands and went to the chemist there and then. I bought bottles of chemicals and nit combs and treated her, me, DD2 (who was 1) DH (now X) and boil washed all the pillow cases. I was up half the night and the house stank of chemicals

I just didn't know how rife nits are in primary school. I felt awful.

By the time i had 3DDs in primary school i was an old hand at nit combing. I only ever had one on my head once (and that was in recent years as a TA) and XH never got one. I never boiled the bedding again

[noblegiraffe]

I'm starting to think my DS would rock an army buzz cut.

[Daddypigsgusset]

My nieces used to be constantly crawling and my sister was at her wits end crying with it all one night. They were getting them from a family on their Street that they played with so we de-nitted their kids too as the parents never bothered. Two of us sat for 4 hours one night and we got thousands out of each kids hair, there were four of them. We repeated mob handed every night for 2 weeks and they never got them again. The other little girls were so grateful, they made us thank you cards and everything. Not sure what the PC mob would make of it though

[mrsjay]

I remember once i was on the bus wtih dd2 and the little buggers were doing a conga round her ponytail band I almost died

[mrsjay]

I'm starting to think my DS would rock an army buzz cut.

that is what my dh did just shaved it all off as he had them too I was thinking as i looked at the dd I JUST COULD COULDN'T I

[ExcuseTypos]

The only thing that works is to blizt with the chemicals AND then to comb through every night with a nit comb and conditioner. Do that for a week, repeat the chemical treatment after the week, just to make sure the bastards have gone.

My two have very thick hair and lots of it. It used to take me hours to do it but it does work.

[RescueCack]

We use the vosene lice repellant detangling spray. Quick spritz everyday, and my kids have so far never caught nits. Please may it last.... I remember the trauma of the nit combs when I was a kid....

[FriskyHenderson]

Oi! Now my head is itching

[Lililly]

I had a friend who thought he child was free of eggs - then she had a go with my nitty gritty.. lol!

There is a big difference in the effectiveness of treatments...

most new (non stinky ones) contain the active ingredient Dimeticone. Hedrin contains for instance 4% Dimeticon.

But a product callded NYDA is pretty much made of Dimeticone. not many shops sell it, but you can order it at the pharmacist. It is much more effective.

By the time you notice lice, they will have been crawling off onto your kids friends heads for up to 10 days, so there is little point in blaming other parents, they are probably just going back and forth!

I have been trying , though not successful yet , to get the kids school to send a reminder using their texting system asking parents to check and treat in the last few days of each holiday

[AdoraBell]

I've also considered the army buzz cut look for myself and DDs.

DH says he's never had them and MIL reckons she's never had To deal with them. This baffles me. 4 DCs at school in a large city and never a nit or louse between them.

Of course I'm itching now.

[sunbathe]

With the nit nurse coming round at school, I never had them or saw them, till my own children got them.

[LauraShigihara]

I never had nits when I was a girl and the first time I ever saw them was on my children's hair. I assume that the school nit lady back in the day, was a Very Good Thing.

Poor DS was up very late last night as I only spotted them at bedtime. I am fuming at myself as we had been nit free for a while so I let my guard drop and didn't comb for a while.

He had loads of adults and masses of eggs but with long thick dark hair, they are impossible to see. Luckily I had an unopened pack of nit-suffocator in the bathroom cabinet so I covered his hair with the stuff, put on a DVD, angled my strongest lamp onto his head and dragged the comb through his hair. Sadly, he has a very sensitive scalp and can't bear the comb so it was a long, long, tearful evening...

[Chippednailvarnish]

Try this

I actually really fancy a job with them!

[Blatherskite]

We've been using the Vosene nit repelling shampoo for a year or so and so far, we've been nit free. DD has really curly hair too and I use the detangling spray on her too.

I thought the conditioner whilst combing was supposed to be because the nits go still when wet so being soaked in conditioner stops them running off and hiding while you comb them out. Plus, conditioned hair is harder to hold on to so you're more likely to get them out.

[slickrick]

Use tea tree shampoo and conditioner.

[PeterParkerSays]

Home bargains have a cheap tea tree oil shampoo which we use on DS. Touch wood he's never had them, but we had "the text of doom" from school the other day as nits have made an appearance in his class. We have a comb and conditioner at the ready if we need them, but I now may be getting the old Sarsons and olive oil out, so thanks for those tips.

Here's hoping DS manages to avoid them.

[hermioneweasley]

If you are aware of other parents not treating their kids, I remember one MNetter told the school she would report the family to SS for neglect if they didn't speak to them about it and insist they treated them. It worked.

[dustarr73]

My kids always had them.Pesky little fuckers[the lice not teh kids].
In the end i had to buy to buysome kind of oil that nearly blinded me and the kids.My hair looked manky for ages but it worked.My kids never got them again

[minionmadness]

I remember the nightmare of my two getting them at pre school, they are mixed race and have gorgeous afro's. Getting the nitty gritty comb through was a two hour long process every two days. Lots of tears and tantrums.

That was two years ago and we've not had them since, I swear by a tea tree condition with water spray which I use every morning on their hair before school.

[LinghamStyle]

Can I ask a stupid question? What kind of vinegar do you use? I'm currently fighting a (losing) battle. I've done the Hedrin first treatment and then repeated after 7 days with coming every day in between. 2 of my DDs have been clear but DD3 still has eggs, I'd really like to get them off but she doesn't appreciate my fingernails at all.