To use a nitcomb on DS that I used on my cat months ago?

[nappyaddict]

Would soak it in bleach and rinse it first.

Sounds fine to me.

I'm a bit about the nitcomb-cat combo though.

in what way?

Go for it, I say.

go for it. Forget the bleach!

Your cat must be very patient. Mine would barely sit still for a quick swipe with a bristle brush.

quick squirt with the dettox a scrub and a good rinse would do it for me!

My cat's soft in the head! I think partly because I had her when I was 8 and used to carry her around like a baby and partly cos she fell out of the window onto the patio when she was about 1.

bigted Would you just give it a wash with soap and water then? Don't you think it needs bleach to kill the germs from fleas that may have been on it?

nappyaddict, am really starting to think about this now... What germs would there actually be? If there were germs in what way would it harm a dc to have them run through their hair? If the cat had been licking itself then you have the risk of things like listeria from its saliva etc flea bites can be a transmitter for worms / viruses( i have been told...)

Agreed I deffo wouldn't use the cats toothbrush on a dc, but the comb is looking like a safer bet than I originally considered.

Also people survived before bleach...

sorry I know your reply was for bigted, but you got me thinking

I should just use it. They (cats and kids) pick up far worse just going to school etc. But I am the queen of germs and revel in dirt.

At the back of my mind I keep thinking what if I give him fleas. But fleas wouldn't be able to live on a comb without blood for months would they?

No nappyaddict they wouldn't - but yuck!

yes, esp if its a nitty gritty one, they are expensive!

Why is it yuck if there can't be any fleas or germs on it?

Use Hedrin, so much easier than nit-combing. [lazy mare emoticon]

He hasn't actually got nits but his hair is getting quite long now so thought we better start some sort of lice checking routine.

i use our everyday combs on the cats and on us i just run it under the tap in between uses or put them in the shower, i think ive even combed them with the nit comb

Have just run it under the tap ready for use and hidden it in the bathroom so i can claim to my mother it's a completely seperate one!!

clayre have your cats ever had fleas though when you've used your everyday combs on them?

Nappyaddict, unless there was a flea egg stuck to the comb you couldn't possibly get fleas from it, any live fleas that were on the comb would have hopped it! Flea eggs don't stick to the hair shaft like louse eggs (nits) so would be easily rinsed away under the tap. Flea eggs have been known to survive and hatch from behind wallpaper literally years after they have been laid, heat / vibration makes them pop! So if you have a cat in your house then at some point the chances are you will get bitten, but the chances of getting anything horrible from the comb is negligable.

My dcs have only ever had head lice once and the thing i found most useful was combing several times a day and hoovering their beds every morning. Adult head lice can live off the head for 72 hrs so the child can be reinfected every night when they go to bed. I pointedly won't use pesticides on my children, but the tea tree repellent spray seems to work v well.

Under normal cicumstances I nit comb every couple of days to be sure, but in spite of infestations at school and nursery they seem to stay clear.

And you definitely cannot get germs from the eggs alone?

I'd just chuck it in a pan of boiling water for a few minutes and use it no problem.

I have to confess that when I started seeing DP and stayed overnight at his for the first time, he didn't have any kind of hairbrush for my tousled post-sex mane and I had to brush my hair with the dog brush all weekend.

Been doing this for years as i could never remember which comb was which! And i can honestly say cats have never caught nits and dc's have never caught fleas!!! I just rinse in between uses

Dh was horrified when I used a nit-comb that was for the cat to get a tangle out of my own hair. It's a metal comb! What harm could it possibly do??

Alarkspree- my cat absolutely loves being combed really throughly. He arches his back into the comb and rolls onto each side so I can reach everywhere!

I don't have fleas (or nits) BTW!

nappyaddict I would not even bother to wash it!
Can't see how it's any different from stroking your cat them playing with your son's hair.