Nits - aaarrrggghhh!

[LissaQ]

It's finally happened, 3 years at nursery, never a problem, 6 weeks at school, DS has head lice. Before I burn the bedclothes and towels and disinfect the house - any advice. I've bought a half hour treatment mousse for DS but just noticed it says don't use on coloured hair, mine is not only coloured to within an inch of its life but also long and very curly. Any advice on natural remedies that work fast.
Thanks!

For you - loads of conditioner, and comb it thoroughly with a nit comb. You shouldn't treat your hair anyway unless you find any nits. You will need someone to help you do it (dh, kind friend etc)

Ds - use the mousse, comb with nit comb, repeat combing through wet hair every couple of days until you are sure they are all gone.

For both of you - use tea tree conditioner at least once a week - apparently it's a good preventative.

I'm new to nits too - still trying to get rid of dd2's - so there are people on here with more experience, but this is what I was told!

You'll get used to it!! We've had BAD infestations a few times now. At first I paniced and tried mousse and essential oils and nothing worked. You just have to thoroughly condition and comb every 2 or 3 days and use a nitty gritty nitfree nit comb - they are FAB because they get the eggs off too.

My dds were really, really bad and I never caught them so you may not have them.

We check every week now as a preventative measure!

And I never did anything to bedding etc. Got rid of them in 2 to 3 weeks usually and my dds would only let me comb for about 15 mins max at a time.

Good luck!!

Combing is the only thing that works. The good news is you don't need to worry about the bedclothes. I got the latest advice from the NHS and they say that lice that leave the head voluntarily, or fall off by accident, are going to be too old and decrepit to lay eggs and form a new colony. So even if there are any on your pillows they are kaput.

Sorry to say, but the chemical treatments are not very effective (and of dubious safety.) In a recent study on 15% of people using chemical treatments were nit free after 2 weeks, compared with 60% of those using wet combing.

Best comb to use is nitty gritty. You can get it free on prescription - see their website.

Snap FK

Has anyone ever used Delacet? I've heard it's quite good and natural too. Am getting a nitty gritty comb as they seem to be a good option. Can't type long, unpleasant solutions running down my neck!

2 weeks on and daily combing we are still not clear. argh!! i am still getting a few out each night, tho not as many as we started with so am hoping to be clear of the little monsters soon.

OK - just debugged us both. When I combed DS hair with nit comb (straight, have yet to get Nitty Gritty one)loads of the little swines came out - so I'm hoping that means I've done it properly, will keep combing though. How do you get the little devils off the comb - they don't come out on a tissue, they don't wash out under the tap - what do you do? Also did me - combed through with nit comb, not a sign - does that mean it hasn't worked? I've been itching for Britain for about a week so know I've got them. My hair, long, curly, coloured, torture to comb but used 10 min lotion as recommended by chemist for colour treated hair - combed very thoroughly nothing. Son used 30 min mousse, loads of em. What now?!

Also - forgot to ask - nit etiquette. Am I supposed to tell everybody I meet, what about when DS is back at school next week? Feel like a social pariah already. What do I do - don't want to be blamed for local infestation, but DS got 'em from someone they didn't just appear on his head!

I have brought the Nitty Gritty oil, is it any good??? Fed up with the combing evry 3 days, and can't stand the chemical stuff.

I tell people, mainly becaue I would want to be told. If there's a warning then I keep an extra look out and hopefuly then catch them before they get too rife IYSWIM.

I would recommend combing rather than lotions, but when I have used lotions they often say to use 3 times before you are nit free (similar gaps to wet combing). And you often have to comb as well afterwards. I wonder if the fact that people don't think they work is when they're not used to instructions?

The problem is the eggs that might still be in there. They hatch and grow and start breeding and off you go again! It took me about a month to get rid of my dds the first time I think. She had HUNDREDS!! I was a bit embarrassed about not having spotted it sooner but her hair is thick and brown (same colour as the lice!!) so never noticed!

I told people - like someone else said I'd rather know so you can check your own kids. Everyone said they were clear but my dd must have caught them from somewhere as you said! It's nothing to be ashamed about - a fact of life in schools these days!

My two sdds had them too really badly (and their mum is a GP!!) and I spent every night on holiday nit combing someone on the decking - I bet everyone thought we were a filthy infested family!!!