Head lice - what to use and can school sort it at all?

[lulann]

Found out today from school there are cases of headlice. First time.

DD 7 was at a friends house for tea until 7.30pm. When dd was at home and in bed she was scratching. Yes it looks like she may have them although I could only see 2 I think.
Of course I am now scratching.

What treatment should I get tomorrow? There are so many!
Do I have to get a shampoo?
Combs that 'zap' them dead or combs that remove lice AND eggs??
DD has several food allergies and I expect in the future will react to hair dye like I do (so cannot use).
Any suggestions?

Also can school make sure all kids are treated, is that allowed? I'm wary we'll get rid of them and she will then re catch all over again.

School haven't said which year group (primary) but they all mix in the huge playground anyway.

School wont do anything apart from inform parents to check their children. I use the Heston treatment and a nitty gritty comb. And tons of cheap conditioner to comb it through

There was a whole thread about this recently, with the OP basically wanting school to take responsibility. Not school's problem.

How do you think school can do anything about it?

Comb hair daily with conditioner until they are all gone.
It’s a common thing and part of being a child. Adults don’t get infested because our immune systems keep them at bay.
Its not the school’s responsibility.

I'm coming from the angle of school maybe having a word with parents of children who are seen scratching or would this get the school in trouble?

What happens if some children are never treated would they have to do something then?

I'm worried I'll be treating DD every week and it will make her scalp react.

My niece is a 29 year old TA and she caught it. She lives with my 88 year old DM who has osteoporosis and refuses help to be bathed or hair brushed etc so would be a fucking nightmare if she caught it. I now put hairspray on when i go round there just in case.

You can get natural strong smelling shampoo and conditioner for them. Conditioner on then comb through with a nitcomb until you can't find any more. Repeat twice a week

It's a nightmare, expensive and some are becoming resistant to certain shampoos.
However, Home Bargains have a leave-in, wash-out hedrin oil that you leave on overnight for only £1.99 each bottle. Shampoo caps 99p.
Do that. Wash out.
Repeat in two weeks then four weeks.

Vosene for normal shampooing. Tea tree conditioner.
Hair plaited or in bunches/bun.

That's the lazy mare version but might need several applications.

Unfortunately there will always be a % of children who have nits in a school. We’ve had them a few times. If a child has a constant nit issue the school do seem to have a word in my experience.

Longer version but effective.

Nit comb - everyone swears by nitty gritty but I have used others too.
Slather on conditioner. Comb and wipe onto kitchen towel.
You should see life cycle of what you are dealing with.
Black pepper tiny dots - brand new
Different sizes - older infestation
Adult headlice - you'll be combing a while every few days to clear all nits.
Hairdrier and straighteners work wonders.

Zap combs sound great on paper but won't work on thick hair and are often duds.
Hair dye just dyes the lice, won't off them.
If you can afford it, and are near any, a headlice salon would spare you all the pain.
They'll hoover them out.
Professional Head Lice Treatment | The Hairforce (hairforceclinics.com)

We found that using the nit comb that zapped them every Sunday night helped us keep on top of new infestations

Which one purple? I'm yet to find one that was worth the £25.

DD used to get them a lot. I used to use conditioner and a nit comb every other night, I sent a note to parents at the school with info about nits and lice, and tips to get rid of them. Once all the parents were treating their children there was a massive reduction.

Oh and you'll be told stuff like vodka, kerosene, mayonnaise, mouthwash etc work too.
I wouldn't.
The only exception was using olive oil and a comb - that got loads out. The downside is washing hair afterwards. Shampoo only/washing up liquid not great but necessary if using any greasy concoction.

Different folks will recommend different products. I've used them all. No special preference. I quite liked the hedrin mousse they used to do as it was less greasy. Depends on thickness of hair. Full marks, vamousse, lyclear much of a muchness.
So Home Bargains for me now as cheaper.
Hedrin mango is a lovely preventative once clear.
Regular routine conditioner comb best way to keep clear mind and hair up. Tea tree spray helps too.

My kids went through a couple of years of constantly picking them up at school. It was gross. Use the bit shampoos but I suggest not using the spray as it turns your whole room into an ice rink. What was a game changer for us was the electrifying comb I got off Amazon. It really does work! You just comb it through the hair and it kills lice and combs out the nits. It beeps when it comes across them too. Used in combination with the shampoo and a normal bit comb it means you don’t miss any, even in very thick hair. It’s great for catching them early in future too- just comb it through once a week or so - we definitely caught one before it had a chance to lay anything!

My daughter caught them (aged 18) in a nursery, doing work experience. We used special shampoo; didn’t help. Nothing helped, except regular combing.

There’s a reason these fuckers are everywhere. We’re delicious. Combing every 3 days is the only thing that actually works.

Schools can’t do anything. You have to do it yourself.

Which one moglet? I'm yet to find one that was worth the £25.

School can do nothing except send out general letter to say please check your child. We’re not really supposed to inform individual families and cannot enforce any kind of treatment.
It is quite possible that your Dd may get them more than once.
It would only be reported as part of a much wider picture of possible neglect. Not treating for nits on its own is not

Best thing to do as others have said is conditioner and comb hair, l used to just stick kids in front of tv and do it, if she's scratching she's defintinatly got more than the two you can see. The school can send out letters but some people never treat their kids so you might be in for long haul. Once you cleared your DD just make sure you check at least once a week.
Don't forget to change bed and wash sheets abs towels.

Catching headlice doesn't have anything to do with your immune system. They're tiny insects that set up shop on your scalp and hair if they get the chance, not internal parasites.

The reason adults mostly don't get infested with headlice, is simply because we're more fussy about personal space with non-relatives, and so we don't engage in head-to-head contact with them. Headlice go round school classes, because children do have head-to-head contact with their friends. Naturally, children also have head-to-head contact with their parents, so parents of young children catch headlice off their own children all the time.

We use full marks solution done in 5 minutes...,it also removes dandruff

of course adults get infested, what part of the immune system do you imagine could work against head lice!?

Adults tend to have shorter hair and keep their heads further away from other people's so there is less transfer to and from adults, but they obviously can very much get them

Hedrin,follow the instructions,do the whole family at the same time.

I honestly think the reason it's so rife is because people use conditioner and a nit comb and don't spend anywhere near long enough doing it,it takes ages doing it properly and so it spreads.

Schools used to send kids home and you weren't allowed back until you had the all clear. Now parents can't be arsed, along with everything else so it becomes 'acceptable.'

Just conditioner and nit comb.
Do the whole family though.