Please please help - head lice. Worst infestation I've ever seen

[LEMtheoriginal]

I am horrified and disgusted. My poor dd

We had visitors just before Xmas and we used headrin two weeks - sorted. Or so we thought.

Just done DD'S hair with here in once as she was itchy and I've never seen anything like it

I have been combing them out of DD'S hair since 7pm and it's horrific. Like millions of them I am mortified. Like a black film of nits and it's never ending.

I need to know what to use or should I take her to the Dr? I feel we need something stronger but what??

[100YearsOfVote]

www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/theliceprogram/

the hedrin didn't get them all - this works. use nitty gritty comb

[Allthewaves]

It's grim. They were literally crawling up dc hair when.I put him to bed one night - big ass adult ones. Hedrin once bombed them all - greased slick hair for a few days. And lots of combing every night for hours. I shaved the boys hair as soon ass we were clear - bad enough combing mine for 2 hours

[100YearsOfVote]

you ,mght need to do yourself too OP (sorry)
I speak from experience - grim

[goingtotown]

I can remember on MN there was a thread about using Listerine mouth wash for nits as it’s not as toxic as the usual remedies. Wet the hair with Listerine, cover with cling film for a couple of hours, wash hair & use lots of conditioner & a nitty gritty comb to remove the nits.

[dilydaly]

Comb out as many as you can when the hair is dry, when my daughter had them I literally stood there for 2 hours combing them out and got as many as I could. Then I applied the treatment, then combed out all the dead ones. Repeat the treatment after 5 days and then again 5 days later to be sure that you've got any that hatched after treatment 1.

[Namelesswonder]

Our PTA arranged a 'Bug Busting' weekend and asked everyone to check heads over the course of a weekend. Loads of people posted on the school Facebook page to say they had done it. Of course it's probably those who really needed to do it who didn't!

[AlpacaLypse]

Just keep combing. Box sets are your friend with this. I couldn't have managed without Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends on repeat.

[AlpacaLypse]

Up thread.. surely there's no way any of the little shites can be resistant to Hedrin???: It works by suffocation not poisoning. I'm well aware that both Full Marks formulae are officially shit on Wiltshire nits.

[viques]

the best ever school nurse I ever knew said good hair brushing, every day , was the way to deter them, her mantra was " They don't lay eggs when you break their legs" . I think it works, nothing like a preemptive strike! make sure the brush is kept clean though.

[popalong]

Combination of combing, Hedrin and hair straighteners got rid of ours. Dry comb first (I use white plastic nit/flea ones from amazon), smother hair in hedrin, comb out with nitty gritty. You should repeat the hedrin a week later in case any of the eggs survived. In between I alternated combing with nitty gritty/conditioner and using hair straighteners. You really need to spend time combing - section into small sections and go through the whole head two or three times. Takes ages to do it properly.

[TickettyBoo]

The only way to keep a handle on it is to check at least twice a week with the nitty-gritty comb - leaving them to the point of infestation is awful for your child and for the children she shares them with!

[PoorYorick]

Do they not sell that terrible smelling stuff any more? The vapours would get into your mouth. Tasted awful. Killed the fuckers overnight. I had very thick waist length hair and needed a full bottle of it, but it got the bastards and their eggs too.

I can't remember the name but it was powerful stuff.

[Melamin]

I used to use a nice flea comb from the pet shop. For some reason you can get nice combs with handles for pets . I found the flat combs hard to grip for the length of time you need to comb.

Loads of slippy conditioner - massage on to every square mm, leave to soak 10mins and comb until you have 20 combs with nothing.

[DecisionTree]

Olive oil, wrapped in cling film

Nitty gritty combe out

Every other day

Also use hair straighteners

[DecisionTree]

Also use hair straighteners - on DRY hair obviously

[BananaInPyjama]

My eldest DD has very thick long hair.
Fully grown lice were hopping around- hitherto hidden in the thick tresses and I like you was mortified.

Pharmacist recommended a potent killer (bit like Hedrin but can't remember the name). 4 days later I used a whole bottle of Tresemme conditioner- the 1 litre bottle. Covered her hair in clingfilm for an hour, combed through with nitty gritty comb.
The eggs fell out like black dandruff.
Did it again a few days later and it was clear.
Never had them again but I am vigilant.

Oh and as above- kept her hair tied up.....and her hair was the softest it has ever been!

Good luck . They do give up eventually

[WildIrishRose1]

My DCS had sensitive scalps and eczema when they were younger, so had to use olive oil and combing consistently. Worked well for us

[ParkheadParadise]

This might sound mad.
Years ago when Dd1 had the worst case of nits I've ever seen, my mum to the supermarket and bought a cheap bottle of Vodka 😁😁. She washed dd's hair with it then rinsed it out.
Dd never had nits again ever, when the rest of her class did.

[Longdistance]

Fantastic, your dm got the nits drunk 😂

[EnglishGirlApproximately]

I feel your pain OP, DS has had them five times since starting year one in September. I keep getting rid for a couple of weeks then they're back, it's driving me insane. He was fine all over Xmas then back for two days and huge ones, I can only assume one if his classmates just isn't being treated. I've used nitwits tonight after seeing it recommended but it seems utterly pointless when he'll probably get them again in a few weeks.

[MikeAlphaMikeAlpha]

Good to see so many proactive parents on here.
My method is to always buy a bottle of nit stuff (hedrinn etc) which may or may not work but makes me feel better and less itchy! Then nit comb conditioned hair. I also straighten their hair with ghds and the eggs pop and turn to dust!
Wash all bedding, towels and hair brushes on a high heat and check the rest of the family.
It can be the Bain of our life at times but I now have a really good eye for eggs! I can see the eggs in my dds friends hair when it's tied back and always have a little check if they're live or not! Not quite the super woman skill dreams are made of

[Melamin]

I will never forget the first time DD had lice. I could see them crawling in her hair as I dried it. So I put her back in the bath, put loads of conditioner on and started to comb her with a wide tooth comb. The little %£$&**%&s were pouring off. There were hundreds, all the same size. And that was before we started with the lice comb.

The aftercare is very important. I used to get DD clear and she would come back from school with one as big as a horse that had probably laid eggs

Combing after school just in case and a good soak with conditioner every week. I used to find that once we had run out of lice, the eggs started coming away - a good soak with the conditioner used to loosen them.

[BelleandBeast]

DD1 doesn't get them as half as badly as DD2, I'm wondering if they drown when shes goes swimming as she loves swimming underwater ?

[AwayAndStuffYourself]

I found the electric robicomb worked really well.

[kooshbin]

viques - the best ever school nurse I ever knew said good hair brushing, every day , was the way to deter them, her mantra was " They don't lay eggs when you break their legs".

I've read that the reason why young Victorian girls were encouraged to brush their long hair 100 times before bed wasn't to make their hair glossy but that the old-fashioned bristle (rough) brushes were excellent at breaking lice legs.

I do think it's about time that schools were allowed to take a more robust stance on nits and target those parents who don't deal with the issue effectively. It's horrible enough when your own child gets nits, but it's the parents who don't bother that are the problem because then other children get re-infested.