Nits

[Toberich]

Hi - does anyone have any experience of very resistant nits ? We've had these in the family now for over a month, treated everyone at least 11 times, lyclear, Hedrin, full marks, nitty gritty comb. Is there an over the counter insecticide shampoo I can get online ? It really is just a money racket & the only thing that works is infinite infinite combing.

I may have been v lucky but combed DS2's lice infested head daily with conditioner and Nitty Gritty comb for a week and then alternate days until I was sure he was clear. Examined combings with USB microscope (which was both satisfying and disgusting in equal measure) to be sure every last one had gone. Seemed to successfully clear them without chemicals.
Are you dealing with multiple children and long hair, I appreciate that'd be more of a challenge

It's Nitty Gritty all way for me! I have become quite obsessed with it. It's like a hobby. I honestly think it's the best option.

Feel your pain. We are having a nightmare trying to shift them and it's an ongoing issue in my daughters school. I left Hedrin on overnight last week and completely saturated the hair- my daughter still had several live nits just casually walking about the next morning. I have ordered a vinegar based product on Amazon that's meant to be good, and going to try that with ongoing combing.

Nitty Gritty and repeated combines for everyone - including you.

TBH we're a family of 5, and I would expect to take over 1 month of treatments to clear an infestation.

Are you combing everyone on the same evening? IME that shortens the duration. Not always possible, I know, but worth aiming for.

We realised today that we will have to take the Nitty Gritty on holiday with us, as we won't have cleared our current infestation by the time we go away.

Combines, not suggesting combining treatments.

OFGS autocorrect! combings.

I always suggest using liquid castille soap/water combo in a spray bottle (ratio of 1:1)

Have used it on dd1's hair in the past, only needed to use it once but can't guarantee that would always be the case.

Prior to using this method I also used conditioner/combing but avoided using chemicals.

I found using the castille soap effective & much less of a faff than combing.

If you decide to go with using castille soap/water solution this is the method:

• section dry hair into workable sections
• one section at a time, spray the solution all over the scalp, then thoroughly work into the scalp & hair
• keep going until all sections covered & hair is saturated with solution (which will have lathered up & wet the hair as you work it in)
• cover hair with towel for at least 1/2 hour but longer if possible (to make sure!) it may start to sting the scalp after too long tho' particularly if there is any broken skin
• after these steps simply rinse hair thoroughly with shower head...I did this step over the bath with the plug in to see what was rinsed out.

• you can repeat the above steps within 3 days to check you have killed them all & keep going with this until you have.

When I did this I found it so effective that on the subsequent applications there was nothing there, may have been luck!

Word of warning - pure castille soap will sting the eyes so always best to keep eyes guarded from spray & run off as you are treating the hair.

I use Dr Bronners Baby Mild liquid castille soap, we use this as our regular soap anyway. Castille soap kills by destroying the exoskeleton, so works on aphids, ants etc too.

Anyway, up to you, but I would say it's worth a shot, particularly as you are treating everyone in your family as this is a much quicker method than combing, and less harsh than the commercial chemical based products.

Good luck

Thanks LifeisGood I've done the combines each and every time ! I optimistically started with lyclear then followed up with pure conditioner (I had a few bottles of cheapo) and it worked just as well if not better - they all drowned. Better in fact than full marks as you world still see some half alive ones waving. Plus I think it's easier to lavish cheap conditioner on than expensive nit treatment.

I caved last night & finally found a proper pesticidal product on ebay & ordered it. It's called Derbac-M and contains malathion which might actually kill them instead of just drowning the adults.

So I'm off to work again knowing i probably have creatures in my hair 😱 Good to know there are others out there 😐

Mamamimi I'll look into that one next thanks !

Conditioner doesn't work by drowning them, they just become immobilised. I am sure you can buy darbac m in the chemist too. Some lice are immune to those type of pesticides btw so may not work either

It's not in any chemist here 😕Anyway it arrived today so I will inviting the kids into my denitting office again 😃 I'd say a few goes of Hedrin or Lyclear would have done it but at €17-€20 a pop I'd prefer something guaranteed to kill them not stun them temporarily or whatever ! I have literally now spent €150 on 3 of us in one month. (DH shaves his head)...

Have you found live lice in everyone's hair then? You only treat those who have lice. The lice life cycle lasts around 3 weeks so you need to treat several times over that period in order to stop the life cycle. That treatment can be the conditioner/combing treatment as well as the stuff that kills them. Does your chemist not offer the minor ailments service where you get head lice treatments for nothing for those who are entitled to free prescriptions? (I.e. Your children)

dd has had a bad infestation that we are at the end of.

