Come and talk to me about the best way of getting rid of nits

[southernsoftie]

Put this in chat earlier but no responses so I am wondering if this is a better place.

Found out yesterday that DD has her first lot of nits (at least I think that is what they are, somehow they look smaller than I thought). Have combed all our hair with a cheap nit comb that I got from a pound shop but am now thinking we are all going to need to do something more before they spread further.

So now please talk me though how I make sure that I have got rid of them - do I need a better comb, shampoos etc? And do I need to wash her sheets and towels separately? Any suggestions much appreciated.

We used a chemical shampoo first time round but then realised we couldnt keep doing that each time she got it. SInce then we have used a nittygritty comb (get it from pharmacy for a tenner) and lots of conditioner.

yYou need to dry/wet comb with a good comb and conditioner every day for at least 2 weeks so to catch the nits as they are hatching.

Thanks, that is really helpful. Do I need to comb us all even if it is only DD who has any? And I presume that the little darlings can live in clothing and bed clothes? i am just wondering quite how much extra washing this is going to create!

Of course it would all be just before we go on holiday too, but I suppose that does give me more time for allt he combing...

Stand her in the shower, naked. Wash her hair. Load it up with conditioner. Comb it through with a normal comb until there are no tangles, then comb through with a nitty gritty comb (a fine-tooth metal comb) section by section, looking at the product of each comb stroke to check for nits. Rinse the comb between each stroke.

When you have combed right through her scalp, rinse her hair, wash again and leave to dry. Then drench in a product that asphyxiates nits and let her sleep in it overnight.

Comb again the next morning.

Repeat several times, at 48 hourly intervals.

Yup Nitty Gritty all the way.

A tip that i learnt was to use a jug of water to rinse the comb in between sections. The little darlings all sink to the bottom and you can see what you have pulled out, and see when you are clear.

The minimum length of treatment is every 3-4 days for 2 weeks.

The nitty gritty is pretty good though and is the only treatment that will remove unhatched lice.

It is the crawlers which will cause itching. It is the crawlers which infect other people. As you prevent many crawlers hatching with a Nitty Gritty it truely is hte best method all aorund.

I wash her hair, then put loads of conditioner on (cheapest you can get) and comb that through with reg comb. Then i shove her in front of telly or with laptop on her, well lap, and comb her hair with the nitty gritty. When she has nits I do this every 2 days until 3 goes with no nasties. In between visits I do it once a month.

The nitty gritty is the only comb Ihave found that will get the eggs too.

Shineon

''They can't live for any length of time off the human head, so I wouldn't worry unduly about having a mass washing session!''

I put one in a tupperware once to test this out and it was still wriggling 48hrs later

Any body managed to read to the end of this thread without scratching their head? I didn't ....

nitty gritty comb.they are expensive and i was scepticle as to how they were different to normal nit combs but they really are much better.

DD's hair is a nit paradise. they seem to flock to her head as a holiday retreat.

comb through with nitty gritty whilst hair is wet and conditioned.
do that every day for 3 days and they are gone.

I now use a tee tree shampoo to try and deter them from coming back and so far it seems to be working