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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Head lice

90 replies

LuckyAmy1986 · 10/01/2018 20:02

This is my first experience with them (apart from me having them when I was little) DD has them, discovered them today. I have a nitty gritty comb. I put loads of conditioner on and combed through. If I do this every night for a week or so, is that enough or do I need to buy a treatment from the shop?

I have checked my hair and can't see anything but my god it is so bloody itchy! Hoping it's just in my head.

Any other tips would be welcome. I am going to change her pillowcase once a day.

OP posts:
sparklepops123 · 10/01/2018 20:04

No but a treatment think full marks is one I’ve used and they do a repellent spray you can spray on her hair before school etc

TabbyMumz · 10/01/2018 20:14

Buy a treatment from the shop. Its the only thing that worked for my child. Then get some tea tree spray and spray it in every morning.

sparklepops123 · 10/01/2018 20:15

Yes that would be buy a treatment 🤪

be47 · 10/01/2018 20:18

I had head lice 7 times - including once at 22 from the kids I child-minded over the summer. Treatments did nothing but make my scale flake off in huge chunks, I'd recommend sticking to conditioner and only going down the chemical route if that isn't working.

raspberryrippleicecream · 10/01/2018 20:22

No don't buy a treatment. Comb and conditioner is much better, but I'm afraid you will need to do it for longer than a week

SWBCRTMWSC · 10/01/2018 20:24

And then once a week to catch it early next time as there is always one child in the class who doesn’t get treated.

Phillipa12 · 10/01/2018 20:29

3 weeks of combing and then i would just make nit combing part of the hair wash routine from now on, saves the hassle of starting from scratch with the blighters!

dementedpixie · 10/01/2018 20:32

Comb with conditioner every few days for 3 weeks to break the life cycle. You don't need to wash the pillowcase every day

mummmy2017 · 10/01/2018 20:33

If you use the comb morning and night, it will get them all out, we used to do this even when the kids were clear, so we never had it bad, just the big bugs who like to swap heads.

shushpenfold · 10/01/2018 20:34

Comb and condition...forget the chemicals as they just don’t work.

Original poster
LuckyAmy1986 · 10/01/2018 20:39

Great thanks. Is once a day enough? Only because I won’t have time in the morning really other than weekends. And I am definitely going to do it as a preventative measure once they have cleared up! Do I really not need to wash pillowcase? My head is driving me mad but I cannot see anything aaarrrggghhh! Is this psychological?!

OP posts:
Original poster
LuckyAmy1986 · 10/01/2018 20:40

Have no chemicals been proven to work?

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 10/01/2018 21:00

Products like hedrin suffocate them so they can't be resistant to them. Once a day isn't necessary, every 2-3 days would suffice. No you don't need to wash pillowcases every day either

Original poster
LuckyAmy1986 · 10/01/2018 21:09

Thank you!

OP posts:
Sunnyjac · 10/01/2018 22:28

Comb and conditioner until you see no more eggs. Treatments very quickly become ineffective. Then just comb once a week

mamato3lads · 10/01/2018 22:32

Get the nitty gritty comb , it's brilliant, no need for lotions and potions , just the comb. Works better than anything out there

ghostyslovesheets · 10/01/2018 22:33

Hedrin and a Nitty Gritty

LouiseCM · 10/01/2018 22:37

Also, boil wash her bedding and towels.

dementedpixie · 10/01/2018 22:39

You do not need to boil wash towels and bedding

wiltingfast · 10/01/2018 22:45

For gods sake buy a bloody treatment. And Do It Twice. At least. Please.

While you're farting about with conditioner, your child is running around infecting all and bloody sundry. For WEEKS. Ffs

Hmm
LyraPotter · 10/01/2018 22:51

Growing up my mum worked in an incredibly rough primary school and she was forever getting head licd from the kids and then passing them on to us. Having had them about 20 times I can safely say that a full treatment and then incredible patience with a comb is the only thing that works.

If she's brought them home from school try sending her in in plaits for a few days, as it helps stop them getting in in the first place.

Delatron · 10/01/2018 22:54

They don't become resistant to treatments like hedrin. I don't know why people won't use it! It gets rids of the eggs too. I combed through for a few days after but nits, eggs all gone. Otherwise you will have to comb fastidiously for weeks. If you miss one egg/nit it will be an ongoing problem and your child will be infecting others.

clippedcasuals · 10/01/2018 22:59

No need for treatment. Just condition and get out with tooth comb. If it's a bad infestation I tend to do everyday for a few days until clear and then every time hair is washed just run through hair and add it into hair washing routine.

StillPissedOff · 10/01/2018 23:01

Oh, blimey, reading this thread has made me so very nostalgic!

We experienced this - 12, 13, 14-ish years ago. I was main breadwinner and working extremely long hours at the time. The daily/nightly sessions spent fine-combing through my children's hair, they seem to me, at this distance in time, a happy, calming and bonding experience for all concerned!

An aside: at that time, back then, I read somewhere about massaging neat vodka into your children's hair, and then fine-combing about half an hour later. Some theory about the lice getting paralytically drunk and losing their grip, literally! And yes, I did... Blush

Happy times!