One thing I found that was if I just combed, i wasn't finding them at all. I have alot of experience of nit combing, but these buggers must have been really fast.
Combed whole head really well, 3 times, then found one small adult. decided to treat as she was really itchy. After treatment when I combed her out she had LOADS of dead ones.

using a LOT of conditioner slowed them down, but even so, I only caught one or two, but when I treated her there were loads.

So my guess is that you are just not getting them all out each time.

No pixie - not in uk it's a different ballgame. Both working so not entitled to zippity.

Tbh same here - I have treated both kids over a month about 11 times. Started with lyclear, got about 10-20 each, optimistically moved to conditioner few days later, got a few more, repeated at a few days intervals (3 on avg), at one point really happy they were "gone", not so, back with a vengeance, tried full marks, and finally hedrine. Washed pillow cases, sheets & towels after each treatment (I work ft this is a major pain esp not having dry towels some mornings for a shower !!). So either were just not catching the eggs, and believe me I look properly & even took them out with my nails etc. Or we're all just reinfesting each other.

I have to admit to being a bit annoyed that pesticides are off the market - I know there are health risks but in the "old" days 2 shampoos did the trick. I think it's quite traumatic for a small child with long hair to have to endure 16th century nit picking 2-3 times a week to no avail And I very much doubt all parents are as vigilante/dedicated so all that work could be for nothing once they go back to school !!!

Rant over will try the "proper" shampoo tonight.

Actually final rant - the shampoos on the market should really specify that they do not kill the eggs. They just don't & yet are allowed to say that clinical trials etc prove they do. Total bull. 😭

So here we go just applied Derbac M liquid - didn't realise that it's a over night application so I hope dc doesn't have allergic reaction 😕This is product no. 4. It has the lovely reassuring smell of pesticide too. 😬

Steppemum what treatment did you use ?

Did the Derbac M treatment work OP?

Just a couple of tips that might make a difference:
If you are using conditioner to comb, then ensure it is washed off the hair before using chemical treatments, as many conditioners leave a layer on the hair that can prevent the chemicals adhering to the lice and eggs.
If you have to wash hair prior to using chemicals, ensure the hair is dry before using the chemicals, if that is what the instructions require.
Avoid swimming in chlorinated water/swimming pools for three days either side of chemical treatments, as the chloride can affect the chemical treatment.
Conditioners containing coconut can imobilise lice temporarily and make combing more effective.
Often frequent infestations are not due to treatment failure, but to reinfestation, so check everyone that you possibly can who is in contact with Dc's, e.g. Grandparents, aunties etc if you see them often.
Headline are a PITA!

Chlorine not chloride -blame the autocorrect.

Not sure yet - one week later & short haired dc is cleared long haired still saying slight itch & ditto here but not sure if it's paranoia at this stage & normal/psychological itch !
Will let you know in another week as 2nd dose of liquid tonight.
Any other recommendations on proper shampoos let me know & I'll get them off ebay. I'm steering clear of anything saying "natural" as that just means "doesn't work". 💆🏻

As far as I know lice cannot develop resistance to Lyclear et al as is not pesticide.

With Lyclear you need to use loads - all of the hair needs to be completely saturated down to the scalp - it gets quite messy as will start running down back of neck etc. Make sure you massage in real!y well and keep massaging for the 10 mins it is on. Repeat in 7 days. As well as that you need to be coming regularly for at least 3 weeks.

I also expect that you are missing a few by not coming for long enough/thoroughly enough.

Also check your kids but every day after school - I do this visually with Dd, just while brushing hair and if she's caught them at school there will be a couple of massive ones that are easy to spot and then go through the process right away.

DD has gone for a pixie cut this year though as she hates being nit combed too

Tbh I'm just steering clear of any non pesticidal ones as its too hard to control eggs etc - they might be ok for short hair (ie boys mainly) but long thick hair I would need shares in it & the others to use enough - literally a bottle a head. So we're going old school ! Pesticides all the way ! Back to the 80s with us !

My DD is 17 and we have been battling nits for 4 years. The longest nit free period of time has been 3 months. Just never seem to get rid of them totally. Have tried everything!

That's horrendous 😕 Well I can say o washed my own hair this morning and... Nothing. I think they're gone from just 1 treatment of Derbac M it's the only way to go with long hair !! In fact I'm going to stock up for next time as no doubt there will be one. 👍🏻👍🏻