advice on how to prevent...

[StacNKel]

my daughter poor wee soul must have a head thats an ideal habitat for head lice...... she comes home from school with them ALL THE TIME!!! Its driving me crazy now...gets to the point i get crabit with her even though its no her fault.... i can remove them no bother at all but how do i keep them out?? ive tried putting a wee bit o hairspray on her hair.... using tea tree conditioner.... spent £10 on a bottle of shampoo and conditioner from alternative vitality but nothing keeps them at bay?? Does anyone else have any suggestions at all? I am tempted to give the poor wee soul a skin head!!

[goldenguernsey]

There is a spray product you can get that repels head lice but a canna remember the name of it but you could try this
http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/nitty...ay_1_5579.html -

[StacNKel]

cheers!! will hev til buy that i think!! b4 i get the hair clippers out haha

[Hoida]

When we were young and had our hair washed my mother always rinsed it with vinegar, and although we smelt like the chippie, the lice did not like the smell. Maybe worth a try

[telfordstar]

Ive noticed in tesco vosene do a kids shampoo with lice repellant in it.

[Dadie]

Find out who she sits next to at school and tell the parents that your bairn has had headlice and ask if they could check (and treat their bairns) as the school cant mention they have nits!
Some kids can be really infested but the teachers are powerless

[trekkers]

When you wash the wee ones hair load it with conditioner and come through before rinsing it off.
Then use a leave in conditioner or some tea tree oil( it does not make the hair greasy) Only a little to the ends of the hair in the morning when doing there hair. I have been doing this with my wee one since she got em. So far so good she ain't had em since last summmer!!!
Also keep hair well pinned back helps.

[Ash]

i use the vosene lice shampoo thats out and theres a leave in spray conditioner, never had any problems with her

[Blarney]

This is just another example of the education authority pandering to the PC brigade. Why on earth can't the school tell parents that their kid has nits/lice and get them to sort it out? I believe that it has now reached epidemic proportions in some schools and the responsible parents are having to deal with infestations on a regular basis. The teachers are powerless and, realistically, must be getting their fair share of nits themselves through this nonsense. I say, bring back Nitty Nora the Hair Explorer!!

[Jenni]

When my daughter was at primary school the school would put a note home with all the pupils in the class saying that someone in the class had headlice and to please check your child. That way you were allerted to the problem without necessarily realising it was your child that was actually the poor culprit.

My daughter also used to be prone to headlice. She had long very thick hair and it was a nightmare to get rid of the blighters. At that time (4 or 5 years ago)there wasn't anything out that actually repelled them, you just had to get rid of them. I used to put conditioner in her hair everynight and comb it through as the lice couldn't stick to the hair then. It was painstaking but by doing it everynight it meant I was thorough and it stopped new ones hatching.

BTW - if anyone out there get free prescriptions for whatever reason you are now entitled to sign on at the pharmacy for free minor ailment treatment. That would cover kids in the household which would mean you could qualify for free headlice products. Just a thought, as the cost of these products can fairly mount up.

[Vistravi]

When we were young and had our hair washed my mother always rinsed it with vinegar, and although we smelt like the chippie, the lice did not like the smell. Maybe worth a try

I agree with Hoida vinegar works wonders. The little blighters can't get used to it either so it works as a deterrant and a way to kill them. Be warned the vinegar smell can linger for a couple of days though.

[LMS]

BTW - if anyone out there get free prescriptions for whatever reason you are now entitled to sign on at the pharmacy for free minor ailment treatment. That would cover kids in the household which would mean you could qualify for free headlice products. Just a thought, as the cost of these products can fairly mount up.

Children are entitled to free minor ailment treatment regardless of whether or not their parents' receive free prescriptions. Just ask the pharmacist for advice and they will dispense as appropriate.

There is a metal Nitty Gritty comb with long teeth. It is far easier and softer to use than those horrible plastic ones. It is also far better at removing them and is also much easier to remove the blighters from this comb when you find them!! It is about £8 but well worth the money, especially if you are frequently combing.

http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/

[girnigoe]

bring back Nitty Nora the Hair Explorer!!

Thats a good one!! But soooooo true.... Thats what the schools need.

I think the problem is is that some parents arent checking their childs hair and arent realising they have them so no matter how many times you do your own childs hair they could be going back to school and getting re-infested immediately!

My own daughter who had long thick hair also had a problem with them for a while a few years ago and I used to put a few drops of tea tree oil in with her shampoo - although this used to dry her scalp out and make her itch - which made you check all the more but it seemed to do the trick. Also if her hair is long enough make sure it is pulled back in a style that will keep her hair close to her head - I used to do french plaits.

Also try a different variety of insecticide. They do become resistant to the main ones if used for a while. Lyclear would never work for her I think because that was what the doctor would prescribe for everyone at the time. I found Derbac M the lotion was quite good.

Hope this helps and you get rid of the little blighters soon!!

[Doreen]

I think its disgraceful parents are not told now when healice is on the go schools should be made to inform parents my granddaughter has had it umpteen times since she started nursery my daughter is sick of treating it the poor bairns scalp is that dry with having so much treatment for it after all it is infectious so parents should be informed or its gonna go on and on.

[Smithy]

You should check what product is recommended at present to treat lice and retreat again a week later even if clear, some folk recommend using the body shop tea tree shampoo and conditioner to help prevent.

[Dadie]

Yes
The children that are not being checked and treated have more human rights than the children that they are infecting week in week out!

Its not fair on either child really!

Since starting nursery.....

We have started a Friday night ritual of nit hunting to get Lauren used to the proccess!
After shampooing her hair I use about a gallon of cheap conditioner and go through her hair with a metal nit comb wiping it each time on a piece of kitchen roll and inspecting it!

Not found any so far but if I do I wont be one of the embarrassed/shy mums who wont let the other mums know!

[Kathy@watten]

Well it is definately a old wives tale that they only like clean hair...my boys are real grot bags, and the lovely nits seem to love them too...have tried the very clean option too on the rare occassion they have been clean long enough. I routinely comb them and de louse them...and regularly look for the visitors. Part of growing up I suppose, along wi skint knees and the obligatory something up the nose/ear!

[StacNKel]

I accept that nits come as part and parcel of being a child... but i seriously can't understand how she gets them so often! i check her weekly and get go through the very thorough ritual of getting them all out, change her bedding etc.... and still she will get them again! obv there is parents out there who aren't checking their childrens hair and must not pay attention to the letters that come home from the school.

Well i thank everyone for there recommendations gives me some new things to try.... and i am going to try an electric comb and see how it fairs al zap the little critters lol!! xx

[lynne duncan]

we usually get a note in the newsletter every now and again reminding us to be vigilant!! but on the times that my lassies have suffered from them, i've just lifted the phone and warned the majorty of the class'es parents, there's no shame in it and i'd rather everyone dealt wae it than sitting back and just hoping, my pal says that the brora playgroup used to send the kids home and not let them back until they were all clear.
as said before pc brigade go too far at times