Head lice!

[Nitsdrivingmebonkers]

Can anyone offer us a miracle cure? DD got head lice before Christmas - she started itching like crazy, then I started itching too, then DH.

I did lots of wet combing with a standard nit comb and conditioner but found nothing. Then I treated with hedrin. Four days later I found a massive live louse in my hair, quite by chance (came out in a clump of hair in the shower - I'm postnatal and losing hair). We did two further hedrin treatments after that, each a week apart.

Since then I've been combing all of us with a nitty gritty and haven't found a single louse. I've found two or three white things in my hair that might be nits, but equally might be dandruff. I treated us all with vamousse which stopped me itching for about a week (DH kept itching) but it's back again. We're all scratching away, it's been three months with no sightings of any lice but I'm pretty sure we're all still infested.

Do we have invisible lice? Are there any treatments I can try that might actually work? I have long wiry Celtic hair and it takes an hour at least just to do my hair. I have four month old twins and I'm just too tired for all of this! Thanks in advance.

Itching could be unrelated to lice. Maybe it's your shampoo or you have a dry skin condition

I wondered that, and had it not been for that one louse I would have assumed that to be the cause. And it's all three of us itching, starting at the same time! But maybe I should just do regular detection combing and just treat again if I find more lice?

The best way to check for lice us wet a piece a4 white paper and lay it flat
Brush your hair directly over the paper.if red spots appear on the paper,you have lice-its but poo reconstituting the blood it's consumed!!
Lice can survive on pets/fabrics up to 24hrs so I hot wash pillow cases etc and keep long hair up and braided if possible
We had 3years little blighters.then we found a common link child and careful behaviour around her at school bingo.we been lice free 2years (touches wood)

If its not lice try coal tar shpoo.smells vile but great for soothing scalp.that fails I'd see gp in case fungal cause?

My phones misbehaving,sorry.coal tar shampoo

Try to put dds hair up tight also. Braid and bun. You have my sympathy. When we first had nits m I had 4 dds 5 and under. I got them also! We get a major infestation every year that takes a couple of months to get under control. All dc need to be done on the same day. I have a dd with ASD, who's very difficult to nit comb due to sensory issues.

Wash hair, condition, section hair and nitty gritty comb. Every three days for 21 days.
And or Hedrin overnight.
We did both.
Hair tied back. Stray hairs sprayed with gel and then use Nitty Gritty Defence Spray. (No I don't work for them or have shares!!)

But maybe I should just do regular detection combing and just treat again if I find more lice?

Yup. Unless you are shit at combing if there were lice you'd be finding them. (If you're not sure if you are combing right check YouTube, you need to section the hair into squares and then Comb from each side (so you go through each section four times). Make sure.you start the teeth at the scalp and pull right through the hair keeping the hair at the bottom of the comb away from the pointy bits).

I'm itching just writing this, so it is quite possible none of you actually have lice and are just thinking about it too much.

Go back to detection combing every week while they are in school. If you find live lice treat, if not don't.

Thanks everyone, really helpful. I'll hold off shaving all our heads for now then.
I'll start weekly detection combing again and see what happens. Yes I'm sectioning the hair and going right to the scalp.
Great tip about the wet kitchen roll too, I'll try that. And I might also try some coal tar shampoo in case it's something else.

Maybe we just had a single, hedrin-resistant, giant, infertile louse. I can live in hope anyway..