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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask is this a nit?

38 replies

Curlyy97 · 28/12/2023 22:18

unfortunately my 4 year old caught head lice at school. I’ve treated and combed and so far I can nor see any more lice ones but I have looked again see these near the bottom of her hair and they are stuck on quite well. I’ve had to pull some out . Is this nits? I’ve not had experience with these before but I’ve read the nits will be near the scalp but these are low down

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To ask is this a nit?
OP posts:
Greengagesnfennel · 28/12/2023 23:30

Yes sorry, looks like a mature egg that will hatch if left. Agree with prev poster that the nit combs only get hatched ones but don't work on the eggs for children with very fine hair. No matter how much hedrin or conditioner you use. Painfully slow going through each section of hair with your nails to get the eggs and re-treating after 7 days just in case has always worked for us.

SleepingStandingUp · 28/12/2023 23:30

Sorry to drop in but has anyone tried the electric ones that zap the little shits to kill them?

Trusttheprocess1 · 28/12/2023 23:33

Looks like it. Conditioner and comb, comb, comb again. Then again!

Notthatcatagain · 28/12/2023 23:40

Squidge them hard between the flat part of two fingernails. You will hear a very satisfying crack as the little suckers bite the dust. A small internal cheer is allowed

HalloweenIsDone · 28/12/2023 23:41

On Saturday I found my DD 7 had them. She has the biggest thickest curly hair. She told me her head was itching so I had a comb and they the fuckers were. I've done it every day with a shampoo of Headrin to help and tonight I only found 3 eggs and a louse. Fingers crossed they are on their way out.

Hankunamatata · 28/12/2023 23:43

Hedrin once always worked for us and I usually repeated it 7 days later. Nit combing every day too

givemestrength9 · 28/12/2023 23:45

I used the conditioner and comb method then used to go through strands by stands n pull off all the eggs never used shampoos can burn kids eyes

Hankunamatata · 28/12/2023 23:47

For combing I like a spray clear detangler as you can see the little buggers better.

DyslexicPoster · 28/12/2023 23:51

yesyouareyouare · 28/12/2023 22:27

Derbac M. It's very expensive though.

I don't think you buy that any more?

I use a nitty gritty comb, conditioner and days, weeks or endless combing

WinterDeWinter · 28/12/2023 23:56

Hedrin or conditioner/comb works - but you HAVE to do it again on one particular day after the treatment and I can't now remember which. It's because it's impossible to get every egg, so you have to wait until they will have hatched but before the new lice are old enough to reproduce themselve. Google headlice lifecycle and you can work it out.

It used to drive me insane when parents at school would say their child had been infected again. Nope, you just didn't get rid of it the first/second/third time...

ZeldaFighter · 29/12/2023 00:14

Full Stop from Amazon worked for us. Also short haircuts, good luck

Saracen · 29/12/2023 00:18

SleepingStandingUp · 28/12/2023 23:30

Sorry to drop in but has anyone tried the electric ones that zap the little shits to kill them?

Yes, I found it really brilliant. For one thing, you don't have to be able to identify and deal with the lice. You just comb, you hear a change in the tone, and you know you've zapped one. (Well, sometimes you get false positives, but usually a change in the sound means there was a louse.)

Also, you can use the electric comb on yourself quite easily if you don't have another adult willing and able to check you or get rid of your lice. Unlike wet combing, you don't really have to comb through all the way to the ends of the hair, just the area near the scalp where the little devils like to hang out.

I first started using the electric comb on a very active two year old, and I liked that I could just have a go whenever - no need to get hair wet or conditioned and have a big session. I'd do my child for ten minutes or five minutes or however long they would sit still. An hour later, I'd have another go. And so on. This is less effective than systematically working your way over the child's entire scalp, but that was never going to happen with this particular child! I figured if I had a go umpteen times a day, eventually I would get all the little blighters.

In common with other methods that only kill lice and not eggs, one session isn't enough. You have to stick with it and keep zapping newly hatched babies before they have time to mature and lay eggs. In time, you'll get them all.

I did find the high pitch slightly annoying, but it was worth it. I guess if your child is sensitive to that sort of noise, they might refuse it. Also, I should think that electric combs would be unsuitable for use by people with hearing loss in the upper ranges. Older people often lose the ability to hear higher pitches first. So they wouldn't know if the comb was working and whether it had zapped a louse - you have to remove the body before proceeding.

Amybelle88 · 29/12/2023 00:33

Curlyy97 · 28/12/2023 22:25

@DragonFly98 oh no!
does anybody know any treatments that do work?

Hedrin.

Suffocates the little fuckers.

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