Nits. I have seriously lost the plot with them

[Saltire]

Just before Christmas the Dses (aged 10 and 8) go tnits for the first time ever. We did all teh hedrin stuff etc etc. Since then, following advice on here, I comb through their hair (bear in mind they are boys with hair cut by clippers so very short) with leave in conditioner and a nitty gritty comb every single night.
On Sunday night I got their hair cut to Number 1 (so very short) and ddi all the combing out. On monday night after school I could see them again in Ds2's hair, and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights. And I think it is Ds2 who is getting them in his class. I am sick to the back teeth with this, how on earth those of you with DDs who have long hair cope I don't know. DH is combing through my hair on anightly basis - and how I'm going to manage to do that myself for 4 months I don't know.

so
AIBU to tell the head teacher that someone in Ds2's class is passing them on and that a parent of a child in that class obviously isn't checking their child?

Oh, yes, forgot to say, not all heads itch with them and not all lice cause itching. Sometimes people itch, sometimes they don't, I have no idea why but you cannot say that a child that has had them years must be in agony because they may well not be and therefore the parent thinks "no itching = no lice" so doesn't bother to check when the letters come home.

Also some heads seem to be more attractive to smaller lice so they are infested with littlies but all the big ones up and leave asap (rather than a few hanging around to keep up the poulation) meaning that person is effectivly a breeding ground but with no real big ones to be noticed easily IYSWIM

I disagree KingCanuteIAm, the nitty gritty definitely got the eggs out of mine and my DSs hair, saved me having to pick out each individual one with my fingers like I normally would do.

That makes sense actually, my DSs often have eggs but no insects at all - almost like they lay the eggs and then go!

Beckle, it may have on your children but it does not on all children so don't rely on it!

On of my dcs has very thick hair yet it won't move the eggs, another dc has medium hair and it won't even get the empty casings off. Another dc has very fine hair and even little lice manage to get through when I comb!

Oh I don't rely on it KingCanute - I always check right through as I'm combing in case I miss any - am totally paranoid about getting them again myself!

My hair is really fine but I have loads and loads of it, DS2 is the same and the comb worked well on us. DS1 has much thicker hair and it did okay on him too. I have to say I used it on dry hair though not wet/conditioned like recommended.

The does I used on my children was so minisculea tiny dotthat I doubt that it could have done much long-term harm. Most of the tests seem to have been done on rats--using large amounts.

I haven't noticed any after-effects. I used it on my own head first. Both mine already had asthma and it didn't seem any worse after. But as it only happened three or four times over some years it's hard to pinpoint whether anything else resulted from the 'dosing'.

My reckoning was that, if a whole sachet is safe for a tiny 12-week old puppy, a dot on an eight-year old couldn't be that dangerous, or, as you say, KingCanute, the warnings on the packets when you're dosing dogs would have to tell you to remove your children from the room.

I guess if you were doing it regularly you'd be foolish and I'm certainly glad I don't have to do it any more.

That is interesting abraid, thank you!

sorry abraid and others who use frontline on their kids, but if I knew someone who was doing that, i would honestly report them. Same as if I knew they were feeding them dog food!And I am not scare mongering, I have a chemistry degree and a healthy respect for chemicals, which can do harm as well as good!

you just cannot assume something like that is safe and having no long term effect, it might actually be a carcinogen - why risk it for the sake of "convenience"

I know Drs and nurses who refuse to use any of the nit potions on their kids because of concerns about repeated use, they all recommend simple wet combing with conditioner, done every 3-4 days as part of the normal routine, along with thorough brushing every night to damage any they may have picked up that day, it really does stop them getting them.

abraid, surely if one tiny dot is killing all the lice, your DC must be absorbing it and transferring it to the lice wherever they bite the kids head? and it carries on working for other lice that hatch out over a few days? or weeks? so it is actually in your kids blood stream, rather than just a shampoo-in type thing which kills them by poisoning on contact or by drying them out, and which has been rigourously tested for the amount it is absorbed through the skin and possible side effects. whereas the dog one is designed to absorb quickly and travel round the whole body, and be long lasting!

please rethink what you are doing

well thankyou abraid, for agreeing with me!! I have literally used this stuff TWICE. Thats all, because thats all it takes, you are NOT using HUGE amounts of the stuff, tiny pippettes that you use on a cat, and it works with no side effects, and i dont give a stuff if people call it abuse, its abuse to allow my children to have the little buggers.
I used it once on my daughter and myself, and after about 15months they came back, used it again, and this was 3 years ago, not seen them since.
So altho i think its the best solution, it IS up to individuals to decide, but its worked for me and mine with no side effects, and i find it quite insulting to hear that someone would report me for abusing my kids by using it!!!!
As i said, pharmaceutical companies could market the stuff as a remedy for nits, but they wont because it totally would eradicate them, and then they wouldn't make so much money from all the other crap remedies.

your kids, so ultimately your call chicky, I just hope you never live to regret your actions

I note you are objecting to the cry of "abuse" rather than addressing my (and other peoples)perfectly valid concerns about the build up of poisons/long time they stick around in the body

would you also give your kids adults medications/doses, just out of interest? should i not report someone who was doing that either, out of concern for the child?

kids have died from something as simple as being fed instant smash and salty gravy, or accidentally taking a couple of grans pills

why take the risk with something that is not medically approved for that purpose

(I mean, I could use sheep dip, or bleach, to de-nit the kids - would that be OK? NO)

Loobey, I take on board what you are saying (although I think you would have trouble convincing ss of abuse for someone doing this twice over several years). We know that this stuff lasts in a cats blood for around 3 months and then needs to be reapplied. Is there a reason why you think it would last longer in the human system?

I do agree with the comment that the industry make a lot of money from short term remedies and it is well known that they will hold back a cure in favour of a remedy that will bring in revenue. (not that I am stating that this is happening in this case - but you have to admit it is possible!)

loobeylou i understand your concerns, and i have always said it is a personal choice, but i was at the end of my tether, tried everything over and over and they kept coming back, so someone told me to try frontline, and i did and it worked, the last time i used it was 3years ago and there have been no effects at all.
To say "i could use bleach or sheep dip" is ridiculous, becuase of the amounts one would be using,with frontline its a small pippette of the stuff, dropped onto the childs head, and if it doesn't harm the cat, i can't see how it would harma child, but thats MY thoughts, and you are entitled to yours.
I just think if it works, and your desperate ( as i was) then why not?
I know a few people who have used it, and we all agree that it is a wonder cure for nits.
( whether you belive it or not, it was a veterany nurse who first suggested trying it)
Yes, its possible that in 10-20 years time my kids could be ill, purely because i used it, but they might also be ill from too much fat/salt/sugar or the wrong medication given, and its a risk i took.

YOu'd REPORT me??

Who to? I haven't broken any laws.

thankyou KingCanuteIAm, wether or not you agree with me (and abraid) you see the point we are making.

I do see the point you are making, more than that I think it is a very interesting one. I was really hoping Loobey would come back because I am interested in the pros and cons of something like this. It is easy to say "because you just shouldn't" but much harder to defend that statement. I was hoping she would back up her answer with something. I don't know why but yours and abraids experience has really captured my imagination!

the prob.em with them is that u may go out of ur way to get rid of nits in ur dc head but u can not g`ntee that other parents will do the same. nits are the bane of my life my children always seem to have them no matter what i do and we where once reported to social services by a holiday cliub because my children ma y have had them. i hate them and honestly believe that at the end of the world nits will be the only thing left.