Nit-iquette - do I tell the barber about DS's little 'guests'??

[Aniyan]

So, DS has had his first bout of head lice. We spent a good hour last night with a nit comb and gallons of conditioner, and this morning I couldn't see any of the little critters at all.

DS is due for a haircut anyway, so I'm taking him today (it'll also make the repeat combing easier).

Do I tell the barber about the nits? DS will be mortified if I do, but am I breaking any unspoken public health rules by NOT saying anything? Will the barber recoil in horror and banish us from the premises if he finds a nit in DS's hair?

Please advise - my instinct is to say nothing, but I'm open to persuasion otherwise!

Thanks in advance.

SlartyBartFast - you've really hand a stand up row with a hairdresser over something like that?? Why? Isn't life too short? Have to feel sorry for the hairdresser, and have to agree about the "health" bit of the health and safety argument. At the very least she could catch them herself after being close to and "in" someone's hair who has them.

I suppose I'd assumed that it would be pretty safe to take him as his hair looked clear this morning.

However, as many of you have said, there will probably still be eggs left after only 1 combing - and they are the things most likely to get passed on in combs etc at a barber's.

Can you tell I'm new to this? I'm well up to speed on worms, though - got that routine down pat

admittedly kitbit there was a history with the hairdresser, she was a dreadful snob who had looked down at me at dh's works do..

however dd2 was aged about 3 and they washed her hair(!) then sent us away... because of the nit.

Ok so lets not care about whether the person next in the queue might get that stray nit egg from the comb.

As a parent in general there is no way I'd want to touch someone else's head or hair if they had nits.

That includes other people's children, adults, dp etc etc.

I should think a barber would feel the same.

Why would anyone have a stand up row at the hairdressers, were you trying to force them to cut nitty hair?

Aniyan I got some very good clippers, studied the barber's actions carefully for a couple of visits and after a few wierd cuts on the ds's am now doing a very good job myself.

ah, well in that case...I thought you had picked on and blasted out some poor defenceless hairdresser and was feeling all hefty-bosomy about it!!

no way was i going back there, i was questioning their reasoning,
flibetygibit i promise your ds will get them some day.

Quick update - DS now has a pretty sharp home-done haircut (though I say so myself ) and we've gone through it with a nitty-gritty comb, which was SO much easier now he has less hair.

Now I have to check my own (long) hair again tonight - what fun