Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

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 that if you reckon your kid hasn't had nits/threadworms recently...

139 replies

LazyLousyLizzieJane · 30/08/2018 23:01

... then they're probably the source.

Surely the main difference between kids (at least at primary school) is not whether they get them, but whether it's recognised and treated? Are nits really that picky about whose head they infest? If 40% of kids at any one time have threadworms, then is it really possible that so many kids are thought by their parents to never get them?

My kids seem to crawl with parasites regularly. I treat it thoroughly and then, a few months later, they're back. I'm not alone in this, am I?

OP posts:
IncyWincyGrownUp · 30/08/2018 23:31

My eldest had lice constantly (despite my best efforts) until she moved school. Combined with daily combing and three treatments of hedrin after the move it broke the cycle and she never got them again. I’m assuming there were just too many children in that particular class passing them about for any of us tonthoroughly get shot of them.

Neither son has ever had lice, they get checked regularly, and with such pale hair you’d be able to see from a country mile away if they had any.

Worms? I’m assuming not. Nobody has the symptoms, and with one incontinent child in nappies it would be rather obvious.

0hT00dles · 30/08/2018 23:34

Christ my kids BFF had them every other week at preschool- the mother even commented she was sure my dd would get them(although we didn’t know who the kid was who kept getting them-the lice!). So the other mother was waiting for us to get them (even though we had text conversations!)

I sprayed her with home made remedies everyday. I don’t want to deal with anything 😂 but YABU! I never had them growing up(was a swimmer though!)

MarthasGinYard · 30/08/2018 23:34

Dc has never had worms

Head lice only once

We are scrupulous here

So no I don't think your Op is correct

PurpleTigerLove · 30/08/2018 23:37

My children have never had either , my son has white blond hair so they would be rather obvious. Cases of head lice are thankfully very rare in our local primary school .

colditz · 30/08/2018 23:38

My kids only had threadworm once

They had nits a lot but not since secondary school

chipsandgin · 30/08/2018 23:39

Some kids just don’t get nits - mine have been around kids with them, had sleepovers & still never had them (eldest is now 15).

Worms - yep, once with the youngest & they were properly grim, but treated & never came back, that was years ago when he was at nursery.

We also had a house jumping with fleas when a stray kitten adopted us & had to get the fumigator in!

I am incredibly vigilant with hand washing & strict about never putting hands in mouths from an eagle age - that might contribute, but mainly just luck, so don’t agree with your OP at all, sorry!

chipsandgin · 30/08/2018 23:40

‘early’ age!

Bellebelle · 30/08/2018 23:42

I agree that swimming regularly seems to help, we all went through a few months of swimming almost every day last year due to having free access to a pool in a gym near us for a while and the DD’s were lice free the whole time.

I’m on the school council/PTA and we have considered asking all parents to wet comb/treat their children’s hair over the same weekend to break the cycle, even looked at handing out ‘lice kits’ to everyone but the idea was ditched as too many parents didn’t trust that everyone would actually do it.

Takfujimoto · 30/08/2018 23:43

I agree with pp, some kids just seem to not catch bits or get worms or some that do only once or twice.
My two eldest have had nits once and the 10yr old had worms once when he was 4.

My sister used to end up riddled with nits and we would all get treated even though the rest of us never had them.

Worms is easily avoided if children wash their hands properly every time,

So YABU imo.

heeblejeeble · 30/08/2018 23:43

I had head lice all the time at school, my mum would wet comb ever night and treat my hair every weekend and we'd change bedding and pillows daily to no avail. It was just too easy to get them again from other kids at school, they only went for good after I started straightening my hair everyday, burnt the fuckers out!

bananasandwicheseveryday · 30/08/2018 23:43

When Dc2 was at pre-school a letter came home saying that there was a case of threadworms in the nursery and advising us to get treated. We bought a tablet at the chemist, everyone in the family had to take it 'just in case' and that was that. Neither dc had nits curing their time at school - I used a repellent spray on them. Whether it was that or sheer luck, neither of them ever had nits. Despite working in a primary school for many years now, I've also never had them, although I am pretty good at spotting them running around in some children's hair!
As a school, we are no longer allowed to let parents know when there is an outbreak of nits. I can't remember the last time a school nurse came in to school for any reason, they definitely don't come in to search out nits. And since schools, locally at least, are having to lose staff, not sure where Naty1 thinks we are going to get the money to pay for a nit nurse!

defineme · 30/08/2018 23:45

Dd had nits once, ds2 once, ds1 never (He has add and stayed away from other kids so possibly why), but nits is not a big problem at their primary school. They all had worms aged 4/7, but I think the first time they and I didn't know symptoms, after that it was only poor dd who got them repeatedly she was the kind of child who loved digging in the mud and

coffeeagogo · 30/08/2018 23:46

DD1 has had nits this holiday for the first time - I am at a loss how - DD2 doesn't have them and we've literally been away as a family travelling without hanging out with other kids.

