Please help me get rid of son's nits!

[BuzzingBumbleBee123]

Posting here for traffic. Have been through his hair morning and night yesterday with the treatment but have seen more in his hair this am!

Using Full Marks and a nit comb.

Actually very stressed about this. Feel so terrible that I haven't got rid of them. Feel like a crap mother! Trying not to let him see it bothers me too.

Sounds like a ridiculous first world problem, I know!

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks all

Personally I don't use over the counter treatments just good old conditioner leave it on and comb through with the nut comb every night for 7 nights. This has always worked for us.
Don't feel terrible it's a part of childhood life

Give him a tv show he likes and some chocolate and sit him down for a really really thorough combing.

It will take ages but slather his head in conditioner and methodically go through every single bit several times.

You'll pull out any live nits but also break up the eggs to stop them hatching.

You need to do that every 3 days for a week or 2 to catch any new little bastards that do manage to hatch.

The other arm of it is to gel his hair down or spray liberally with a repellent spray because if one of his friends has them then they will keep getting passed back no matter how diligent you are.

We had this when DD was at nursery, there was one kid who was constantly riddled and never treated so it was just an ongoing and frustrating battle.

We got into the habit of just combing every 3 days for a couple of years to try to head them off, and doing her hair in tight plaits.

If you and your child are happy to do it, I'd shave his head. Not to the scalp, perhaps a no.2 all over

As above, just keep combing. Lots of conditioner. Keep going, you'll get there!

You need conditioner and a nitty gritty comb - they get everything out. You need to do it every day for a few days then once a week for a few weeks just to check.

Have you got a nitty gritty comb? They are more expensive but ours is 12 years old and will probably end up an heirloom. Also nits light up in uv light so a uv torch can be useful and also entertaining!

We've always used Hedrin with great success, complemented with conditioner and combing.

Then some tea tree oil drops in your child's shampoo/conditioner as a repellant.

Head start.

Nitty gritty comb.

Second treatment a week later but daily combing with conditioner in between.

Wipe comb onto kitchen roll after every comb to stop them reattaching. But if you leave the treatment on long enough it kills them.

DD has very curly hair which is a nightmare to comb through but I used the whole bottle which is strictly for 2 goes but it makes it so much easier to comb.

They're a bloody nightmare. Wash bedding at the hottest you can and make sure the whole house is treated.

Don’t feel bad, they are a nightmare! It is labour intensive getting rid of them. Take the view that every little helps and just make sure you do something every day. Daily wet combs as pp have said, plus I also wait til mine are asleep and go through their hair with a torch! Also I would do a couple of rounds of Hedrin two weeks apart, plus you need to do everyone else in the family - when my daughter kept getting them back in lockdown we realised they were coming from my DH!!

In betweeen combing sessions, use tea tree shampoo and conditioner.

They don’t like tea tree.

Have you remembered to wash his bedding and school uniform.

Hedrin Once (nitty gritty comb, of course).
I've tried 'em all and it's the only thing that nukes the little feckers out of there. But treat everyone! I was shocked to find DH crawling with them. I don't know why, but I was. We all had them, courtesy of DD who, in year 2, was constantly bringing them home. But DH wouldn't let me touch his hair. For some bloody reason, being a 'grown up' was enough reason, in his mind, to give him immunity. Anyway, on the verge of divorce, he finally let me go at him with the nit comb ane Egads! DH's nits were huge! They had fangs and attitude! They'd survived long enough to build colonies on his scalp. So definitely do the whole family!

DD went through a year of nits infestations in year 2 and it drove us both to tears. I cut off her long hair at her request and gave her a pixie cut, not to stop the nits but to make it easier on her, treatment wise.
It was interesting though. Her best friend moved away and the nits stopped (that sounds really unkind, my writing that, but seriously, this one child left the school at the end of year 2 and the nits stopped. DD hasn't had an infestation since- she's in year 6 now).

Anyway, finally, the one thing that truly worked for us was Hedrin Once... and the friend moving away.

If it’s on his body hair too then this requires more treatment, do use a good insecticide as you’re doing and a nitty gritty comb, and he’s going to need a good scrub in the shower, daily and fresh towels and bed linen daily.

For god sake don't shave his head!

Make sure ALL bedding and clothes washed for all of you.

Conditioner and nitty gritty
Tea trea shampoo (or put some tea tree oil in their normal shampoo)
Hair straighteners! You'll hear them pop if there are any left.

Good luck!

Nittygritty is an abolsute must, a lot of cheap conditioner and persistance.

My daughter used to get nits frequently and badly as her hair is so thick. The nitty gritty was the only thing that worked and definitely worth the money.

Once they were gone we used to do a periodic comb through just to make sure...and to catch the little blighters before they established themselves again.

The thing that worked best for me was vinegar. Old wife's tale but more effective than chemicals or conditioner IMO.

Hedrin always works for me. I have girls with long, thick hair and combing through with conditioner never got them all (especially the eggs). Hedrin works first time.

I do the overnight Hedrin mousse treatment and then in the week between doses I condition/comb a couple of times. It's a bit of faff but it always gets rid of them

When people say conditioner, do you mean comb through with the conditioner on or after it’s rinsed out?

Conditioner left on thickly overnight to smother them then combed out

I have used Hedrin gel and left overnight (with a towel on the pillow) and then rinsed off in the morning and then combing. Has always worked. Repeat again after a week just to be sure and to get any that may have hatched from any tough eggs. Also nitty gritty comb is the best to comb with.

Nitty Gritty and conditioner is all you need!

Thepilot loads of conditioner and comb through when on.

I put conditioner on, brush hair with old brush and then use comb. Then wash conditioner off.

I've not found a single product that works tbh. I swear by combing with a nit comb every other night after the bath. My son has a no.2 cut all over which means I would spot any fairly instantly. My youngest daughter went through a phase at nursery of bringing them home but since starting reception in September she's stayed clear of them, but I've kept up the combing regime just in case.

With boys - keep their hair short, very short back & sides & no more than say a few cm on top [making it super easy to comb thoroughly]. Lice cannot thrive in hair like that.

The worst is long, thick, hard to comb [e.g. curly], usually girl's, hair, for which there are pretty much no easy answers, on & off lice will often be pretty much constant companions throughout primary school years.