head lice/nits...advice?

[Minstermind]

So my 7 year old son's teacher told me the other day that he was complaining of itching on his head and was scratching at it frequently, and to check him for nits. This is his first time having it and I suspect he got it off the neighbor kids as I seem to recall their dad mentioning it in passing...

Anyway, I got some shampoo for it, the kind you leave on 8 hours and it drowns the nits. Did that, washed his hair per directions, and then hunkered down to use the nit comb to get rid of the egg sacs I could see attached to hair strands.

The problem is that his hair is very fine and thin, like my own, and despite following the directions and getting some advice on how to run the comb through his hair, I found that the nit comb is just completely ineffective because his hair strands are so thin that they just easily pass through the teeth of the comb and no eggs come off.

I pulled a few off with my own hands and that seemed to work. How tedious though! I have a sneaking suspicion this is the only option left to get the egg sacs out....

I just wanted to ask if anyone else has experience with this issue or any insights, and also, what preventative measures would you recommend? He plays with the neighbors regularly and I kinda get the impression the nit thing is something they might deal with semi-regularly....

 

[oOKayOo]

Oh the joys of nits!

My kids pick them up everywhere as we go to alot of groups and someone always has them! grr!!

Anyway this -

https://imagessrv1.chemistdirect.co.uk/images/productimages/large/nitty_gritty_nitfree_comb_1202.jpg

Is the best comb you can buy , recommended my docters and so many good reviews on the net!

Apparently lotions etc do not work , they become immune ( so some say) best bet is every 3 days wash Los hair , chuck conditioner in and comb out. Repeat until they have all gone.

Unfortunatly they are so easy to pick up !

 

[LucindaE]

Dear Minstermind

They seem to be endemic in junior schools. A couple of times I got them myself, from volunteering in the library, and mingling hair with the kids.

I found it most effective to do the same as you, and use my nails to rip the egg off. It was really gross, but it did seem to work better than anything.

As oOOkayo says, combing through conditioner and then wiping the comb with a tissue and examining it was the way I got rid of the hatched ones. Foul things! I was always examining my daughter's hair and felt like a monkey grooming another for fleas!

I had one of those electric nit comb things too, but not the one mentioned, one from Argos, but I did find that split the hair.

Hope this helps

LucindaE

XX

 

[amylw1]

we have had continous episodes since oct. the school wont send out letters as some ppl get offended!

anyway we have used the lotions etc and got rid. but i bought tea tree shampoo n conditioner to use. plus savers do a leave in spray that is meant to repel them.

my eldest hair is really fine and i also have to p pull egggs out as hair goes through comb

 

[littleblonde]

I got them a lot in middle school.We Used tea tree oil shampoo and conditoner on my hair and it seemed to do the job of preventing them.You can get boots or supermarket own brands as well. I had an electric nit comb as well.

 

[Minstermind]

Thank you so much for your replies ladies!

oOKayOo, I would definitely be open to getting that nit comb if the teeth were even closer together than the one I have as the one I have doesn't ''catch'' the egg sacs at all! I do think I'm going to have to just do it by hand for the moment anyway...I did one side of his head tonight and will do the other tomorrow and so on so that I can get it all done over the next few days. I've already applied the shampoo so hopefully everything living is dead and I can just work on the egg sacs themselves. I gotta use the shampoo again in a week in case of any new hatched eggs.

LucindaE, it is so strange how the only thing required to transmit them is hair to hair contact. Seeing as (from what I've heard) they don't jump from head to head, they must move awfully darn fast and how the heck do they even know to jump ship from one strand of hair to the next! Little buggers. lol...

amylw1 and littleblonde, I will definitely pick up some tea tree shampoo and conditioner and hopefully that will be a preventative in the future, thanks very much for that suggestion. Unbelievable the things kiddies bring home with them, lol.. I think I'll have to just check out his hair once a week from now on too since it seems to be going around. I must have got lucky the first couple years he was in school as it never came up, but wam! this year's been full of slap-face virus, colds, and now head lice..ugh!

 

[morri]

Next to the shampoo I think I also got vinegar solution in my hair when I had them. and do you have the right comb ? It must be extraordinary thin hair in that case. https://www.aid.de/gfx/content/nissenkamm.jpg

Had a read and 2 % vinegar solution makes the lice lazy and easier comb out,an okay the comb doesnt do all.

 

[Minstermind]

Yes, I bought the proper nit comb from Boots alright, and his hair just slips on through and the eggs stay latched on his hair! I also have very fine hair and I do mean really fine. I can safely say I am in the extreme end in terms of hair strand width, lol..it's always been a bane to my life and the one thing I wish I could change about myself, haha.. so yeah, little man inherited it off me.

I heard about the vinegar solution as well to possibly help loosen the ''glue'' that keeps the eggs on? Vinegar is so awesome, it has so man uses! Lol..thank you for your reply.

 

[nievesmama]

I have the nit comb oOKayOo has posted. Absolutely fantastic, gets eggs and nit cases out.
I dont use anything else now ive got that.

 

[Pixie71]

Hia
My daughter had them on and off for years, the problem is that not all parents take it seriously and your child gets reinfected, basicially, oiled her hair with babyoil and braided it and that helped. You need to get the finest comb you can get, use tea tree oil as a rinse after shampooing, change his bed clothes especially the pillow case every night and discourage him from leaning in head to head with other children where possible, check your own hair too, use a clean towel each time you wash his hair and wash at a high heat, these little buggers are more resistant all the time.
Good luck

 

[trumpetbum]

The Nitty gritty is fantastic and has a lifetime guarantee. If all the live lice are removed I'd use conditioner to do a fresh nit comb every 3 days for a few weeks. Since he's a wee boy is getting his hair cut extra short an option for now as it will grow back, or does he have a floppy hairdo that you or he are attached to? Best of luck, my girls were forever catching them at their old school which drove me crazy as they have thick curly hair which broke the cheaper combs, thankfully since they moved schools they haven't caught it once. My sil swears on the nitty gritty too though and her LO has ultra thin hair.

 

[loz]

my daughter has not had them yet but im sure she will once in her life i read on another thread that they used there straiteners on the hair and burnt the eggs off, dunno if it works or not?

 

[MrsB80]

We use conditioner and a nit comb when they do get them and we also use tea tree shampoo and conditioner regularly on them aswell which seems to help

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

My daughter used to get them loads I carry on with the conditioner every 3 days regardless of wether she has them or not. This seems to keep them at bay x