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Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

What's the best treatment of head lice

47 replies

boneybones · 12/09/2009 07:38

Not sure if ds has it but started school visits this week and has been constantly scratching his head p articuarly towards the back.

Ive checked and cant see anything - but not sure what Im looking for never had it before!

Want to get something from Boots just incase - wondering whats the best treatment to use

OP posts:
boneybones · 12/09/2009 07:44

def has it just spotting one crawling!!!

OP posts:
PrettyCandles · 12/09/2009 12:35

Buy a nitcomb from Boots (personally I prefer the really cheap plastic ones, others swear by the more expensive metal ones), loads of bog-standard conditioner, and a little bottle of tea-tree oil.

Put 5-10 drops of teatree oil in the shampoo bottles - yours and the children's - and also in the conditioner bottles. Using this will help reduce the likelihood of the rest of the family catching headlice.

For treatment: the best treatment is wetcombing. Wash his hair, towel-dry, slather liberally with the tea-treeted conditioner and comb through with regular comb. Now split into sections and draw the nitcomb through it from the roots to the end. One stroke, do not go over again until you have cleaned the comb. I find that the best way is to have the basin full of hot water and swish the comb in it. That way you can see the lice as you comb them out.

Go over the whole of his head this way. Rinse out and refill the basin, and comb again - if he will tolerate it. I try to repeat until I'm not pulling out any more lice. Then rinse off the rest of the conditioner.

Repeat every 2-3 days for at least 2 weeks until you have had at least 2 clear combings. It is rarely possible to remove the eggs as they stick fast to the hairs, so you have to keep combing until they have all hatched. I think it takes about a week before the hatchlings start laying eggs, which is why you have to comb them out before they mature.

And don't forget to comb everyone in the family, preferably within the same 24h period, so that you don't reinfest each other.

boneybones · 13/09/2009 08:14

Thanks for this. Have got a plasic comb and a metal one.

Used Hedrin last night on us all (£12 for a large bottle which is nearly gone!!!) and have combed through ds hair this morning - he still woke up scratching! IT does say to repeat in a weeks time to get rid of any eggs that have hatched during this time

HAve shampooed hair with Alberto Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner and sparyed on some tea tree repelant spary.

Will carry on as you suggest every couple of days....do you think it is ok to go swimming????

God I hate all this its made me feel ill all w-end!

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PrettyCandles · 14/09/2009 22:38

I don't see the poinnt of Hedrin. Tried it on ds1 last time, and it was no better than wet-combing. Worse, if anything, because he hated the feel of it, and the fact that he couldn't sleep with his cuddly because it would have got all greasy.

Go ahead with swimming - though unfortunately it won't drown teh bu**ers!

Make sure that you wetcomb the rest of the family to check it hasn't wpread, and use the teatree stuff on all of you as well.

Yes, utterly yuck. Just wait until you discover threadworms...ah the delights of having school-age kids.

browny · 14/09/2009 22:46

If you want to use Hedrin, you can get it free on prescription from your g.p. HTH

bibbitybobbityhat · 14/09/2009 22:47

Hedrin

BitOfFun · 14/09/2009 22:52

Hedrin is the best according to experts (after extensive internet research on my part ), and the Rolls Royce of nitcombs keeps them at bay.

BitOfFun · 14/09/2009 22:54

Oh, and do mention it to the teachers, or the re-infestations will just keep happening.

alypaly · 14/09/2009 22:55

lyclear is good as it only needs to be left on for 10 minutes

purpledreamer · 19/09/2009 21:49

My neighbour just swears that the only way to get rid of them is wet combing with the £10 nitty gritty comb everynight for two week then use tea tree shampoo ....pesky things nits only takes one mum not to care

Mybox · 19/09/2009 21:53

Combing with a nit comb using lots of conditioner. Have been doing this for nearly three weeks now to get rid of the nits & also going through the hair & pulling out the attached eggs.

Will have to keep this up as other parents do nothing.

gigiricky · 30/09/2009 16:01

The best treatment for head lice is 8-10 drops of lavender oil mixed with water only in a spray bottle. Simply spray each morning or when ever you brush or style your hair.
My daughter has had no head lice for the past 4 years since using this treatment,even use it on my baby, the whole family.Great thing is kids in her class can be loaded with head lice and she can play with them and her scalp is 100% clean and clear all the time.And our hair is so shiny, its absolutely incredible.Not only that I have so much more time not having to clean her hair every day and the amount of money Iv saved by using this.All of my sisters children and friends I have told them to and same thing, all have clean hair.

  1. Spray Bottle
  2. Fill with water
  3. 8-v drops of lavender oil
  4. Spray lightly in wet or dry hair every single day. Mums enjoy your free time, this was the most valued info I have ever been given bout getting rid of and also preventing head lice.
bellabeauts · 02/10/2009 19:35

Wow! Gonna give the lavender a try as sounds amazing! My 2.6 DD has just started pre-school and after a bout of lice last summer I will do anything to avoid that hell again. She has the curliest ringlets imaginable and combing with a regular comb or tangle teazer is bad enough but the nit comb creates an absoulte non negotiable battlefield in our house! Cheers gigiricky!

warrior8 · 22/06/2011 08:38

after years of fighting this with my daughters and 2 stepdaughters i had tried everything and i mean everything! Hedrin is useless and done nothing different. i started 3 weeks ago using this lavender oil on my 8 year old and now her hair is free of all the little buggers. I am already telling everyone about it. I got a bottle from a health food shop for £5:50 normally about £10. and it will last months and months. Thankyou this is the best tip ever.

