Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Are nits "a normal and expected part of childhood"?

147 replies

ghosty · 23/08/2008 01:54

This is my second AIBU thread this week
Until 8 weeks ago we have never had nits (I never had them as a child and I never had them in 10 years of teaching). DD brought them home 8 weeks ago. Mortified (possibly unnecesssarily), I treated the whole family immediately and I rang my friend who we had spent the day with that day to tell her. She said that nits were a normal part of childhood and that her children have them 'all the time'. She was very blase about it. She said she never uses chemicals on her children's hair and when she notices nits she combs olive oil through for a couple of weeks and eventually they go.
I was a bit shocked and said that I didn't see nits as a normal part of childhood. Anyway, DS came home with nits yesterday . Again I treated us all last night but I was wondering:
a) now we have had them will we ever get rid of them or is that it?
b) Is my friend right and am I over reacting to be so disgusted and mortified
c) AIBU to be a bit reticent about seeing too much of my friend's kids now?

OP posts:
Starshinetiger · 27/08/2008 10:10

Ghosty, Just a quick post - I had big problems with nits with my DS a month or so ago (he's not 2 until next week) - took 3 weeks to get rid of them, but agree with all those who say bug busting every week - just conditioner and comb through with nit comb.
I've just scanned, but do you live in Australia? My homeopath told me yesterday that all her clients with children swear by Wild Child, which is a nit treatment from Australia. It's natural, so doesn't upset your child's natural defences. If I misread and you're not in Australia, then Nice 'n Clear, which you can get in Boots or Holland and Barrett worked well for us.
Unfortunately, some children are just more susceptible to nits than others - I'm convinced it has more to do with their type of hair and their natural ecosystem than anything else.
Yes, they're very annoying, especially if like me, you have a childminder who doesn't want to take the kids if they have nits , but they are a normal part of childhood.
Guadalupe has good advice - if you know some children who regularly have them, just comb after the visit. DS hates me combing his hair and as DH often works lates, I have to do it on my own, but we just perservere, it gets easier as they get older because a) they don't have heads so close together when playing and b) they understand you have to comb!!
HTH

cheltenhamgal · 27/08/2008 10:29

well unfortunately nits at my dd's school are an everyday occurance. She has had them continually since starting at the school. I comb my dd's hair every evening as part of the bedtime routine with conditioner and a nitty gritty comb. At least that way if there are any live ones I hopefully get them before they have chance to lay eggs.
I find it totally bizarre that the school cannot actually tell me that they think my dd may have lice, apparantly it is against their human rights. They have to send out a letter to the whole school !
One mother when a teacher deigned to pull one off a childs forehead actually accused the teacher of assult ! so comb your child's hair then I say
My dd's hair is down to her elbow but this afternoon she is having it cut into a bob as I really dread the thought of the new school term and all the bugs it will no doubt bring our way

Original poster
ghosty · 27/08/2008 11:34

Starshinetiger ... yes! Wildchild is what I found in the supermarket on Sunday. They have a treatment and a 'nit defence' spray and it looks pretty good I have to say. Although that is the spray I put in DS' hair on Monday and I thought he will end up with no nits AND no mates stinking like that
Tonight we combed again and no live ones thank god ... just some dead small ones a few egg cases and I think some unhatched eggs. So I will treat him with the Wildchild treatment on Friday (that is one week after the chemical treatmen) and I will comb every night until there are none left. Combed DD today and she is still clear.

So, just to get this straight - once I have got rid of this lot we condition and comb with every hair wash, is that right? No chemicals but the natural Wildchild stuff is the way to go??

And then can I sleep again without dreaming of giant lice waving up at me from giant combs??

OP posts:
Slouchy · 27/08/2008 11:52

cheltenhamgal - long, tied back hair is tons better than a bob. If you french plait long hair, it is kept close to the head, bobbed hair swings around and will droop onto other kids' heads.

