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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask for your advice re headlice

14 replies

Winchestermom35 · 04/03/2019 17:46

discovered nits in my eldests hair this afternoon. I’ve nit combed with conditioner. About to wash & comb again. He has chicken pox also (cracking long weekend) so can’t use the chemical treatments as his scalp also has spots all over it.

My youngest has sensory issues & is particular about touching his hair/head. He’s getting treated & i’ll Try my best with a comb but I don’t like my chances.

I’ll also treat my hair & my spouses.

Bedding has been washed on a hot wash. Is there anything else we should be doing? This is new territory for us 😒

OP posts:
outpinked · 04/03/2019 17:51

My DC had them for the first and only time last year. I pissed about with tea tree conditioner and spray and then meticulously combing through their hair but it didn’t work because the eggs were too difficult to remove. I bought hedrin and it got rid of them straight away, they never returned!

Original poster
Winchestermom35 · 04/03/2019 17:55

He’ll be getting hedrinned as soon as his chicken pox clear up 😖

Poor kids had better weeks

OP posts:
Kaykay06 · 04/03/2019 17:57

I recently had my first experience of them in 17 years of being a parent I conditioned and combed every day until there were no eggs, only found 2 live lice initially then he had eggs so combed and combed
Luckily he didn’t spread to rest of us (4kids) I’ve got tea tree shampoo etc not sure it’ll help but worth a try. Hope you get rid of the blighters soon, and the pox clear up soon too

Mabelface · 04/03/2019 18:10

The only truly effective thing I found when my kids were younger was conditioner and a nitty gritty comb done every night for a week. Hated the little blood sucking bastards. The lice, that is, not the kids. They're quite nice.

Stopandlook · 04/03/2019 18:14

Poor thing! Sounds like you are doing the right things. Agreed Hedrin was the only thing that got rid of them completely. I nitty grittied for a year and they were undetectable but came back until the hedrin

HappyBumbleBee · 04/03/2019 18:16

Tea tree shampoo and conditioner... It may help soothe the chicken pox in his hair too xxx
Lather it in your hands first though x

SaucyJack · 04/03/2019 18:19

Maybe find one of the oil-based smothering treatments? It’ll kill the live lice for now, and might soil his scalp too.

I’d normally recommend just going hard with the Nitty Gritty, but that won’t be any fun for him if he’s already sore.

Original poster
Winchestermom35 · 04/03/2019 20:50

Thanks all for the advice.

DS is a bit traumatised but I’m hoping I got them all & that his chicken pox clears up in a day or two so I can zap them with the Hedrin. Managed to get a little on the youngest hair but a no go with the comb 😣

OP posts:
ScrambledSmegs · 04/03/2019 20:56

We used the Hedrin 4% cutaneous solution. You are supposed to leave it in for 8 hours or overnight, but I got the instructions confused with the Hedrin Once I also panic-bought after discovering my eldest was riddled with them. I left it in for about half an hour, washed it out and it completely got rid of them.

It has the same primary ingredient as Once, so I assume that's why it works within the same time-frame. Also, significantly easier to wash out.

ScrambledSmegs · 04/03/2019 20:57

Oh, and the cutaneous solution is an oil and is pretty gentle on the scalp. Your DS could probably tolerate it now.

Crunchymum · 04/03/2019 21:00

We've just had (another) infestation here.
Hedrin on Saturday, 25 hairwshes over the weekend. Now we're using the Nitty Gritty.

blueshoes · 04/03/2019 21:00

The only truly effective thing I found when my kids were younger was conditioner and a nitty gritty comb done every night for a week.

I'd say to be safe, I'd say to it for 3 weeks as that is the egg laying cycle. For boys, I'd say it is relatively easy to flick the nitty gritty comb through their hair. I had to do it for my daughter who had waist length hair - what a nightmare.

MrsTeaspoon · 04/03/2019 21:11

Poor boy, what a combination pox and lice! The smothering idea is a good one for whilst he is sore, a friend did this successfully with coconut oil which would soothe any chicken pox on his scalp. Spraying their hair with a tea tree/water spray each morning is also good at keeping the flipping things away and it has a nice fresh smell. This is as well as tea tree shampoo/conditioner. Hope he recovers quickly and your son with sensory issues doesn’t find it too much.

LaPampa · 04/03/2019 21:16

you poor things - what a weekend.

Nitty Gritty plus conditioner but for full belt and braces, I pull out all the hairs I can see with eggs on, do a Hedrin One treatment (smothers them and takes only 15 minutes - no chemicals which they get resistant too, just silicone) then after washing the Hedrin One out, nitty gritty comb and conditioner. Repeat the combing with conditioner 7 days later.

Key to prevention is conditioner and nitty gritty comb every week... breaks the cycle.

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