Please help. I can't get rid of DD's nits and I'm soooooo fed up. What am I doing wrong?

[NoTimer]

I thought I'd caught it really early, cos there were only about 2 nits, and she's got really thin, fine hair so combing is easy. I treated it that day (Tues), with Full Marks, as rec by the pharmacist. Wet combing day and night, hair up, but 3 days later, back and more. Again did Full Marks (Fri), but then they were back 5 days later. Full Marks again, (Weds) but 3 days later they were back. This time I used Derbac M which you leave on overnight (Fri). Wet combing all the time throughout this. Blow me if the buggars weren't back on Sunday night. So we did the Dermoc again last night, vvvliberally, had the whole wash and comb nightmare at breakfast before the school run. Took her to playschool, picked her up 2.5 hours later and SHE'S COVERED. Like I mean literally, on her t-shirt. I started wondering if they were actually nits or some garden bug, but yes, they're in her hair again..... I'm going to go mad. Please help. I went a bought a Nitty Gritty comb this morning too, so I've spent about £40 on this so far, and no breakthrough. Please Help, I'm desperate. :hissyfit:

[DillyDally]

I used the Nitty Gritty solution (http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/products/53/nitty_gritty_aromatherapy_head_lice_solution/) when DS1 had nits (eons ago now) and it worked really well. Might be worth a try?

[August Girl]

We were in the same position last year, they just wouldn't go away! Finally got rid of them using the nitty gritty comb, very cheap conditioner and this combing schedule (ignore Paypal button, donationg is optional)

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/theliceprogram/theprogram.html

[minime]

It sounds to me as if another child at the nursery is covered in them. If this is the case and your LO is playing with him/her then that is why she keeps coming home with more. I would speak to her playschool and make sure that a letter is sent home to the other parents asking them to check their children otherwise it is just going to keep reoccurring.

:higgies: C has had them a few times but each time I mention it to the school and they send a letter home so it gets better for a little while as most parents seem to check their kids if they get a letter but then don't keep checking so it comes back. I check C once a week with a nitty gritty comb and as soon as I come across even just 1 then I let them know.

Hope the playschool are willing to help. xx

[Pippin]

do you think she could be getting reinfected from nursery? We have a nitty gritty comb in our house too :nod:

[Abbie]

I have the same problem with my 2. We just can't get rid of them as there is a child in DD2's class who is constantly infested and the rest of the class keep getting reinfested.

At the moment we're keeping on top of them by washing their hair twice a week with teatree shampoo and conditioner, combing their hair every other evening and treating with a nit solution (cant remember the name but its in a grey bix with blue writing) once
a week. We find a few little ones each time but not a huge infestation.

I don't think we'll get rid of them until the whole class is sorted.

They've got a nit nurse coming in next week to do the whole school plus siblings all at once so hopefully we'll see the back of them

[Abbie]

I have the same problem with my 2. We just can't get rid of them as there is a child in DD2's class who is constantly infested and the rest of the class keep getting reinfested.

At the moment we're keeping on top of them by washing their hair twice a week with teatree shampoo and conditioner, combing their hair every other evening and treating with a nit solution (cant remember the name but its in a grey bix with blue writing) once
a week. We find a few little ones each time but not a huge infestation.

I don't think we'll get rid of them until the whole class is sorted.

They've got a nit nurse coming in next week to do the whole school plus siblings all at once so hopefully we'll see the back of them

[Booh]

I think that she is being re infested!

You don't have them do you! I only ask after a friend went through the same thing, until I noticed on on her forehead!

Or its someone from nursery.

[Damsella]

Nits can actually live off the head for two days - so you need to thoroughly wash her bedding as well.

And, as Booh says, everyone in the family also needs to be treated three times.

ETA: And all your bedding too.

[NoTimer]

Thanks all. I'm so paranoid I'm going to get them, or I'm going to be treated like a freak by other parents. I know I shouldn't care what they think, but I've always worried about nits. :( I'm currently combing my hair about every 10 minutes.......

[NoTimer]

Crossed posts! No, so far I don't have them, and DD1 is clear too, but obviously we're checking lots and combing lots too. I washed all the bedding last night, even her dolls and teddies. They seem to suddenly appear all at once - after she's been out in the sun. I hate this I hate this I hate this.

[Willow]

Edit: Sorry!!! Posted in completely the wrong thread!!!

[redhed]

Only thing to add to what others have said - are you tying her hair up? And if so, how? DD2's class get nits from time to time but DD2 never picks them up. I think partly by using tea tree in shampoo/conditioner, but also because DD2 wears her hair in very tight plaits all the time - partly to discourage nits because we both hate the regular combing process - DD2 has long v curly hair and it takes approx 3/4 of an hour to comb through each time.

[Stropypop]

Ds's class always has them because of one child - she hates having her hair brushed and her mum told me she won't force her to have it done. I was so ready to tell her what an ordeal it was to get ds used to having his hair combed and how two of us had to hold him down screaming and shouting whilst the other one had to comb quickly and how the only reason he had to go through that was because of her - sorry but I can't believe a parent would just leave their dd with nits, knowing that every child in her class keeps catching them.

We have the nittygritty comb and use it with cheap condition every time they have a bath and he's been nit free now since January. We also use Vosene 3in1 shampoo which is supposedly a nit repellent. Something must be working as we get a letter home every 7 - 10 days but have managed to only have one or two visitors.

Good luck, the only way we beat them was by shaving his head (thank god he was a boy!) and the break from school over Christmas.

