nits nits nits!!!!

beaushalloe

i work with children, and of course its that time of the year agin where we have a RAMPANT outbreak of head lice, (or harry hoppers as the kids call them) i have checked my own hair constantly but still feel itchy(i also suffer severe dry scalp and the assosiciated itching) whats been everyone else's experience in getting rid of them, esp when the children are constantly head to head, eg school, playtime etc.

littlebug

comb comb comb!

it's the only way. The little feckers are immune to the main chemical treatments. I check every day and if I know there is an outbreak I comb their hair (at least) twice a day. I also use a tea tree deterrent and tea tree shampoo. I've no idea if they really work but we managed to avoid them so far.

// scratches//

beaushalloe

ya i agree, only trouble is one child gets rid, then one dosnt (or cant) and they re infest, god im constantly scratching!! and i know its just psychological!

smirkingmaurice

Talk about it, the young fella came in the last day with a head like an ant farm. Its amazing how quickly the blighters appear, of course it only takes one of the feckers to start a colony. I thought it must have been dirt first so i dragged him into the shower for a good shampoo wash but he was scratching worse after. Threw on a dose of headlice killing stuff then and that calmed him down a bit

KIVES

Agreed-the two I have waltzed out the other morning like something out of a 'Head and Shoulders' commercial and no sooner did they tear back in the door at three that afternoon than they were complaining of having scratchy heads - theres a wee fella in there class,I don't think the parents have ever introduced him to shampoo and the like and I believe he's the cause of the present infestation - my grandmother used to use vegtable oil and garlic trimmings to extradite the little mites and so far I've found this to be a pleasing remedy

High&Low

KIVES wrote: »

Agreed-the two I have waltzed out the other morning like something out of a 'Head and Shoulders' commercial and no sooner did they tear back in the door at three that afternoon than they were complaining of having scratchy heads - theres a wee fella in there class,I don't think the parents have ever introduced him to shampoo and the like and I believe he's the cause of the present infestation - my grandmother used to use vegtable oil and garlic trimmings to extradite the little mites and so far I've found this to be a pleasing remedy

Would neccesarilly be blaming the kid in class with the unclean hair, lice tend to prefer clean hair.

OP, the only solution is comb, comb, comb, with conditioner in your/their hair. Shampoo works for the live ones, but doesn't always seem to work on the eggs. Get the very finest metal comb you can, the white plastic one is useless the teeth are too far apart. Also don't forget to change and wash all the bed clothes and toys they may sleep with, the little fckers can live for a couple of days away from a head.

myjugsarehuge

There is an effective non chemical alternative which I have found. Its called Hedrin and is about 13 Euro from chemists. It works by using using the same stuff as in conditioner, silica I think, and blocks the lice's breathing aparatus thus "drowning" them. You have to repeat it after 7 days as it doesn't kill eggs.

It really does work, my daughter had headlice occasionally at first school and the standard treatments just don't work, especially Lyclear. The school were so desperate they even made parents treat all the children on a specific day, regardless of whether they had them or not which, after working in General Practice for 15 years, I thought was appalling to have to expose your child needlessly to potentially harmful insecticide solution.

This Hedrin is a miracle as far as I am concerned, no more lice overnight literally. She is 13 now but still uses a metal comb once a week to check and if ever she finds any I will buy some more Hedrin immediately.

siochain

Hi Folks,

We found this to be the most effective comb http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/ng/index.jsp for removing the lice. Works a treat.
Cheers

pubpub

Tea Tree oil deters lice from hair. You can get tea tree shampoos or just rub a couple of drops into hair after shampooing. I also use a empty spray bottle and put a couple of drops and mix with a small bit of water and then spritz over hair just before going out door in the mornings - this means that school jumper is also lightly sprayed with the tea tree oil.

Carrigart Exile

pubpub wrote: »

Tea Tree oil deters lice from hair. You can get tea tree shampoos or just rub a couple of drops into hair after shampooing. I also use a empty spray bottle and put a couple of drops and mix with a small bit of water and then spritz over hair just before going out door in the mornings - this means that school jumper is also lightly sprayed with the tea tree oil.

I kid you not but Grecian 2000 has kept me immune for years even when the rest of the house have been infested

hi-fi

Have tried EVERYTHING over the years, all of the over the counter stuff, prescription stuff and tea tree oil. A couple of years ago I read an article about Quasia chip liquid. It is really really good!!
I even post it to relitives in the UK. I only know of one place that make it and sell it, don't know if I'm allowed to say where, so pm me if you want details(and I'm not connected to them in any way!)
It's around €12.00 but lasts ages and is safe enough to use as an indigestion remedy. Doesn't smell too bad , dries into hair like water would and I would leave it on over night. It is so good that I've only had to use it three times in as many years. Sounds too good to be true but really does work!:D

Kildrought

Can recommend an excellent book called "Head Lice to Dead Lice"... gives a very detailed and well researched analysis of the life cycle of lice and how to treat using olive oil - as other posters have mentioned it effectively blocks their breathing 'tubes' and they suffocate.

This is now the recommended treatment in Israeli schools - they have suffered with such severe outbreaks that the lice are immune to most chemicals.

Piste

The reason why most treatments fail is because of two reasons

1) thast treatment has been used on them too many time and they've become immune.

In this case, try switching treatments, combing over a piece of white paper (so you can see if yous are catching any and if there are any unhatched eggs in your child's hair) and using a deterrent like tea-tree-based shampoos and conditioners.

2) the second reason is that you may not be leaving the treatment in long enough. Many treatments say "only 15 minutes!" and that may be well and good for killing off the lice, but the nits (eggs) take 8 hours to hatch and so you may find that a week later your son or daughter is crawling again!

The solution to this is to use an overnight treatment. Yes this may be quite unpleasant for your son or daughter, but it will be miles more effective as it will kill off the eggs once they hatch.

If your child has asthma or sensitive skin, conventional head lice treatments may irritate them, in which case Derbac M, which is Malathion based, should be used on them.

beaushalloe

is it safe to use a chemically based tratment to get rid of nits or suspected nits if you are pregnant?

embee

beaushalloe wrote: »

is it safe to use a chemically based tratment to get rid of nits or suspected nits if you are pregnant?

Hi beaushalloe,

I've just had a quick look online. The "Prioderm" lotion (which I have found is the best treatment for nits by far) is safe to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but you should always consult your doctor first before using any medication during pregnancy. It would be no harm to do a patch test to make sure that you have no existing allergies to any of the ingredients.

Prioderm (I'm mentioning this one all the time because its the one I've found to be most effective) has a very, very strong smell and the fumes off it are quite pungent. I would recommend doing it outside or else sitting beside a door with a lot of fresh air coming in. I found the fumes almost overpowering when I did it indoors.

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100003782.html