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Original poster

Just discovered my son has NITS... which treatment should I use

39 replies

spangles · 04/08/2006 20:47

Just bathed my 3 children DS1 5.9 DS2 2.2 and DD 7 mths. When I rinsed the shampoo off DS1 hair i could see the nits in his hair. I am so shocked but I know most kids get them. Has anyone got a reccomendation on which treatment shampoo to buy. Also I presume that ALL bedding needs to be washed but is a 40 degree wash hot enough or should it be hotter... any advice/information will be VERY greatfully recieved. TIA

OP posts:

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 20:52

I have just started a thread on hedrin so that may help you sparkle. Other than that I would really recommend combing - none of the chemical treatments are very effective and not safe either, especially for your little ones.

Don't worry about the bedding too much unless you can actually see the lice living on it. Any ones that walk off the head will be old / unable to reproduce. Just wet comb with a nit comb and lots of conditioner, every 3 days for at least 2 weeks or as long as it takes to see no lice and no eggs in your children's heads. Comb very thoroughly from root to tip, checking and washing / wiping comb between each sweep. Nitty Gritty is a good comb and is availiable on prescription from your GP. Check you and dp as well.

Good luck, it's not pleasant but happens to most of us. Combing / checking once a week in future can help avoid a nasty infestation again.

Earlybird · 04/08/2006 20:53

We had our first case of nits a few months ago, and it isn't fun. Yes, you must change bedding, also get a special nit comb and use it daily. Check archives because there are many, many threads about treatment that you should find helpful.

psychomum5 · 04/08/2006 20:58

well i never ever use any treatment....i think they are all poisons!!!!

i don't mean that badly tho if anyone here does use them but my kiddies have immune deficiancys and very bad asthma so i don't like the thought of using them

for mine I use the 'nitty gritty' comb which gets the lice and the eggs....tis a fab comb and the only one which really does do what it says.

i wash hair every other day, and while the conditioner is in go thro the hair with the comb, rinsing the comb after each stroke in clean water to get rid of any lice/nits.

do this for about 2wks and you should be completely clear.

does require dedication for those two weeks, but it gets them, and you can do without the need for lotions, which you would still need to use with a net comb anyway, and nowadays you can't guarantee them working anyway!

as for washing bedding....no need to bother in my experience. lice can't last a day on bedding anyway, and it has never made any difference in my opinion. sharing beds tho.....now that is what makes them spread in my house..... and . all mine tend to bed hop....ownder why it is that I have four bedrooms in fact....most night at weekends I can go check on them all and find them all in one room, if not even all in one bed!!!!.

that they love each other that much tho...

HTH re the lice advice tho

Original poster

spangles · 04/08/2006 20:59

I am gutted and I dont know why coz i had them when I was about 9 or 10 yrs old. I am not planning on telling DS1 hes got nits coz I think it will upset him and DS2 is too young to understand.. what do you lot think I should do.

OP posts:

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 21:01

"There is no need to wash or specially treat clothing or bedding that has been in contact with head lice. They need warmth to survive and within hours of leaving their host they dry out and become unable to reproduce."

and from nhs site:

"For example, some people think they need to wash their hats, clothes and bedding to get rid of head lice that might have fallen out of their hair. But head lice attach themselves firmly to the hair. They never willingly leave one head unless there is another one nearby to climb onto. The chances of catching head lice from a pillow or hat are very small. Also, lice can't live very long once they are separated from a person's head."

Original poster

spangles · 04/08/2006 21:01

Can I get a "nitty gritty comb" at the chemist without a prescription... and whats makes it better than an ordinary nit comb

OP posts:

psychomum5 · 04/08/2006 21:03

oh god....don't be gutted. they are the bane of schools nowadays since they got rid of the nit nurses!!!!

in fact, at any one time in any school now you can guarantee at least 10 kiddies with them.

sad to say, there are a few very uncaring parents who don't care enough about their kiddies to keep them clear, and they are the ones that keep re-infecting the ones whose parents do care!

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 21:05

Spangles I think you are going to have to tell them. I don't see how else you can treat them effectively without their co-operation, sorry

Ds was just 2 when he first got them and I just said that little insects sometimes walk on our heads and lay eggs there, which makes us itch, so we have to comb them out. I don't think they will get too upset unless they see you becoming very bothered by it. I would just say something like "oh, dear, a few head lice here I think, better comb them out before they make you itch. Here's the conditioner so it won't hurt when I comb you. I remember when I was a little girl and I had headlice, and Grandma had to comb them out for me" etc etc etc, just keep chatting away quite casually so they don't pick up on your upset.

I am sorry for you, it is a shock, especially if there were a lot and quite large ones. I really feel for you, but they will be soon gone if you comb every 3 days, honestly.

psychomum5 · 04/08/2006 21:06

I had to get my nitty gritty comb thro a website (well, a friend actually got mine thro a website). apparently tho you can find them in some chemists.

reason why they are better is that they are grooved in a way to pull out the eggs too, as well as the lice.

other combs only get the lice and not the eggs, and it is because of the eggs that you can't get rid of.....(IYKWIM?)

