To want to scream from the hills Nitty Gritty combs and conditioner do NOT eradicate nits!!!!!!!!

[MilaMae]

I have yet to meet anybody who thinks otherwise and I'm sick of letters/GPs fobbing me off with the supposed miracle cure of "teatree conditioner and a Nitty Gritty comb".

I have combed and conditioned every which way every person in the house, it does NOT work. You miss one the side of a pinhead it lays masses of eggs and voila!!!! The only thing I've found to work is Hedrin on everybody in the house then repeating a week later. At £10 a bottle X 5 it's £££££££ but at least it works.

Was wondering if anybody has tried vinegar,was thinking the acid must be able to kill nits instantly. DP thinks I'm bats but I'll try anything if it means I don't have to go through the nightly screamfest of combing dd's waist length wavy hair with a Nitty Gritty comb-when it doesn't work anyway.

Conditioner and comb work for us but only in the following circumstances:

• lots of free time that fortnight
• reasonable light to see what you're doing, so harder in winter
• if I don't have them, as DH wears glasses and is a bit "that'll do" about it

If I get them and/or we are having a hectic fortnight or some/all of us are ill, then it's Hedrin.

Prevention is best. We spent 2 years growing DD's hair to one long length and she goes to school with it all scraped back in plaits. No headlice so far this term despite being in the same class.

i have found that combing and conditioner is the best method but not following hair washing, most effective method seems to be (for us, 2DD's one with thick wavy hair and the other with fine hair)

1. start with dry hair
2. using a plant squirter bottle, dampen hair
3. massage in a dollop of leave in conditioner
4. Comb and comb and comb
5. send to bed.

All of this is front of some TV as then they are occupied, we repeat every night for a fortnight or until clear.

My Dsis always sends her girls into school in plaits with hairspray on. They have waist length hair and very rarely get nits.

Nitty Gritty and Robocombs don't go through my dd2's hair. I have had limited success with chemicals. A white comb at least shows them up. I haven't frontlined yet....

I wonder if those that think the conditioner and comb method doesn't work aren't putting in the time it takes to do it properly?

If you do it every 2/3 days for a fortnight, you will get rid of an infestation, and you will know because the hair is clear or lice and eggs. If your children get nits the next week, it is because thay are being re-infested.

I have found it depends on peer group. One year we have nits on and off all year. The next year - nothing.

Tis an 'orrible problem I agree, and one that makes most of us BU. I just don't think chemicals and lots of £££ is as good as time and effort. Put a DVD on you both like and chill while you are combing through...

Morloth you are onto something. If my son gets nits when he starts school I will just shave him.
I wonder how the school will feel about that though?
Don't some of them have rules about hair cuts?
or am I waaaaaaay out of date?

You may well be right thesun. I have 3 all of which have longish hair incl the boys. There is simply no way I have the time to sit down and comb them (and myself) several times a week. Not thoroughly enough.

Why are you paying for your Hedrin _ I get mine free on the minor ailments scheme.ASK about it as they give out infant paracetamol as well as various other stuff.

Think it depends where you live babyice

We get calprofen on Nhs for teething but my sisters gp wouldn't prescribe it when her dcs were very Ill because he said you can buy it over the counter.

I've used a comb and conditioner on myself when I caught nits from my Yr 7s. It worked fine but admittedly I'm not a wriggly child.

Nope, I used an ordinary comb to tame it first, plus tons of conditioner, and the bugbuster combs caused no problems. I think it's something to do with the design of the NittyGritty, it seemed to make ds's (very fine) hair wrap around the comb and get caught in the spirals. Might just have been a problem with that comb, but after all the praise here I was very disappointed (and the comb got binned).

You do have to make sure you comb to the bottom of the section. You won't be able to remove the comb mid-shaft....it has to go all the way to teh bottom.