Head lice will not die

[claire222]

My sister's kids (aged 4 and 3) are mixed race with very curly hair. They have a very bad nit infestation which seems impossible to clear up. We have tried all the various products from the chemist with very little success. By combing daily (a nightmare job getting them to sit still that long)we can keep the numbers down but they keep returning! We may shave the boy's hair but feel that would be too cruel for the girl who has just started school. My friend suggested using diluted sheep dip carefully. This sounds like a very dodgy idea to me but we are desperate. Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks

What type of comb is it? Lots of people on here recommend a nitty gritty comb (sorry if you have already been there done that!)

Also I think that the nitty gritty people have a website, they may be able to advise specifically with more tricky cases.

Good luck

Would sheep dip even work on the type of lice that dcs get?

No I don't I'm afraid but don't go with the sheep dip. Ludicrous idea no matter how desperate. It's extremely carcinogenic.

nitty gritty website in case it is useful

Also ask the school nurse for advice. He/she may be able to check combing technique and have other suggestions. (they are allowed to give nit advice if you approach them, but they are not allowed to approach you afaik!)

Nitty gritty comb is fab.

Tea tree oil is the way forward.

My dd is older now, but these worked when she was younger.

The biggest problem was the girl in her class who was riddled and her Mum didn't even try to get rid of the nits. I stood behind the poor girl whose head was visibly crawling and her scalp was red raw.

Very sad about that little girl Ooops.

I think once it gets to that awful stage then the school can intervene on the grounds of parental neglect?

There is a little girl (7) a bit like that in dd's class. They are never quite gone. (her mother is a nurse incidentally which really upsets some of the other mothers)

After seeing the state of the girl's hair I went to see the Head of the school.

I did it to get the girl the help she needed and not to have a go.

Not to be snobby or judgemental about it, but the child often came to school out of uniform or quite dirty. The Mum was often drunk and always had to be reminded she couldn't smoke in the school grounds. I felt really sorry for her and the other children had already started calling her names.

The school dealt with it very sensitively.

They are in their teens now and I still see the girl around and she seems to be finding her own way in life thankfully.

thanks for the advice we've been using plastic nit combs from the chemist which do seem to miss the smallest ones. Will order the nitty gritty today!
Also we are washing all bedding etc at 60 degrees is this hot enough? And teddy bears won't hot wash, will it work to put them in the freezer?

I think the freezer will work for the teddy bears. Have you tried Hedrin? Expensive, but if you get the spray you don't have to use too much. If you use it every day for a week, and use the nitty gritty comb in the mornings once you've washed it out, the critters will be gone. I know a week of lotion and combing sounds daunting, but it is the only way. Take it from someone who kept finding ONCE headlouse in her DC's hair each week for 6 weeks last year! Ggrrr. Using the lotion every day, instead of once a week, was what finally banished the problem.

I've never worried about bedding and toys being cleaned differently for nit infestations. I think it's worm eggs and dust mites that need hot washing.

The nitty gritty comb is brilliant, not got any experience for mixed race curly hair though

One headlouse, not once headlouse! Sorry.

Check with the chemist as to them being involved with the minor ailments scheme as you gan get the nit stuff free.

Dd 4 has very thick curly hair although not mixed race. We do nitty gritty comb and conditioner twice a week but for a few months even with hedrin we could never quite get rid of them. Was a nightmare. We tried our best, I know of another girl with v curly hair who's mum has the same problem.

we seem to be winning haven't spotted one for a while now!

The Hair dryer should be your weapon of choice. Believe me I spent many months and lots of money on lotions and potions and this is what really got rid of the them. wash hair as normal every night, or as many as you can, and blitz with dryer. The heat kills the eggs, eventually they will be clear.

headlice drive me mad. my dd in particular gets them all the time. we get rid of one infestation and then within a couple of days she has them back again.
I did ask the teacher to send a note home, but despite having the all clear on sunday and monday evening after baths, last night i found two whilst combing with the mitty gritty.
beside the cost i am loathe to use chemiclas so often on a 4 1/2 year old, but it really is the only way to get rid of them.
Of all the lotions i found the hedrin 15 minute spray one to be the best.

the lice program is very effective, but it takes dedication.

