What's the best treatment of head lice

[boneybones]

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

Does head lice can survive if your suffering from dandruff?

2 weeks on and infestations upon infestations continue.
Have used hedrin mousse twice with the weeks interval, two other chemical treatments, spraying with tea tree and lavender water, combing with conditioner.
Now I'm washing bedclothes and hats and just continuing with wet combing my two traumatised toddlers. They have very shiny and nicely conditioned hair!!! I wonder how long this goes on. I hope persistence pays off, but it's depressing how difficult it is to kill the fuckers.

mariaigatan- yes of course, they don't care about dandruff.

Have today discovered headlice in my hair, thought the past 2 days of scratching were from dandruff or not washing out shampoo properly. My DD is in the middle of YR1 and has never had nits before so I am dreading 3.30 when i have to check her hair. She must have them as I'm not the sort of person to go round and mis with other peoples children.

We regularly get letters from school and previously playschool about infestations and it seems our luck has finally run out. Not looking forward to the next weeks of combing and exterminations of the little shits but it has to be done.

Seriously considering just dying my hair and being done with as i feel like my skin on my whole body is crawling with bugs. Does the dye actually work though?? Has anybody tried it and been sucessful?

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Just tried Lyclear this morning and have adult nits in my hair, as has my two year old. NHS website suggests that creme rinses aren't very effective and this is definately the case in my experience. Will try one of the medicated methods in other posts but would suggest you avoid this one.

Also full marks solution, the only nit killing stuff available in our village pharmacy is rubbish
Don't waste your Money
I've found the hedrin once, used every few weeks until infestation is clear works best

Just a couple of quick questions about the lavender oil..
How many drops for how much water? and also do you spray only the hair or do you spray the scalp too??
Thanks

My 2 have just had them for the 1st time and it's been a nightmare. Have to say that I thought I was on top of it as I was only getting a couple of eggs in the wet-combing, but then I bought a Nitti Gritti (? Spelling!) comb and found tons of the bloody things! Would definitely recommend this comb rather than cheap one as it seemed to shift them. Am also going to try lavender oil in desperation (as someone earlier recommended) may be an old wives tale but worth a shot!

I have tried ALL of the UK headlice treatments...NONE of them work. I comb my daughters hair 3 times a week EVERY week and often more. I clip the hair out of the way and do it section by section. I've combed through with conditioner. I've added Tea Tree Oil. I've tried Protect & Go....NOTHING>>>>NOTHING works. I do my hair, I do my husbands hair. I boil wash the bedding, I hoover the house. N.O.T.H.I.N.G works. Today, for the first time ever, as I was about to wipe a headlice off the comb with a tissue, before my very eyes......it JUMPED. It jumped a foot in the air in a graceful arc away from me. Yes I know "it's a myth" that they jump. I thought it was a myth....but now I know they REALLY DO JUMP. I have 4 different types of comb, metal, plastic, tapered teeth, double rows of teeth. NOTHING WORKS. The only thing I have found that actually does do the job of killing the lice (though not the nits even though is says it does) is a French product called "Apaisyl poux. Anti-poux & Lentes. 15 minutes de pose". I got it when we were on hols last year just after school finished when I realised YET AGAIN she had headlice. You can get it on Amazon but it's even more expensive than our UK rubbish...but this stuff, does at least work. It's a syrupy stuff, and takes 2 or 3 washes to get out. I'm very depressed with it all, I can't afford it, my long curly hair has been cut short and is ripped and torn from having to eradicate it after virtually every cuddle with my daughter, my husband couldn't give a .......he's got short wiry hair which the lice don't bother with. My daughter is depressed at having to spend probably 6 hours a week being combed through. I can't stand it anymore, I'm really angry with the school for doing nothing other than putting those stupid slips in her book bag virtually every week, telling my there's headlice in the class. AARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

I'm with you Flux. I am DESPERATE. I've tried all the lotions, and even though they do get rid of lice/eggs they don't get rid of all of them by any means. My lovely long curly hair is turning into a frizzy mess, as I've now broken all my own rules and am straightening it for England, as I read somewhere this helps DESTROY them. I don't know how much longer it's going to go on for, but today I've spent 2 hours in the bathroom combing through with conditioner, then combing through wet, then putting in tea tree oil, then drying and straightening. And do you know what? Its a blimmin Gorgeous day outside and I'm missing it. Bitter? You bet.

