Aibu to worry I will never ever be free of headlice?

[Biscuits4Breakfast]

I have done everything this last week.. Hedrin, Conditioner with nitty gritty, the mayo and shower cap treatment, Full Marks and I can still feel them creeping. Any advice?

Nitwits was the only thing that worked here, we spent months of lockdown denitting

Only thing that works is combing.
Wash your hair with conditioner and comb it thoroughly every other day for 10/12 days. Really thorough nit combing.
No need to spend any money in products.

@CeeceeBloomingdale thank you. I will take a look.

You need to keep combing for a couple of weeks
theres a theory that hair gel (lots) near the scalp (think ballerina where no hair can move) will help suffocate some
i also heard using a very hot hairdryer to dry your hair…
honestly, conditioner and comb for a good couple of weeks

@Mamoun i have one kid on the autistic spectrum and one child who might be on the autistic spectrum, who has got sensory needs.

Combing is going down like a lead balloon.

Sympathy, OP.

If it's any comfort, they don't seem to feature much at secondary school - does anyone know why? I've heard people say that the kids don't get so close etc, but I've never really bought that.

Have head-lice built up immunity to most treatments, it took us ages last year to be free of the buggers?
I was combing them out daily with an old style metal nit comb.

I thought this before. They did go. 3 weeks of combing every day. Treat EVERY member of the house. Even short hair. Do it again 2 weeks later. Do not slack and they will go. We have not had them in 4yrs now but it was horrendous

I feel your pain , it's true though that once at secondary school they just don't appear anymore.

@Airymanning so I comb every day for three weeks?

You need to follow the lice hatching cycle for combing with conditioner. It’s on the nhs website.

We still have them in secondary 🙄 DD2 is 12 and very cuddly with her friends. DD1 with think curly hair has ASD, utter hell all round. I’ve given up with products and just stick to the combing routine. Nothing else works. Even hair straightener seems to have zero impact. DD2 hates me combing but after finding a head full of life recently I have put my foot down. It’s nit comb or hair cut.

I have been following this too.

Yes conditioner and comb every night, take your time to section the hair and cover every area, especially around ears… put some tea tree oil in children’s hair before school (nits don’t like it and it will stop them getting bits again)

Nits not bits lol autocorrect 🤦‍♀️

Are they young enough that you can do it when they are asleep, that's how I did my 5 year old?

Use the nitty gritty comb, from Boots or amazon. Spray Hedrin in dry hair every morning continuously, in case mixing with a person who has lice. Even when lice are gone you need to comb wet hair weekly with nitty gritty comb for months.

My dcs school always has an outbreak. I put cheap white conditioner on hair, comb through with lice comb to get them out. Then dry or wet comb every few days for weeks. If still gone, switch to wet combing every week for months.

It is a continuous thing over months. My dcs get them from time to time, we are never really free as they are mixing with people who have lice. It is possible to get free of them but the combing and spraying must be kept up if mixing with people who have lice.

I've tried them all, and for me the best was Nit Not - it's like a very thick oil which I think suffocates them, combined with combing through to get the adults/eggs.

My DS has long curly hair, so it is a nightmare if he gets them, but the thick oil makes it easier to comb through, and fingers crossed, doing it twice, with a week in between seems to have got rid of his infestation.

Older kids can get them - last summer we all did, discovered on a road trip. My eldest had never had nits before, so we stopped at Boots and bought one of everything, and he sat in the car on the way home muttering to himself about how disgusting it was and combing his own hair through, dropping the wiggling nits into a wetwipe. In hindsight it's a funny memory, but at the time it was a lot less fun treating us all!

Using conditioner and nit comb every time their hair is washed for the rest of primary school at least, will help prevent them. The aim is to remove the head louse as soon as possible after it hatches from the egg to prevent it laying eggs. From laying an egg to hatching is about 2 weeks, so treat with head lice lotion and repeat 2 weeks later. In between comb with nit comb every day if possible. After the 2 weeks, as I said, every time their hair is washed, conditioner and nit comb for long term prevention. When mine were small, we put tea tree oil essential oil into conditonner, seemed to work

Good luck

What worked for us was soak hair in a vinegar solution (think it was 50:50 vinegar water) for a bit, then rinse and use loads of conditioner with silicone in it. Use a nitty gritty to comb through. Repeat a few days apart.

The vinegar doesn't kill them but it makes them lose their grip so they are easier to comb out. It also stops eggs sticking. Silicone in hair conditioner smothers them so they can't breathe so hopefully kills any you miss.

I’ve spent so much money on the bloody treatments that don’t work. Nitty gritty comb and conditioner as often as possible. And I’ve started doing before bath time when they’re sitting in front of the TV / playing on my phone so there’s no drama from my youngest about ‘Ow, you’re scratching my scalp! This is so boring, I’m going wrinkly in the bath. I hate this’ (you and me both, mate) etc etc.

Playing an audiobook on my phone in the bathroom appeased him for a bit but even that won’t do now. Never got them in the family’s until he decided he wanted long hair!

Are you supposed to clean brushes? How are you supposed to clean them?

There's an outbreak at our secondary now. Theory is they are all huddling over phones looking at things so their heads are close together.

We had months of the fuckers in primary. Only thing that worked was regular combing with tons of cheap conditioner. Once they were gone I still did it every Sunday. I ask plaited and hairsprayed but but sure if that actually did anything.

Urgh my head itches now.

My cousins had them repeatedly for a year and it drove my aunt insane. She buzzed them in the end, school wasn't happy but it fixed the problem. If you have boys, consider it.