I agree the nitty gritty is good, but whatever you use it should have metal teeth.

I sit my children down to watch a film, wrap them in a towel, smother their hair in conditioner and carefully comb through, rinsing the comb in a jug of hot water to get the conditioner/lice into the water after each comb through.

With a good comb you will get the eggs and the lice. If the infestation is really bad comb through every day until there are no live lice in the jug, and then comb every three days until I get no eggs(nits). Keep doing the three day comb through for a couple of weeks.

Be as gentle as you can and keep the dc busy with a ds, snacks (things you can keep replenishing like popcorn can be good, so don't give them a whole packet just a few at a time) and drinks so you can be thorough.

I have combed through ds's hair three times and got nothing but the fourth sweep got the louse.

I think hedrin etc can work but the combing method (use conditioner or olive oil) done properly always works, catches stragglers and once you beat the infestation, do the condition comb weekly and tie the hair back in braids (every day) so there are no loose strands - to avoid re-infestation as much as possible.

Does the hairdryer really have an effect? That's worth knowing....

Worked for me and believe me I was at end of tether for ages, and had spent a fortune on tea tree, different nit combs and all the various chemicals. Give it a go.

Bleach and/or straightening irons work.

I know a few people on here have recommended hair straighteners in the past. A bit like the hairdryer solution, but you actually fry the little feckers to death. Very satisfying.

If you want to put cuddly toys in the freezer it's recommended for 24 hours. We let the kids have one cuddly toy each in the freezer, so it comes out quickly, and the rest of the cuddlies and anything soft (cushions etc) in their rooms goes in bin bags for a week in the basement. We also put ALL hair equipment (brushes and bobbles) in the freezer for the 24 hours. Remember too to wash winter hats and scarves at 60 degrees. Also think about the backs of sofas and car seats (if they can't be washed then nitty gritty does a disinfectant).

Thanks for all your advice we are going to attack on all fronts (apart from the sheep dip- ruled that out for sure) and feel more confident we can overcome and eliminate the little beasts! I never thought I'd want the cold weather to last any longer but apparently it slows down the lice breeding cycle so bring on the snow!

The problem is finding the source of where it is coming from? You have to remember with headlice to use treatment is to make sure you have combed all the eggs out, as they take 2 weeks to hatch, wash the bed covers everyday and comb it with the special comb everyday with conditioner in the hair,so they stick to it. Any clothes or items they lay on or wear, can have the eggs on which then lead to them going back into the hair and cycle starts again, hoover mattresses and that should help, also write a letter to school, asking them to send letter out to parents to check their childrens hair, otherwise if they are around a child that has them, this is just going to keep occuring.

Ds had nits recently. I used Full Marks and a Nitty Gritty comb. Then used shampoo and conditioner with lavender, rosemary and tea tree oil every night for ten nights. No nits after the fourth night but wanted to be sure. Now have a Nitty Gritty spray preventer which seems to be working. Ds's hair is fine but incredibly thick so I found combing conditioner through with an Afro comb then a smaller comb before I used the Nitty Gritty comb helped.

You really don't need to worry about washing the bed clothes every day. This is what it says on NHS Direct: 'There is no need to wash or fumigate clothing or bedding that comes into contact with head lice.
Head lice can only survive on humans and they die after a day or two of being away from the human scalp.
Head lice that fall off the scalp are likely to be close to death (their life span is about three weeks).'

So basically the healthy lice will stay on the child's scalp where there's food and warmth, any that do fall off will not last long enough to re-infest anyone

I can recommend the nitty gritty too, although it is quite difficult to use on really long or curly hair-it is effective.