(Got one longish-haired dd, one bobbed one here - guess which is nittier?)

kslatts · 27/08/2008 12:02

I only had nits once as a child, they were detected by the school nurse and I was sent home until they were gone. I thought it was great getting the afternoon off school.

My dd's have had them a few times and it does really annoy me that some parents just don't seem to bother treating them.

cheltenhamgal · 27/08/2008 12:49

oops slouchy too late ! inbetween posting and reading this she now has a bob ! To be truthful it is more the laborious combing that I was thinking of, her hair is sooooooooooooo thick and she hates having her hair tied back. She goes to school with it tied up but when I collect her the hair bobbles are no where to be seen.....I personally think that the school should insist on every child with hair that is able to be tied up should be tied up .....even the boys ! but they seem to scared of what the parents will say

fluffyanimal · 27/08/2008 13:25

Joining this thread late...

Please can someone tell me: can you always see evidence of nits/lice, i.e. can you always see the eggshells or live lice, or do you only know your dc has got them by the scratching?

Reason I ask is that ds (aged 2) has been scratching lately, I checked him and couldn't see anything but he has several small raised sore patches on his scalp that he has scratched raw. He does have a flaky scalp. Could it be nits, even though I couldn't see anything?

HairyToe · 27/08/2008 13:50

Hi another question here. If I do the daily combing thing do I just use normal conditioner or is there something special I should use?

HairyToe · 27/08/2008 13:51

Oh and one more thing (!) - stupid quaestion really but if ou put conditioner on their head each night after school (thinking of doing it while she watches telly) do you then need to wash her hair every night? Or is it ok to just rinse out condioner and leave to dry?

tazmosis · 27/08/2008 14:35

You should use tea tree conditioner - work through the hair and then comb with a nit comb whilst the conditioner is in, do it methodically section by section and get every moving one there is! Once you have all the lice then rinse and dry however you would normally.. You need to do this every 3rd day as the eggs that will still be in the hair take 2 days to hatch. Once you have had a day where you can't find any to comb, do one final go 2 days later and then you should be ok.

tazmosis · 27/08/2008 14:35

You should use tea tree conditioner - work through the hair and then comb with a nit comb whilst the conditioner is in, do it methodically section by section and get every moving one there is! Once you have all the lice then rinse and dry however you would normally.. You need to do this every 3rd day as the eggs that will still be in the hair take 2 days to hatch. Once you have had a day where you can't find any to comb, do one final go 2 days later and then you should be ok.

policywonk · 27/08/2008 14:39

fluffy - that sounds more like an irritated scalp - an eczema-type reaction maybe? Might be worth taking him to the docs for a squint. My two have yet to have nits , but I've been told that adult nits are the size of grains of rice, and that you really can't miss them!

tazmosis · 27/08/2008 14:42

Oh and to answer the OP - I never had them either but my DSD2 was infested and it took me forever to get rid of them as her mum wouldn't do the combing. I think your friends kids are probably spreading them as olive oil won't get rid of them - so I don't think you're being entirely unreasonable -although you might have to expect the occasional episode, as I think they are more prevalent now due to the demise of the nit nurse!

Hulababy · 27/08/2008 14:45

I would see them as a normal part of childhood TBH.

We have been lucky so far. DD is 6, done 4 years at nursery and two years at school, and has only ever had them once - and then we only ever found one live lice, and no eggs or sign of anything else. I still streated us all though, to be sure.

I do use tea tree shampoo and conditioner on DD, and we go through her hair with a Nutty Gritty comb once a week, with conditioner. DD is odd - she loves sitting there having her hair checked

Some of her friends get them more often than others, but as far as I am aware, all the mums of DDs friends do treat them when they see them.

