Help with nits!

[LCW1980]

Hi,
My daughter has unfortunately had nits on and off for quite a few months. We've treated her with many different potions, and wash and nit comb her hair pretty much every day, but still they keep coming back. I don't think we can ''blame' anyone else from her class, as she's had them over the hols too. She has lovely long thick hair, which unfortunately the nits seem to love. Any advice on what you've done or used on your child's hair greatly appreciated, thank you

It might sound like a silly question but are you repeat treating a week later? I am sure you know that the lotion kills only lice and not the eggs but I was suprised to hear from another parent that the lotion she used did not advise to do this second treatment.

Boring but tedious as it is is to wash hair every night or every other night.Slather her hair with conditioner(cheap one fine) then section it and go through each section with a nitty gritty comb,have a bowl of water nearby to dunk the lice in.Use kitchen towel to wipe comb and hot water to rinse between combings.This will take a good couple of weeks so be prepared.Off the shelf remedies do not work as the lice have grown immune to it,this has been the case for a number of years.I do sympathise as I spent almost all of year 5 with this problem as other parents weren't prepared to act.Also don't be ashamed to mention it to nursery/school it's nothing to be ashamed of & they can then raise awareness.

How old is your dd? I read the other day that nits/lice are extremely common between the ages of 7 and 10. My dd was the same, I used hedrin 8 hour lotion then repeat a week later. Felt like it was every other week at the time! Also kept her hair tied up in a French plait for school as the hair is harder to "grab" in this style. Also tea tree shampoo is supposed to repell them? Also if you don't want to use chemicals I've also read that mayonnaise works well, cover the head and leave for 8/10 hours. Drowns them apparently

I second Nitty Gritty comb, conditioner and patience.
We combed every other day for 2 weeks and then weekly to ensure they were completely gone.

DS loved it as he got to sit watching cartoons on iPad whilst I combed

Agree with fallen. Ignore the chemicals, simply buy a massive bottle of cheap conditioner, slather it on every night and go over and over the hair with a knit comb. I shifted a very hard to kill bunch of fleas doing this. They'd gone in 1-2 weeks (not sure exactly how long it took because i was paranoid and just kept doing it until i was sure they'd gone).

The nitty gritty comb didn't remove the egg casings glued to the hair so I had to go through it and pull them off with my nails. If your DD is dark haired you should find them easier to spot.

Add some lavender oil to some hair oil and smooth a tiny amount over the hair every day before leaving the house, like you would a serum. They hate the smell. Works with tea-tree oil too but kids seem to prefer the smell of lavender. I've used the nitty-gritty spray for the last few months and so far so good!

Have you treated yourself and the rest of the family? I'm sure you probably have but a few years ago my son caught them from nursery and passed them onto me! They were a nightmare to get rid of on my long hair so cut it short.

Nitty gritty combs are fantastic. I don't but expensive treatments anymore. My son hasn't had them for a couple years but if he was to have them I would just use the comb!

You can buy shampoo and spray products (vosene I think?) that is meant to help keep them away. Might be just a money making scheme though.