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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be losing the will to live re head lice?

40 replies

OkPedro · 02/08/2018 00:46

I'm sorry to post this here but I'm desperate
My dd (9)got head lice for the first time lucky in June
I did the usual treatment and combing, bloody endless combing for 2 weeks
She then came home with them the last day of school
I've not used a treatment since but I've combed using the nitty gritty comb and picked the eggs and nits from her hair every day since the first day of July!
Today I find adult lice after combing
What am I doing wrong
I'm losing the will to live Sad

OP posts:
flossietoot · 02/08/2018 00:48

Get some lotion to use with the nitty gritty comb to be double sure. My kids seem to have nites regularly- they just go round and round in circles

avamiah · 02/08/2018 00:53

Hi OP
Don’t panic.
My daughter who is now 8,with the longest thickest hair you could imagine had them, eggs, and actual adult lice when she was 6.
I was that panic stricken as i had never seen head lice before that I took her to the GP.lol

CardsforKittens · 02/08/2018 00:55

I found the chemical treatments fairly useless because my daughters kept being reinfestrc. Combing every three days for a decade was the most effective approach for me

CardsforKittens · 02/08/2018 00:57

*reinfested (stupid big thumbs)

craftqueen · 02/08/2018 00:57

Use conditioner to help them slip out on to the comb. Also someone suggested using hair straighteners to kill the eggs. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Allthewaves · 02/08/2018 00:58

I prefer something that smothers them like hedrin once (gives greasy hair for a few days). Then I use a clear conditioner and comb. You have to really section the hair and comb, cleaning after each swipe. The clear spray in conditioner help you see them

avamiah · 02/08/2018 01:01

The GP looked at me as if I was mad but I didn’t care .
So she gave me a prescription for one of the usual lotions but when I went into the pharmacy the pharmacist told me about Hedrin Once .Well it was £24 a bottle but a large bottle so I took it and applied it and it was unbelievable as after 30 mins I was combing out dead lice and eggs.
You can now get this on Pharmacy first in smaller bottles at your local pharmacist if you sign your child up .

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 · 02/08/2018 01:05

Hedrin once gel for 45 minutes, not 15 - everyone in the family at the same time + all pillowcases, teddies, hoodies, cardies, coats & hats currently in use on hot wash (some people don't bother with the hot wash and there is certaiinly n need to sanitise the whole home, each to their own) - and then same again 7-10 days later.
We all have disney princess hair and combing would never work.
Five years into doing this once or twice a year and I no longer bat an eyelid. Far worse parasites out there ...

ohreallyohreallyoh · 02/08/2018 01:06

Use a chemical treatment. Next day comb through - if you find anything at all, clear it and comb again the next day and the next...u TIL you get a day when there is nothing. Leave a day. Second day comb again. If still nit free, leave 2 days. Then leave 3 days, then 4 and so on. Go back to everyday as soon as you find even one egg. Once you go 7 days with nothing, you are clear but it can take several weeks. Use a homemade spray of water and either tea tree or lavender and spray lightly in the mornings as that helps keep them at bay. Always comb through with conditioner when hair is wet. Distract with a tablet or TV.

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 · 02/08/2018 01:06

no need

P.S: I wash the shower towels as well

ThanksForAllTheFish · 02/08/2018 01:07

I go on a mission at the first sniff of headlice. I buy whatever over the counter treatment (they are all pretty much the same). Treat every one on the house - itching or not. Make sure to do the follow up treatment a few days later. Comb daily with nitty gritty to catch any eggs or nymphs that might have hatched since treatment. You also need to comb every one else in the house to make sure it’s not being passed around.

Next step is to wash all bedding, towels and jackets that could have come in contact with infested child. I wash bedding daily until it’s delt with. Bag up all soft toys, particularly if they have been in the bed and quarantine them in black bags for 2 weeks.

Vaccum Under beds and if you have fabric couches vaccum them too, particularly the parts where you head rests.

Any other areas that infected child may have spent a lot of time (eg if you have a playroom) also gets thorough vaccuming.

DD has caught headlice 3 times and each time we have cleared them first time by following all the Steps above.

avamiah · 02/08/2018 01:08

Yes Hedrin is number one in my opinion.
You can also get the treatment that you leave on over night .

ThanksForAllTheFish · 02/08/2018 01:10

Also forgot to say thoroughly clean and disinfect all brushes and combs each day until sorted. I also binned a lot of hair bobbles but you could also wash them in one of those little bags you get to wash delicates.

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 · 02/08/2018 01:11

PPS
I also swear by the Natural History Museum mini microscope with LED light - abot a tenner on amazon - I check the leftover eggs on the hairs after the Hedrin wash (they never all wash out) to make sure it's all dead mush inside and not a living thing in there - its horriffic and strangely satisfying.

Also useful when proving to DP we all have to do a treatment - it's not a 'grain of sand' in someone's scalp.

TheMonkeyMummy · 02/08/2018 01:13

I washed everyone with hedrin on Monday. Thoroughly combed. Am still finding live lice. Mostly babies but tonight (48hours after shampooing) I found 2 adults and 7 tiny tiny babies on 2 kids and DH.

Shampoos don't work for us.

Lots of washing bedding and combing hair is our answer

TheMonkeyMummy · 02/08/2018 01:14

And put the comb in boiling water in between people so you aren't transferring anything

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 · 02/08/2018 01:18

Yes last time we did it I found a live one on DD straight after Hedrin. I think they are getting more resistant. Yuck.

*itches hair

VanellopeVonSchweetz99 · 02/08/2018 01:19

Mini torch + magnifying glass or reading specs a must for my hunts

avamiah · 02/08/2018 01:25

VanellopeVonSchweetz99,
Yes,
Your right as I have found that after applying Hedrin Once.
I prefer the over night application even though it is tough to get out of the hair.

TotHappy · 02/08/2018 01:34

Whoa! Am yet to experience this as a parent, when k was a kid though the message was they cannot live not on hair, you can't catch from hair brushes, bedding, bobbles or anything bit direct head to head contact. Is this not true??

dontticklethetoad · 02/08/2018 01:37

That's what I thought too Tot.

Original poster
OkPedro · 02/08/2018 01:41

Thank you so much for all of your replies
I've told my dd I'm going to shave her head! I'm so fed up combing, checking and picking the fuckers out of her hair
I'll give "headrin once" a go while continuing to comb daily for the rest of my life Angry
From what I've read there's no need to wash teddies, towels etc
The lice can only stay alive on hair?!
I'll be boiling and freezing everything tomorrow!
I'm seriously itchy now Sad

OP posts:
avamiah · 02/08/2018 01:43

They pass from one child to another in close contact .
Sitting next to each other in assembly or playing together where the lice can transfer from one head to another .

Original poster
OkPedro · 02/08/2018 01:45

Xpost tot
I read today that the lice are transferred head to head only
I've been tying my dds hair tight in a bun as what i read says loose hair helps the lice travel.. Yuck!

OP posts:
HPandBaconSandwiches · 02/08/2018 01:47

Straighteners are your friend here. Eggs can’t survive the heat. Wash, condition, nitty gritty comb, then zap the buggers with the straighteners. Repeat every other day for 2 weeks.