I was also lucky as a child. Only ever had them once when I was about 12 or 13 (from a friend) and not had them since to my knowledge.

umbungo · 27/08/2008 19:13

this thread is making me itch.

my mum ony ever used nit combs on us, and always managed to get rid of them all.
(on repeated occasions)

she would regular check us when we were sitting on her knee, or get the comb out at the first sign of scalp itching.

pretty normal to have nits i reckon.

verylapsedrunner · 27/08/2008 19:23

This is tempting fate by saying this but I have never had them (and I am very old) neither has DS (nearly 6). Bound to get them on the first day back at school now

verylapsedrunner · 27/08/2008 19:26

In fact where we have just moved from (not UK) if your child gets them you have to repprt to the city de-lousing centre for treatment and a certificate. Child is not allowed back into school without said certificate.

cat64 · 27/08/2008 21:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Igotwheels · 27/08/2008 22:25

I have almost been punched over nits in the past.

Kids put their heads together and get nits. Long haired kids get more nits. Long loose haired kids get even more nits.

Use tea tree oil.

Treat it, check for it and don't get cross about it, pleassse!!

They are only bugs!

Clary · 28/08/2008 23:41

I never use lotions or shampoos of whatever gubbins is being used to "treat" them.

Too mean! and also don't liek to use that stuff if not needed - and it isn't. Comb through with conditioner and they will go.

That said, we haven't had them that much - and not at all for at least a year.

Newpup - surely if you are treating them (at £20 a time) you are helping breed the supernits?

Conditioner and comb method takes me 15 minutes a child, during which time they are not actually in contact with anyone else's children so unlikely to pass them on

I'm not mortified by them tbh. Now threadworms - we keep getting them and I think a lot of people don't bother to treat.

oi that's interesting re bedwetting with worms - DS2 has had them and moaned about itchy bottm (worms in the holidays???) but also is sometimes wet at night, hmmm

mummypig · 28/08/2008 23:50

cat64, my kids are like that with sheep ticks. Ds1 never ever gets them, ds2 gets them so often we have to check him every time he's been to the park - and once I found 5 ticks on his body just from one visit . He must smell different or have tastier blood or something.

My boys have never had nits but I'm not too smug about it and I know enough parents whose kids have had nits that I do feel it's 'a normal part of modern parenthood'. Mind you our school does the bugbusting thing. One day a term is the official bugbusting day when every child in the school is supposed to have their hair washed, and combed through with lots of conditioner, to check for lice and prevent any spread. I suspect not all parents stick to this but clearly enough do that we hardly ever have any outbreaks.

HairyToe · 29/08/2008 19:56

My dd is about to start school and I want to be forewarned and forearmed about the headlice thing.

Clary - with the combing method how do you ensure you've got every louse on every head in the house? And how do you do yourself? Or do you have to get someone else to do it? I have a feeling Dh will not be arsed to do me properly and say "Don't be such a hippy go and get some bloody chemicals"

Ahem

Clary · 29/08/2008 21:43

hairytoe, I wash hair, condition it and leave conditioner in; then comb with nitty gritty comb (it's £10 but it's the best) in sections, wiping on paper towel each time.

If I find anything then I go over all the hair again. I also look through it (this is certainly easier with DS1's short blond thicket than DS2's dark soft thatch, I won't deny).

I really don't think I miss anything. But then I have never found enough to make their hair move . Really just the odd few eggs and maybe one live one a time.

But anyway, if I find anything, I cheak on a daily basis and comb again a couple of days later. Keep doing every day or so until I find nothing. But rarely find anything on a second combing.

Yes I do myself too. It's easier in a way (I don't moan or wriggle ).

HTH

Clary · 29/08/2008 21:44

Should add that I habitually check the DCs' hair when waiting around eg at the bus stop - like a mummy chimp.

Behind the ear is a good place to look.

Kimi · 29/08/2008 21:48

OK all you have to do is wash hair in tea tree shampoo smack on some tea tree conditioner and run the nit comb through on a Friday night.
2 children, clean hair nits once

Swipe left for the next trending thread