Gemtubbs · 23/06/2011 03:36

My hairdresser says to use the tea tree oil in shampoo to prevent head lice, and also to send them to school with a little bit of gel or spray on their hair to help prevent lice from gripping the hair. The lavender oil sounds like a great tip too.

SofiaAmes · 23/06/2011 05:44

Don't waste your money (and your child's health) on the lice shampoos. The only way to get rid of lice is to comb and comb and comb (with lice comb).
If it's a boy with shortish hair, you can probably complete the first session in an hour or so. (Unfortunately a girl with longer hair will take many many hours of combing and then searching through scalp for eggs as it's much harder to pull them out with the comb with long hair) Then you must comb several times a day for the next few days. And then once a day for the next few days after that. And once you get to the point where no eggs or lice have appeared for several combing sessions, you can reduce to once every few days and then if still lice free, down to once a week for the next few weeks. You should wash sheets, pillowcases, pj's and any hooded jackets/sweaters the day of the first combing (ie so they go to bed in clean sheets). After that, I wash pillow cases for the next few days, but not the rest of the bed. Run brushes and combs through dishwasher.

Tricks for combing. Keep toothbrush handy to clean comb after each pass through hair. Do combing over white sink so you can see what you have cleaned out. Or clean comb onto damp white tissue. Put child in front of video/tv so they will sit still for the time needed to comb hair.
If you have a dd, then make sure her hair is tied up well whenever she is around other kids.

Make sure you check all members of the family.

I have not found that there is any oil or shampoo that successfully keeps the lice away if your child is regularly around a child who has them and is not getting them treated at home.

plinkduet · 25/06/2011 12:26

Look for whtie nit eggs stuck to hair shafts.

When first hatched, baby nits are miniscule pinhead sized black gritty spots.

Some treatments fail to work in my experience as the nits become immune to them.

I finally used Hedrin which worked.

ESSENTIAL you do the week after follow-up treatment.

Since then I always use a leave-in conditioner and comb through meticulously after every hairwash, apparently it's not possible for eggs to stick to shiny, slippery hair, which kind of debunks the myth that only dirty kids get nits, as greasy hair wouldn't accommodate the egglaying!

pointythings · 26/06/2011 19:13

For eggs, try soaking your DCs hair with vinegar - this dissolves the glue that holds the eggs to the hair. It's unpleasant (stings the eyes (but only needs to be left o for 5-10 mins, then you can condition and wet comb. It really does break the breeding cycle.

Hedrin does work well, but you need to comb it through thoroughly (until you see no more dying bugs), leave it overnight and repeat a week later.

We've been doing cheap hairspray for almost 2 years now, wetcomb every weekend to check and no bugs since September '09.

preciousmum · 28/06/2011 21:05

I personally used for my DS "Lyclear" once a week,and you do it again after a week,no need to buy a nitcomb,there is one that comes with it in the box,and you comb,after you wach the hair with " vosene" shampoo,after rinsing and drying spray the hair with "Vosene conditioning deffence spray",it is a head lice repellent.It worked wenders for DS,after 2 weeks i could not see a thing,and there was no scratching since.All this thanks to MUMS NET suggestion :)

211Zoe · 06/12/2011 13:53

gigiricky, Hi, where will i find lavender oil? i can't seem to buy it anywhere? :(
thanks :)

InmaculadaConcepcion · 06/12/2011 14:05

Lavender essential oil is what you want - any shop that sells aromatherapy products should have it as lavender is the queen of essential oils.

Wholefood/health food shops often stock it, and "head" shops (hippy-type shops - you know, the ones where you can buy joss sticks) often have it too. Places like Holland & Barrett do it too and there are masses of online retailers you can buy it from if you Google it.

HTH

BusterTheDonk · 06/12/2011 14:12

or similarly, get some Australian Tea Tree Oil and put a few drops of that in water and spray onto their hair each morning... works for us.. (I bought our TT Oil from Amazon) - also use Vosene Kids Tea Tree Oil repellant Shampoo & Alberto TT Oil Conditioner Smile

vess · 06/12/2011 15:02

Lyclear as it has no nasty smelling chemicals (prefer the foamy one not the oily one) - and lots of combing!
Will try lavender oil for prevention, sounds great and smells better than tea tree oil. Also have the Vosene prevention spray, and another one that also works as a detangler.
My all time favorite product is called Moov and it comes from New Zealand - it smells great and conditions beautifully but i can't find it in the UK.

JessAssassin · 06/03/2012 14:20

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

Monkalonsom · 26/03/2012 22:01

I'd like to thank you for your advice as my daughter was utterly infested. It's a long story I won't go into, but now the whole family is suffering the itchy lice and twice the chemist's potions didn't work but the tea tree and lavender treatments seem to be doing the trick.

I put more like 20+ drops tea tree in 1/3bottle conditioner and may resort to more before I'm done!! I'm also spraying with lavender oil in water...again using more than suggested. Now I'm only finding one or two now when wet-conditioner combing, which suggests that we're getting on top of things. Those people finding one or two.......imagine THOUSANDS floating in the comb-rinse water!!! Horrific. I think one must persevere until all those eggs have hatched and the bugs themselves can be combed out.

I wonder about the lifecycles of these bugs and should I really be washing bedclothes and stuff? I thought they only live on heads? I will investigate this further!