[NoTimer]

Don't! Shaving her head has crossed my mind as the only answer :( !!!! Yes, we use the vosene 3 in 1 shampoo, and she has had her hair up (in bunches or plaits) every day since we first noticed. Just spoke to the surgery, who said that if she went in to playschool clear (and I'm sure she was as we'd done the overnight treatment & lots of combing this morning), the fact that she came out covered indicates it was probably someone else.... Thank god it's the last day on Weds - I've been cursing the fact they break up early but now maybe it's a good thing!

[thirzasmum]

Don't panic!!! Head lice are an inconvenient fact of life with small kids. Stop using insectide. Resistance is high as you have found and they can be toxic. Very sledge hammer to crack a peanut really.

Comb comb comb with buckets of cheap conditioner and your get the lice before they lay eggs. It's the only thing you can actually do if another child is re infection your child- just keep getting out the adults before they lay eggs.

[peppa]

I agree about not using the lotions from chemist. Nits are immune to most and they are not good for humans to be breathing in or on the skin/scalp.
The only thing I would recommend is Hedrin. Its an oil and suffocates them including the eggs. It is expensive and leaves hair needed 2 or 3 washes but it works. But if getting reinfested each time it'll cost alot.
Tell the nursery and they should send out a fact sheet of how to do the combing technique.

[Abbie]

Hedrin!! That's the one we use.

It works really well (assuming they don't keep getting reinfested!)

[Stropypop]

Its an oil and suffocates them including the eggs. It is expensive and leaves hair needed 2 or 3 washes but it works. But if getting reinfested each time it'll cost alot.

Gillian McKeith recommends kitchen oil which apparently works in the same way - I can't remember if it was veg, sunflower or olive!

I never tried it as I couldn't imagine ds having it washed out, he hates the shower and I thought the bath and oil would be too dangerous.

[NoTimer]

Phew... at least when she's in bed I can't carry on with the combing :) I spoke to the surgery earlier, who did use the phrase "Yes, you can get a bit obsessed with it...." !!! We're going for the continual combing and loads of conditioner approach - using the Nitty Gritty comb (which for anyone who doesn't have one, is a metal nit comb but the teeth have ridges a bit like a drill bit, so it pulls things out that may otherwise slide back in...). I shall watch and wait. And comb. Wish me luck, this is war! Speaking of which, I like that combing routine someone posted (back on page one, sorry, can't get there to find details!). Although from what I can see it is just a case of comb comb comb...

[JoGee]

Nitty Gritty comb and cheap conditioner woks best. We found some on DD on Saturday, treated with Hedrin then nitty gritty the day after.

We use the vosene shampoo and spray now too, but another top tip is to spray the hair with hair spray as apparently nits dont like it. DD is currently going to school with her hair tied back and looped in a bun with hairspray on!

[suemarie]

I agree about not using the lotions from chemist. Nits are immune to most and they are not good for humans to be breathing in or on the skin/scalp.
The only thing I would recommend is Hedrin. Its an oil and suffocates them including the eggs. It is expensive and leaves hair needed 2 or 3 washes but it works. But if getting reinfested each time it'll cost alot.
Tell the nursery and they should send out a fact sheet of how to do the combing technique.

Yep its pretty good treated Lucy's in 2009 in 2 treatments & mine as a precaution...I think you leave it on overnight too, so its a right pain to wash off as your hair suddenly looks greasy, but if it works for you then do it (it did for us)

[NoTimer]

I THINK I'VE SOLVED IT!!!!
OK, so this won't help anyone else out there who's battling the little nitty b**t**ds, but it's cheered me up...... We have chickens at the end of the garden, and when I went to collect the eggs this morning, I realised the coop is infected with some kind of lice! It's not head lice, it's chicken lice! (Which has got to be easier to treat, surely!!?!!!!). DD2 ADORES collecting the eggs, and does it unsupervised, but when she opens the lid, she uses her head to hold it open!!! THAT explains why I didn't notice them on her when I picked her up from playschool, but 10 mins later she had so many they were on her t-shirt!! Phew. Right, off now to google chicken lice.... And if I have to sacrifice the chickens, at least I can rest assured that it's better than sacrificing my daughter!

[Ms Sunflower]

Ah, good new on the nits front. Less good on the chicken front. As far as my sketchy chicken knowledge recalls, mites can be a real issue, particularly if red mites. You need to treat their entire housing, all nooks crannies and perches, potentially. A lot of work, not just a simple thing in some cases, I think.

[Abbie]

We had chickens and got red mite. It's a nightmare to treat unfortunately.

We adopted some ex-battery hens and they bought the mites with them and infected our original ones.

We had to get some special spray which we had to treat the chickens and their house with. Unfortunately the dog got them as well and brought them into the house.

We had to get them a new house and burn the old one to get rid of them in the end

Good luck!

[Ms Sunflower]

Some people carefully blowtorch the henhouse corners to kill them off where they can cluster and escape the spray. Hope the chicken situation doesn't turn into an enormous nightmare.

[NoTimer]

I am well and truly handing the chicken situation over to DH! I don't think it's red mite though, they are clear/cream coloured. Anyway, I don't care, as long as it's on the chooks and not the kids! Thanks for all the advice though - I'll make sure DH does it properly!

[Abbie]

when we had the mites they started off clear but turned red as they fed on the hens.

They were an absolute nightmare to get rid of so good luck!

[Clementine]

So the chicken lice are in her hair? *shudders* Good luck getting rid of them, what a pain!