HTH

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 21:07

You can get the Nitty Gritty at some chemists, cost around £10 I think. It has very fine and grooved metal teeth which are more effective at removing the small lice (and even eggs, but you still need to use it for at least 2 weeks IME).

Another I have seen recommended on here is the Bug Buster, but IMO the Nitty Gritty is the best.

Original poster

spangles · 04/08/2006 21:11

I will ahve to get myself together and go to the chemist tomorrow. I know its only a matter of time before a child gets nits... and there is a girl in DSs class at school who has them but her mum just washes once with nit shampoo and then does nothing else... and they went to a party together last weekend. Any way I shall be at the chemist in the morning for some treatment... but which treatment should I get.

OP posts:

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 21:13

Spangles, don't get a treatment, you have to comb anyway, and the treatments are not safe for your young children, and not very effective anyway. If you must get something, try Hedrin, but you'd be better with a bottle of conditioner and a nit comb. Seriously, you have to comb whether you buy a treatment or not, so don't bother with them.

ocd · 04/08/2006 21:21

so agree
i tired the chemicals but they are just the same as conditoner
i reccy a nitty gritty comb - much finer toothed that he bog stanrdard ones

ocd · 04/08/2006 21:21

so agree
i tired the chemicals but they are just the same as conditoner
i reccy a nitty gritty comb - much finer toothed that he bog stanrdard ones

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 21:22

Spangles when cod and I agree, you have to do it. It's the law.

ocd · 04/08/2006 21:23

tis true

psychomum5 · 04/08/2006 21:23

lol at F&Z and cod agreeing.

is it not tho if anyone agrees with cod then it should be law

BonyM · 04/08/2006 21:25

HEDRIN!!!

It is fab - really works. No horrid smelling chemicals, instead it suffocates them - I put it on dd1's hair and you could see them crawling to the top to try to escape.

It's the only thing I've found that works, other than wet combing every night for a week.

Original poster

spangles · 04/08/2006 21:29

Oh bollocks... I dont know what to do now. I struggle with 3 kids as it is and will find it hard to do the combing thing every day.. I really did just want a wonder treatment that would get rid of them once and for all. Is there any way of preventing them from coming back?

OP posts:

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 21:34

Some people find tea tree type shampoo is a deterrent, but there's no certainty.

Try Hedrin, spangles, if you can stand waiting 2 weeks to see if it has worked (and I think you still have to comb the dead ones out). With the combing method at least you know that after the first night there will only be tiny ones, and eggs left (which is why you have to keep combing, but at least you know there are no giant heffalumps walking round your child's head).

Can you call in a favour from a friend? Anyone with school age children is going to have to deal with this at some point, so we need to help each other out. Could someone come round and do one child while you do the other two?

FrannyandZooey · 04/08/2006 21:35

And spangles, you only need to do it every 3 days. When you are feeling less panicky about it all, go back and read what we've written again, because you're getting it all in a right muddle.

MumRum · 04/08/2006 21:38

my DD got head lice recently, and I use the combing conditioner method every day till they're gone and then check every other day to keep them at bay... we went away recently and forgot the nit comb... by the time we came back there were to many eggs and tiny tiny head lice to keep combing... So for the first time I used full marks lotion and it was brilliant... it doesn't smell and you leave this one on for 12 hours... as soon as I put it on you could see these tiny head lice crawling to the top gasping for air... For a one off use for an infestation this stuff did the trick...
Don't forget to check your hair as well....

cat64 · 04/08/2006 21:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

spangles · 04/08/2006 21:45

your right franny I am getting in a right tiz over this... but its just one of them things. I think I will try hedrin just to get rid of the "heffalumps" i saw when I rinsed DS hair. They were SOOO obvious I cant beleive I have missed seeing them but I have to confess I only wash their hair every 3 to 4 days and that was when I saw them. I think once the bigger lice are gone I shall have to check their hair every couple of days to keep on top of things.

OP posts:

psychomum5 · 04/08/2006 21:47

for a preventative measure then use can use a spray from tesco called head lice repellent. tis found with all the shampoo stuff, kiddies end. NOT in the baby section....the normal shampoo section, but with the kids shampoos (IYGWIM?).

or....buy some tea tree oil and dilute with water in a spray bottle. tea tree is about the best at preventing. won't stop them tho completely....have found that one out far too many times, but it does help them getting too infested.

I have five kiddies, including three girlies with long hair, and nits are the bane of my life and have been since DD1 started school.

all have had them, but the boys less as they have short hair.

girls are best with hair tied back in plaits or buns. Mind, i only bun mine as they do ballet lots after school, so just normal tying up would probably help as well.

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