Feel sick. Nits...

[Mummynotmum]

DS(5) has a best mate he spent most the weekend with...and who has nits. DD(2) has a best mate she's spent all morning with...and who has nits. There is no way my two will avoid it. I've just ordered nitty gritty comb on amazon, but what is the est product? Regular conditioner, or hardcore chemicals? Do I need to disinfect bedding, sofas etc? Will I and DH get it? I'm itching just thinking about it... Dreading the thought of seeing something crawling in their hair...

In my experience the nitty gritty will deal with it only if you do it really thoroughly every day for a week or more. Otherwise chemicals. I try to go for the combing, although the kids make such a massive fuss about it and I end up bribing and shouting...

If you start the combing now and keep going for a few days, maybe they won't get a chance to take hold??

Good luck

Oh and I think you have to do combing yourself too (and DH) to be effective.

I've never disinfected everything, etc., and not been reinfected. But I think there's a theoretical risk that they can live away from people for a couple of days.

When I get out the nit comb, DS regards me coolly and says "are you nit murdering again?"

It's impossible to think about nits without scratching!

I always go for slathering with conditioner and combing with nitty gritty (some lice are resistance to the pesticide-type treatments, but the smothering ones might be worth a try if you see a live louse).

I'd start combing immediately. If any live, sexually mature lice have hopped on, you want them out ASAP. And you want to catch the hatchlings as they emerge, before they become mature enough to lay.

Best thing is to soak there heads in listerine today, it has to be the yellowy gold type and cover with a shower cap and leave for 2 hours. Then rinse and wash as normal. Then use conditioner with nitty gritty comb when it arrives.

My daughter has only had nits once - at the time of the 2007 floods when Gloucestershire had it's water turned off! We didn't have enough water to properly wash out any treatment, so I spent time every day picking them out and believe it or not we did get rid of them!

Ugh. So gross. Thanks for the tips though, hopefully this is the last you'll hear from me!