Nits novice - help!

[KingDavos]

My 4 year old twins have picked up head lice for the first time and it's driving me mad! DD started itching last week then 2 days later DS started, so I did a visual check and used a plastic comb but nothing. Next day I noticed red bumps so decided to treat as assumed it must be lice. My head had started itching by then too. We all did Hedrin Once and I combed through with a nitty gritty afterwards but didn't find anything I thought was definitively a louse.

Since then have combed twice more but not really found much - could I be using the comb incorrectly? Is it really obvious when there are lice and eggs? I'm putting conditioner on and wiping/ dunking in water between swipes but mostly just see blobs of conditioner. I'm sure we must have had it and our heads are still a little itchy three days later - is it normal for the bites to continue to itch for a few days or more likely they are still there? I have washed towels, pillows, etc.

Planning to use the hedrin again in a couple of days and will continue to comb but any advice/ tips appreciated as I'm really not sure if I'm doing something wrong and am desperate to get rid of them!

Buy a nitty gritty comb for about £10 from Boots and use cheap conditioner and comb her hair daily for 2 weeks or until all the eggs have gone.
It can be a nightmare!!!

Are you really sure it's head lice? Have you found adult lice or eggs?

The adult lice are pretty obvious, they get to about 2mm long and you spot them in the conditioner when you run the comb through. Are you running it (gently) along the scalp? And are you using a proper nit comb?

I've found I still itch a little a day later if I've caught a headfull as the scratches are heading up.

We got a nice little nit comb in the box of Lyclear gel, DS1 is super sensitive but didn't mind it at all.

Get a nitty gritty and comb behind their ears and the nape of the neck. That it where the majority will be if they have them.

I mean, obviously comb through all their hair but they are places they like best.

If you haven't seen any nits or lice and you do think you are combing correctly then it is unlikely you have them.

If you haven't spoofed an adult louse after 1 week then I very much doubt they have headline. The little critters breed like mad so you would have combed some out by now.

Spotted*

Thanks for the responses - I haven't seen head lice but the symptoms sound like it is as we're all itching and don't use the same shampoo so it can't be that. DD was red behind the ear on one of the days from scratching so it definitely sounded like a likely cause. I have been using a nitty gritty comb but I wonder if I'm not using enough conditioner? Probably using roughly three 50p size blobs on shoulder length hair of a 4 year old?

You would have found something by now if it was head lice. Are you sure they aren't other bites e.g. Midges, mosquitos, etc

And you aren't supposed to use the treatment unless you have found live lice.

The conditioner is just to make the combing earlier, the quantity doesn't affect finding them or not otherwise.

(if we hadn't just been through all this at the weekend this thread would make me itch like crazy)

Nitty gritty comb is the only way to go, but it doesn't sound like you have them. If you use conditioner with silicones in for combing it helps stop the little buggers from clinging on.

DH just looked at my head and said he can see white specks! He thought it might just be dandruff but managed to pick up a white/ cream full stop sized something with his nail. He used the plastic comb (as have dry hair and just about to go to bed) and there was something browny in there that could've been a louse! I haven't seen anything like that in the twins' hair. Then he had a quick go with the nitty gritty and said the comb initially trapped the white specks but they dropped out by the time he got to the end of my hair. I have used the nitty gritty comb on myself previously and didn't find much, but will have a more thorough attempt tomorrow!

The eggs stick onto the hair so if it moves freely, then it's not headlice

Your DH is talking about dandruff OP. Sorry to out you there.

The nits will stick to the comb, definitely not fall off and they're kind of greyish. Wet comb, wet comb, wet comb (with conditioner) every other day. Products are a waste of money. It's the combing that matters (nitty gritty comb).

When I caught nits as an adult, I was scratching for a week before it dawned on me. I did not miss them! I pulled what I thought was a little fly out of my hair one day and when I looked with the naked eye I had no doubt.

I caught nits on honeymoon and took ages to finally see them - at least 3 weeks of DH checking. I have 3 kids so dreading the day they finally get them

It's head lice! My childminder asked earlier if she could take the twins to a pharmacist to get them checked, as they had been itching all morning, so he checked and said he couldn't see anything. BUT I just got home and was about to nuke the nitty gritty in boiling water from this morning (when I had a quick comb of my own hair before work) when I noticed something tiny between the teeth. Scooped it out with my fingernail and it started crawling! A live, very tiny, louse that had been resting on the comb all day! Going to do the follow up of hedrin tomorrow so I'll have time to wash absolutely everything our heads have been in touch with. I suspect the first Hedrin killed most lice/ eggs but a few eggs survived and have now hatched. Will continue combing until we're itch free for at least a week! Thanks so much for all the advice.

You can fiddle around with Active @MNHQ, but Nita just aren't that interesting. Sorry 😄