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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be stressed out with head lice?

58 replies

sherazade · 28/12/2009 17:28

me and dd2 (age 2 yrs 11 months ) have them. she picked them up at daycare.

We use the nitty gritty daily, wetcombing over and over again. everyday we find between 1 and 20 lice and dozens of eggs in eahc of our heads.

I tried the full marks headlice solution and regret it, what a waste of money! clear heads for about an hour before we both started itching again and I found live lice in both our hairs. Repeated dose a week later to no avail.

Last night I tried some advice I read on the internet about using oil so i drowned both our hairs in coconut oil last night, wrapped in plastic and washed on waking, only to find more lice crawling through our heads (have just washed and combed again with nit comb and found small newly hatched lice and one big one in each head).

am using the nitty gritty but alternate with another good metal comb as find the nitty gritty is a bit long to stay close to the scalp. Have washed bedding and clothing religiously and even got new duvets, vacuumed mattresses etc.

have heard of delacet but don't know where to buy it from. and worried about investing hopes into yet another solution that won't work.

am really stressed actually got into tears about it today- i know that's really silly of me but my scalp is bleeding and sore from all the combing. any advice?

OP posts:
Tizzyjacko · 28/12/2009 17:33

Are you using loads of conditioner when combing? It takes a week or so of combing every other day to get rid of them but it has always worked for us. Is your DD getting reinfested at nursery? Have you asked them to send a note home asking parents to treat/wetcomb all the children. I have never used chemical treatments apart from a few drops of tea tree oil in the rinse water (don't know whether it helps but it smells nice!) but wet combing always works in the end.

bibbitybobbitysantahat · 28/12/2009 17:33

Try Hedrin.

It is silly to get so stressed by headlice. No, they are not very nice, yes they can be harmful if you get an infestation, but you are doing enough to keep them under control. You really do need to get this in perspective because headlice are notoriously difficult to get rid of completely and I can practically guarantee you will face this problem many more times in the year to come.

There is no easy solution to them. If there were the person who invented it would be worth £millions!

But in my 5+ years experience of headlice, Hedrin is definitely the most effective treatment and the most pleasant to use.

Original poster
sherazade · 28/12/2009 17:38

Tizzy- I do use lots of conditioner, maybe I am not using enough then. We have been combing for almost a month now! I just cannot believe how resistant these lice are. I remember getting them as a teen and combed a couple of times on dry hair and then didn't get them for another 13 years! have lice changed or something?

bibbity- i will try the hedrin. I have heard mixed reviews about it but it's worth a go i suppose..

OP posts:
bibbitybobbitysantahat · 28/12/2009 17:45

Yes, lice have changed! That is the problem ...

juuule · 28/12/2009 17:52

I don't really understand the op.

When you used the Fullmarks did you carry on nitcombing yours and your dds hair each day until the next application? It is necessary to do this (or at least every other day) to not give any lice that have been missed a chance to breed and to catch any new hatchings (most eggs are not affected by lotions ime).

Not sure what you mean about the nitty gritty comb being too long to stay close to the scalp.

Some info here on headlice life cycle.

squeaver · 28/12/2009 17:53

yy to Hedrin. Also Lyclear. The two them together - lyclear in the morning then Hedrin at night - plus the nitty gritty worked for me

Original poster
sherazade · 28/12/2009 17:59

yes, i carried on nitcombing between the first and second application of the full marks- i had to as we were both still itching and each time i combed i found live lice. I do like the nitty gritty as it gets loads out but sometimes find the teeth are too long to effectively remove lice that are very close to the scalp- when I use my shorter toothed comb, it tends to pick up what the nitty gritty has missed. on the other hand the nitty gritty is better at removing eggs than the other comb.

OP posts:
Original poster
sherazade · 28/12/2009 18:00

squeaver, that sounds like alot to put on a small child's head for one day but as i'm getting desperate..

OP posts:
juuule · 28/12/2009 18:06

Must admit that I use the Nitty Gritty comb mostly for egg removal and a different comb to check for lice. So can understand that.

If you have been diligent with the combing then the only thing I can think is that either you are missing some or your dd is picking up new ones every day.

Not much option really but to make nitcombing part of your daily routine to keep clear of them until things settle down.
If you can afford it use Hedrin once a week, too, for a while.

Try not to scrape the skin off your scalp though.

