Headlice treatment in France

[user1491810905]

Posting here for traffic because we just discovered the largest headlice on our DC's heads and we are currently in rural France. 🤮 I want to actually vomit they are foul.

We have another 5 days of holiday left, I must treat them.

What's the best stuff to get over here? Can I get from a larger supermarket or am I best off finding a pharmacy? I also want a nit comb to comb the fuckers out. Are they easy to get here?

Help me french mnetters or other poor unfortunate souls who have had to get headlice treatment in France!

Supermarket will have nothing, you can’t even get aspirin or paracetamol in a supermarket (unless there’s a separate pharmacy attached to it). You need a pharmacy. There are usually loads of them around - even a tiny rural village will have one or two.

French word phrase is :
’Mes enfants ont des poux’ (My children have lice) ´Il me faut un traitement pour les tuer et une peigne pour les enlever’ (I need a treatment to kill them and a comb to get them out).

My daughter suffered for many years with these due to school-life, the only thing I used was lots of conditioner and a nit comb EVERY time she had her hair washed, the other stuff you buy choked her due to the fumes it gave off and her scalp is sensitive

Oh merci beaucoup!

My french isn't bad so I'll have a go at saying that! There is definitely a pharmacy in the town nearby, it's not huge - do you think it'll be ok? Is it something they will all stock?

We could go a bit further afield and tie it in with a trip to the larger town but tbh I just want to comb the bastards out before doing anything else!!!

Antipoux

I'll be honest right now I'm considering buying some clippers and shaving them both 🤣 they have always said they want to be bald.

Saving grace is they both have short hair already so shouldn't take long to treat and brush. We've got 8 years in and never had them!! I can only assume they had them before we arrived as they haven't seen any other children since we arrived last week and no communal activities either. That makes me want them gone even quicker!!!

Just buy this or any other listerine that contains alcohol. Soak head leave for an hour using a shower cap. Works far better than any headlice treatment.

French pharmacies are brilliant, both for products and advice. I don't know if it's the whole country, but we still have to wear masks in my local one

I don't think I can pour listerine on them!! Surely not? That stuff burns my mouth badly enough. I also have no shower caps so it would just be carnage I imagine.

@TwoBlondes thanks for the heads up re masks. We needed them for the ferry so have some. Will dig them out.

No it doesn't burn at all they aren't going to drink it! I have scalp Psoriasis and used it when I caught them from the dc.

You can use a towel as a turban if no shower caps. Honestly it's a very well used method.

This exact thing happened to me a week ago, on holiday in France and noticed huge lice crawling on DDs head. The local Casino supermarket (not a huge one, but a reasonable size) had nit combs and treatments, I can't remember which one exactly.

Lentes is the french for nits. Not puce - that’s fleas.

I asked in a French pharmacy for something against fleas earlier this week (kids made friends with stray cat…) and they had nothing - only an anti itching cream for the bites.

However they may have something contre les lentes.

I have heard the best treatment is a nit comb and combing through with lots of conditioner however, ie physical removal not chemical.

Ime when you buy an anti-nit/lice product in France, it includes a nit comb.

@clearsommespace that is helpful to know thank you!

@minipie I am really hopeful they don't also have fleas 🤞 they are almost feral children but not quite 😬 thanks for the info!

I live in France and agree with PPs. Pharmacy is your best bet. You should have no trouble finding a lotion (Pouxit or similar) and a comb. I got one over here with a built in magnifying glass- felt like Nitty Nora 😭
There are special hairdressers in Paris that are making a fortune as expert headlice killers-treatment involves a nit hoover!
Good luck and hope they're not clingers

Lentes is eggs. Poux, not puces is head lice. The supermarket stuff is crap. Try a pharmacy. Bon courage!