General Chat

My daughter Emma always used to catch the little b*****s every time they were doing the rounds. I remember her catching them one Christmas from the kids she was babysitting. Of course we all had to use the horrible smelly stuff to get rid of them. I remember going on Hubby's works do feeling sure that we both reeked of it!! Maggy (scratching her head at the thought of them!)

I have always found the best treatment to be the cheapest conditioner you can find. Wash hair, put lots of conditioner on and leave for a couple of minutes then use the fine tooth comb. Works every time as the little swines can't hold on to the hair. Pam

My daughter kept bringing them home from school and the school now refuse to send home letters because some parents felt to awkward!!! Honestly some people!!! I have found that using tea tree shampoo and conditioner of any sort is great for me to stop getting them but for my daughter the only thing I do now as part of normal routine is to comb her hair through everyday after school with a nit comb! has worked for the last 3 weeks anyway!

As I work in a school I often hear of these little bu--ers being around.With all the laws govening children etc a nit nurse can't be used these days which to be honest on a personal view I think is silly as it could be done under supervision.Myself as a child never ever had nits as the nurse used to come often with her comb and dettol water and inspected every head of hair in the school.I have however caught them off of my children...(having a scratch thinking about them ...and another) but its a case of being very vigilant with inspection, even between hairwashes. If you child has long hair always tie it back, but even then children always seem to put their heads together.My daughter gives her young sons a crop when the bu--ers are about as she says prevention is better than cure.Alright in the summer but a bit breezey round the lugs in winter Lynn

The best way is to comb cheap conditioner through the hair and extract as many as you can find every night for 14 days. This covers the whole life cycle and prevents them breeding without having to apply god only knows what to the child's head. Then do a thorough check with conditioner every seven days to prevent reinfestation. It is difficult to say if nit shampoos are any good because the nits seem to be developing immunity against so many compounds. I have a vision of olympic nits losing their grip on the conditioner! Good luck! Regards Abigail

hello full marks treatment i found it very good then i got a eletric comb my son as not had them since louise

The only one of my 4 children to get nits was my younger daughter. She was 8 months old and almost bald! The health visitor noticed them when we were at the clinic (this was in 1981) and said she'd never known a child so young to get them. I had never seen headlice before and didn't really know what to look for. Daughter was too young to use lotion so I just had to shampoo what little hair she had and comb it with a nit comb. None of my other kids caught any and we don't know where daughter got them from. Now, at her son's school they don't send letters home but the PTA put up a big orange notice saying HEADLICE outside the school gates. The school can't do anything because it's not on their property, but the parents are kept informed. Sue

Still sitting here scratching...... Maggy

How very true...I dont know either lol My son has very curly hair and checking him is a nightmare. Im sure the neibours think Im commiting murder! As for me with my psorasis, that nit combe just pulls my hair out but having said that the nits dont like my skin very much either. Horrible little things!!

When my granddaughter was at nursery and primary school the children were sent home and not allowed back until they were clear. She is only 13 so I am talking of recent times. Also I have recently read that, because of the plague of nits/lice they are bringing back "nitty nora" to help combat this. If you leave the conditioner on the hair, don't rinse it off, it makes it more difficult for the nits to cling to the hair. But the main problem is with the parents who don't keep a check and assume once they have cleared them their children are not going to get them again. It's a constant battle. Kathleen

Hi samantha, My daughter has had them twice. Over the counter products work well to kill the 'crawlers', but then tons of conditioner and a nit comb every other day for a week, or more! I have my little girl have bunches or plaits every day and spray her head with diluted tea tree oil every morning. (10 drops of tea tree oil to 75ml water). I'm pleased to say, since I have been spraying her hair every day, she hasn't had any lice at all, even though it's been through her class twice!! I now recommend it to anyone who asks!!

My 5 year old daughter has had lice about 4 or 5 times now. Same problem with the same kids with permenant lice. Not their fault but parents who refuse to acknowledge their child has them. Connie has long hair which I tie back for school. Once I used full Marks which did not Kill the eggs, so a few days later she had lice again. :o(( Now I have a Babylis electronic lice comb. Battery run, it can be used on Wet or dry hair.( some can only be used on dry hair). At the first sign of lice, I use it twice a day for a fortnight, to ensure that any newly hatched lice are got rid of. as they hatch every 2-3 days. ( baby lice dont lay eggs until they are a few days old themselves ) This is the only method that has worked for me. With luck my 9 year old son has never had them.....I have though !!! Elaine x

bumped by elaine x

Samantha there was a recent thread about this, from Debbie. I have nudged it back to the top for you to look at, it's titled NITS Shelli xxxx

tea tree shampoo that will keep the little buggers away.and they have just brought out lyclear which you leave on the childs hair for 10 mins and then wash out.that's all i can suggest unless you give the chidren a crewcutxxxxx

Lisa thats exactly what i do to my thrre boys LOL Unfortunalty my girl won't let me lol, but am hoping as she's gone up to high school the problem won't re appear

there is a new mouese out for head lise it's very good you put it on dry hair leave it for a few hour's then wash it off

hi dont know if anybody knows this, but headlice can live off the hair between 3 to 7 days , so in the bedding, carpets etc. Also im not going to go into to much details, but before they hatch in to lice, the eggs have been in the hair for a long time, as soon as they hatch which is 1000s, they start to mate and become pregnant, so its a cycle which just goes round and round etc. It only takes one parent not to do there childs hair, then it just keeps going around all the time. The lotion kills the headlice, but not the eggs, so!!!!!. best thing, teach your child how to use the nit comb, there is a new free pack which you can get from your doctor/nurse, it contains 3 combs of different sizes. Once your child knows how to use them, make sure they use them everytime they are in the bath, all you need is conditioner. Most people just keep combing the hair, you should comb,rinse,comb, rinse, etc, as if you dont rinse it, your putting the eggs back onto your hair. its crazy i know.

plenty of hair conditioner the little blighters can't get a grip Bev

When I lived in China, we learned from the locals to use eucalyptus oil. Rub it well into the hair and then Wrap the head in a towel. Don't get it in your eyes. It loosens the goo that the nits stick their eggs onto your hair with and they can then be washed away with a good medicated shampoo. Use a fine toothed nit comb to clear the hair of them once they are loosened. You will need to repeat the process until the head is clear. And don't forget head lice like clean hair. Remember long hair will be an easy playground for nits. We've all had em at sometime. Good luck