JingleAllTheWay · 28/12/2009 18:39

The little buggers come and go - I remember phases like you are going through - but now I cannot remember the last time we had them, but I do recall DD putting one under her microscope and watching her blood pump round its little body. Then she squashed it.

qwertpoiuy · 28/12/2009 18:52

Little b*stards! Ooh, I hate them, I was cursed during the summer holidays as my DD1 picked them up at school and the rest of the family subsequently got them.

it's very embarassing going around scratching the living daylights out of your head. I tried all treatments, some were too oily and took three washes to remove and others were very smelly - until I discovered Hedrin!

Every Friday night without fail I spray our heads with Hedrin, have a sleep then after brushing through with the nit comb
the following morning, I wash our hairs with Teatree shampoo and conditioner. The headlice gradually diminished and are now totally gone. I'm waiting for a new infestation though....

alypaly · 28/12/2009 19:08

qwerty...you will make them resistant if you use it so often. It is good to rotate treatments as they do build up a resisiance to things.dont treat unless you see live ones.

juuule · 28/12/2009 19:12

Alypaly - you can't make them resistant to treatments like Hedrin. It suffocates them by blocking their breathing holes. No way of becoming immune to that afaik.

liahgenispreggerswithnumber6 · 28/12/2009 19:13

delacet worked for us first application. Smells foul I have to say but completely effective. Bought it from internet sorry can't remember which site but was a green baby type of one.

my 2yr dd has really long wavy hair and hates having her hair brushed at the best of times, she has been a nightmare recently with them.

Hope you get sorted soon.

Original poster
sherazade · 28/12/2009 19:16

my daughter had beautiful silky waist length ringlets , i had her haircut into a little bob above her ears as she screamed everytime i tried to comb with the nitty gritty :-(

OP posts:
alypaly · 28/12/2009 19:20

juule ...sorry, you are right,hedrin is one of the only treatments they cant get resistant too because it is not a chemical as such. My mind was off in old pharmacy mode on all the other applications.

saladfingers · 28/12/2009 19:27

'nice n clear' has neem oil and tea tree, no harsh chemicals and smells ok too. takes about a week with lots of combing but works well. apparently neem oil is used in far east to condition hair and lice have almost been irradicated in parts of asia...will try to find a link. good luck

sb6699 · 28/12/2009 19:44

Our chemist says Full Marks is crap - its not on long enough to be effective.

Hedrin works but continue combing with lots of conditioner in the week between applications.

DD1 caught them recently. Was a bloody nightmare trying to get the comb through her waist length curls.

juuule · 28/12/2009 19:46

Alypaly - thank goodness for that. Can't have them becoming immune to Hedrin.

sb666 - If I use fullmarks I normally leave it on for at least an hour as I couldn't really see what 10mins would do. As it is, even leaving it on longer doesn't always get them all.

newgirl · 28/12/2009 19:51

apparently the scalp can feel itchy even after the lice are dead due to nibbles

i find that using my fingers to pick out dead lice is more effective than a comb - yep grim but it does work

FiveSoloRings · 28/12/2009 20:01

NITMIX

I swear by this and use the daily spray before Dd mixes with any other child and she has very tight curly hair and is very good at letting me comb trough with the oil. Also, I find their comb far better than any other on the market. The spray bottle has a very fine spray too and much better than ordinary ones.
It does sound expensive, but it's well worth it, it lasts ages and smells gorgeous. Last time I ordered it, it came the very next day!

Original poster
sherazade · 29/12/2009 22:50

i love mumsnet. eacc post more convincing than the last as one desperately seeks a solution for one's ailments.

I think i've become obssessed with headlice. or with the eradication of them. I have ordered delacet off some dodgy website as the well known websites are ALL out of stock.
I've bought two large bottles of hedrin, one bottle of nice n clear, a new lice comb and then went to town again and spotted this new product called NYDA that promises miracles.
funnily enough our hear combed through clear today so havent used anything will see what happens tomorrow.
oh and i know that when the lice are having a quiet night in they're usually upto something and are harbouring a nasty full on lice party for when i'm least expecting it.
am i going mad...? i've spent all my christmas sales budget on lice treatments.

OP posts:
Original poster
sherazade · 29/12/2009 22:51

our heads* combed out clear sorry

OP posts:
cocolepew · 29/12/2009 22:54

I've searched for ages trying to remember what Nitmix was called, so thanks. I found Hendrin to be good, DD has very thick hair so I use a lot.

Lovecat · 29/12/2009 23:05

Another vote for Nitmix - DD picked supersize monsters up last year at the Thomson Kids Club (grr), they survived Spanish lice treatment, three lots of Lyclear/Hedrin/Full Marks once home again and by then it was nearly Christmas and the school was making very disapproving noises at me, then I read about Nitmix on MN and hey presto - evil bugs dead, never reappeared!