headlice

[jenster1976]

Can someone talk to me about headlice, my 2.7 year old has got it (or hopefully not now that I've combed it out ovet the last 3 days!) Is she very young to have it, does this mean she is going to be proe to it, what's the best treatment / prevention?? Thanks

It just means she has come into close contact with another child who has them. Young children especially girls get them as they generally have longer hair and they cuddle up to others. My DD1 got them in reception and despite my fears I dealt with them pretty well. At first we just used conditioner and combed them out. It took ages but was pretty successful. When she got them again we declared chemical warfare! This worked much better as was a hell of a lot easier too. I just popped to my local pharmacy and asked them for the best one that wasn't going to fry her head, I ended up with 'full marks' and she didn't have any reaction to it. (I've heard some of them can be a bit harsh)
If she'll let you, tie her hair up when she's ay nursery or wherever she goes, it may help. x

IMHO I think Hedrin is a good option for a two year old (although expensive). I started out with really good intentions of doing the wet combing approach but over the course of 5 years of school with various infestations from time to time, I found it was quite difficult to completely eradicate the little blighters, and got into a situation of very low level infestation that went on and on. Hedrin is completely safe. You leave it on for a while and it covers the lice with a layer of silicone the headlice so they are unable to breathe through their exo-skeleton. The most important thing with any treatment though is to do the second treatment to catch a second wave of hatched eggs and elimate the lice before they mature and have a chance to breed. I recall the BUPA website pages are quite good on the pros, cons and effectiveness of all possible treatments.

Thank you, I do hope this is not going to be a recurring theme, but have my doubts!

I wash daughter's hair in tea tree shampoo, and as a morning spray to help brushing, a mix of tea tree oil, coconut conditioner and cold boiled water (in a plant spray).
I didn't think this would make any difference, but it has massively. She does get headlice occasionally (HEDRIN), but less than her classmates.

Also, regular checking and combing. Partner swears by the comb with the spiral teeth - it costs a tenner but worth every penny

All of the advice you have been given is good- tea tree conditioner and nitty gritty with the occasional chemical warfare if it gets bad.

The most important thing is to treat everybody in the household and change all bedding/pillow cases etc. They can survive for some time off the head.

Ok... anyone else scratching?