It was the same last year, August, no kids and DD2 had them and DD1 didn't get them. Both of them have white blond hair so it is so obvious if they have them

Arghh - I have treated with a bit comb and headrin one and will do again in a few days but arghhh where have they come from!!

AudTheDeepMinded · 30/08/2018 23:51

We've had nits twice (unfortunately discovered once about 2 hours before hospital admission for asthmatic DS!). Check them all regularly, 2 at school and 1 at nursery. Never had worms. I do think some kids are more predisposed to either and that we have thus far been lucky. Also agree that some kids' infestations are treated ineffectually, if at all! But can't believe parents wouldn't know they had them?

amy85 · 30/08/2018 23:55

Yabu.... I have 3 kids, 9, 7 and 2 year old and none have ever had nits or worms...they have never had them So cannot be the source

WaxOnFeckOff · 30/08/2018 23:57

My Dc have never had worms and neither have I. We've never had athletes foot, verruccas or many many other things. The first time they got Nits was as teenagers helping out at a Beaver Scout camp. Yes they were checked regularly, at the very least every time a note about them being rife in the school was sent home.

I honestly think some people are just more resistant to things but it's nothing to do with cleanliness. DSs also swam at least once a week.

TheDishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 30/08/2018 23:58

My mum was so smug when I was little because I didnt get nits for years, it was all "she just ties her hair back" etc. Then my best friend got them and that was it. Her mum didnt deal with them properly and she had 3 sisters, so they just constantly had them. Then I had nits all the time, despite pretty much daily combing +endless headrin treatments. As soon as we got rid of them back they came. The thing is is it only takes one child who doesn't get rid of them all and then they all catch them. The chance that you get rid of all the nits/eggs in just one comb is pretty low so they just end up constantly being passed around. I'm pretty certain I never had worms though.

28282ooooh · 30/08/2018 23:59

DD is going into Y6 and had nits once. Hair is always tied back at school and I check all the time.

Never had threadworms.

Witchend · 31/08/2018 00:04

Growing up neither me nor my dsis ever had nits, and dbro had them once.

My dc have had them a handful of times.

All of them had them once at primary. One of them came back after a (non-school) residential with them aged about 12yo. Both the girls have had a couple of months at secondary where I seemed to be treating them all the time. I guess someone in their friendship group hadn't realised they had them as they were a bit old to check.
For dd1 she reacts really badly to them so she has swellings all round her hair edge within a couple of days of one appearing so, even with her thigh length hair, it was easy to be sure we'd got rid of them.

Westworldmaeve · 31/08/2018 00:09

I have never had worms, I had nits once. My brother has never had worms or nits, neither have any of his three children. They practice good hygiene which might explain the absence of worms though. No idea why my niece has never had nits, she's not particularly careful. They do get checked.

We all do tend to attract ticks in nature for some reason.

bonbonours · 31/08/2018 00:13

I think there is some truth in op. Loads of people who claim their kids have never had worms probably just don't know. Not all get any symptoms or not the ones you'd expect. Dd has had worms a few times, no bottom itching whatsoever, but screaming with pain at night that her vagina hurts. I babysat a little girl who woke doing exactly the same. Obviously it wasn't my place to have a close look but I told the mum what I thought it was. She later text me saying 'No it's not that.' I still reckon it was and she was in denial. Ds has had them too and never complained of itching.

gamerwidow · 31/08/2018 00:13

If 40% of kids have worms then more than half of them don’t so it’s not surprising if your child never gets them. DD has had nits once which we tested but they’ve never come back. I do check her hair regularly but she’s been lucky.

smallchanceofrain · 31/08/2018 00:20

YABU OP. It's weird but some children seem almost immune to these things. My two have never had either. DS2's primary school class seemed to have a permanent nit infestation so I used to check him regularly but he never got them.

weekfour · 31/08/2018 00:21

I do think nits prefer some kids. My brother had them lots when we were at Primary School. He's got lots of very curly hair. It's dry and wiry. I never got them. My hair is poker straight and shiny. It's the type of hair that a bobble doesn't stay in. I was definitely exposed to nits- they just never stuck. I can remember being jealous of all the time my mum spent brushing my brother's (bog brush) hair Hmm

DramaAlpaca · 31/08/2018 00:28

My three are adults now but none of them ever had nits. Nor did I or my sibling growing up. My DC are boys & I always kept their hair very short which might make a difference. We never had worms either.