OK I've now been having this massive problem wiv nits, which refuse to die, no matter wot I use or how many times used on both my daughters heads, and my younger daughter who is 9yrs old seems to b the worst, I'm a 44 yr old mother of 4, my eldest is 21 and youngest 9 so am not a "newby" to treating nits as when my lads were younger they got them a few times, but tbh I've never in my life seen as many nits on 1 head as wot I'm finding on my youngest head every time I comb her hair wiv a nit comb, I also bought a Nitti Gritti comb for £10 but I didn't really rate it, I find the cheap ones a lot better, anyway I really need some help, I'm at a loss now, don't know wot to do, but when I did manage to clear them up right at the beginning, they were back a week later due to several kids in school still having them, and they r always the same kids wiv nits, grrrrrrrrrr Help Pls x

Nitty gritty comb, shampoo and then their anti nit spray every day at school. Don't work for them but their stuff really works!

Wet combing with conditioner EVERY day. I have long hair ( I almost sit on it) and my ds is in yr1 with him I can just cut his hair! And for me I wet comb every day for two weeks, always does.the trick only had them once in the past 3 years!

I am sick of headlice. We've 6 children age 11 and under and the last couple of years it's constant. I have several 'nitty gritty' combs and dry comb with those every day (with comb being cleaned after each stroke), wet combing
every 2-3 days. Have tried teatree products, neem oil, hedrin, boots own treatment and various other ideas but I get them clear and within days they are back and I'm not sure if its from another child at school or if its because I am missing something but I am actually sick to the back teeth of headlice and honestly ready to start shaving our children's heads

I have a really great tip for destroying eggs (although hair needs to be of a certain length.) After treatment and combing, and once hair is dry, use a hair straightener to completely cook them! Worked really well on my daughter's hair!

We generally used to put 10 ml of tea tree oil in 500 ml of shampoo base, stirred well, and applied it every three days as well as combing through with a nit comb. It worked fine but doesn't penetrate dreadlocks. Aside from getting itchy it can be a real risk if you're susceptible to depression because not only is it conceptually horrible but also has a direct effect on your immune system, so it's imperative to catch it to reduce the risk of exacerbating depression and increasing the risks of self-harm and suicide. It has to be taken very seriously.

Please please be wary of using essential oils like lavander and tea tree.

My dcs endocrine specialist says that it causes precocious puberty if used.

You are better off just using combing with plain conditioner and hedrin treatment.

Don't put essential oils on your child, it can disrupt the pituitary gland and start puberty.

You couldn't use essential oils during pregnancy remember, so don't use them on your child, just use hedrin and then some conditioner for nitty gritty combing.

Check your dcs hair every time you wash it, and wash all bedding and vacuum their beds and rooms.

Let the school know immediately.

A mix of veg oil, malt vinegar and tea tree oil, comb. Wash the next day thoroughly wet comb. Do this for two weeks. Wash all pillow cases at 90o and boil hair brushes. A dirty bugger in my daughters class has them all the time.

All of the above plus if your child is old enough to sit very still try putting straighteners through their hair. You must be very careful but it does kill the critters.

My mum used derbac and sent me to school with my hair SLATHERED in coconut oil when there was an outbreak. Looked like I hadn't washed my hair in years but yno what? I didn't care coz I wasn't constantly scrattin like everybody else :) she washed the oil out everyday wen I got home and combed my hair just in case. Then reapplied oil the next morning to about halfway down my hair and tied it up in a ballerina type bun :)

The Nitty Gritty comb is available on prescription and is the only one with fine enough tines if your children have fine hair. We leave sunflower oil on their hair for ten minutes then comb through, wash out & repeat again a week later.

Don't forget to wash all your pillow cases (& bedding if you move around a lot in your sleep) at minimum 40 degrees as they can survive on your bedding for a few days & in cooler water. There was a fab interview with an insect guy on Radio 4 a while a go when a lady asked him what happened if you washed your bedding at a lower temperature and he said "you just end up with nice clean head lice."