NITS- How do you get rid of them...

[susyp]

Thank you all ,we seem ok so far but she has been playing with this friend on a daily basis and they are very tactile so I feel the risk is high! I combed through with conditioner and the nitty gritty comb to get out any possible eggs - looked today and seems ok. Problem is we have been using glitter and in some lights the glitter looks like dark eggs! We shall see. Seems to be a lot of it at school at the moment!!

When I was growing up my friend's mum used to check the hair of every child that passed her door. She used to have a chair in her porch and sit us there. On more than one occasion a child had to be sent home . This was before birthday parties and everything. My mum says she didn't know about this and would have been furious had she known!!

susypx

[Saffron]

Scanning this thread, and maybe I missed it, but did nobody mention that you need to treat your bedding, pillows, carseats, hats, headphones and plush toys? You can use hot/cold/smothering to treat these items.

Using heat:

?Wash in hot water and dry on high heat all towels, pillows, sheets, blankets, and clothing recently used by infested persons. (Not necessary to do this with all the clothing belonging to the person.)

?Use a hand-held blow dryer on the hottest setting to go over unwashable but heat tolerant items, or set in sun in a closed car or black plastic (headphones, mattresses, furniture, car seats, etc.).

?Soak personal items such as (combs, brushes, etc.) in very hot water (>130?) for 1 minute.

Using cold:

?Seal in plastic and freeze personal items (combs, etc) for 24 hours.

Using isolation:

?Persons with head lice should not share articles that come in contact with the head, neck, or shoulders (combs, brushes, hats, coats, towels, etc).

?Avoid direct physical contact with individuals who are infested with head lice.

Stuffed Animals and Bed Toys

Generally lice and nits are not found on stuffed animals and other toys that children sleep with. If you are concerned:

?Bag the toys and put them in the freezer for 24 hours, or

?Toss the animals in the dryer for about 10 minutes to kill the lice.

[susyp]

Right,

after 2 hours of deliberation, I now think my daughter has these. Found lots of "glitter" in her hair, but odd how it has multiplied in her hair several days after using glitter....

Then a comb through in the shower brought up 2 long shaped black things (louses?!).

Have then washed her hair with a bit of tea tree oil added.

Read that I shouldn't be treating unless I find a live one? Or should I treat in the morning ?

I am insanely itchy now.

Also we tend to share hairbrushes - should I be soaking them in boiling water - they have plastic handles - or just hot water?!

I will definitely have them if she does as I lie with her while she drops off to sleep and our heads generally touch!!

Susypx

[Saffron]

Yes, you need to sanitise the hairbrushes, hers and yours. Water ~60 C should be fine. Boil the kettle, pour the water on the brushes, and let them sit in until the water cools. Alternatively, you could put them in the freezer for 24 hours.

Some treatments for hair target mainly adult lice, so check the label. But also be aware that if there are only a few adults, they can be well-hidden. Check with a pharmacist if you're not sure. xx

[susyp]

I have the nitty gritty comb and full marks on the advice of this thread! Have used the nitty gritty comb so far and tea tree oil mixed in her shampoo. Still not sure, but she probably does have it - just not found any live ones yet.

Should I be combing in dry hair to check - as I am more likely to get a live one that way? Wet hair perhaps better when you have clarified that you definitely have a problem?!

Going to go through mine in a minute anyway!

susypx

[katgod]

I spent a good two or three years attacking bits of glitter and specks of dust due to paranoia about nits. I laughed and laughed when the infestation finally came. No louse poos or eggs for us, bloody great creepy crawlies marching about. With multiple legs. Sooooo not like glitter (maybe if you catch them super super early?)Full marks, nitty gritty comb (that's the brand name- not all nit combs are equal) then meticulous combing with any old conditioner. My son with shirt hsir gets it eorse than dsughter with long. Think us to do with thickness if hair not just length. Agree is bizarrely satisfying. A rite of passage in parenting.

[buggie]

Saffron - unsure if soft furnishings need to be sanitised following lice as their fussy whatnames and only move from head to head with direct contact so you can't catch them sharing a cuddly toy or blanket.

We'd always have clean bedding & towels following headlice treatment but more because the stuff we had to have on our hair overnight & washout was so stringent.

[buggie]

Susyp - whenever I got head lice Mum would treat herself & my brother too (Dad escaped being away with the Navy normally when it happens!) otherwise risk of cross infection (you catching them before realising and passing back to daughter after treating her) would be great - especially ass you often can't or don't want to avoid close contact with your children :)

[Saffron]

buggie Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Saffron - unsure if soft furnishings need to be

> sanitised following lice as their fussy whatnames

> and only move from head to head with direct

> contact so you can't catch them sharing a cuddly

> toy or blanket.

> We'd always have clean bedding & towels following

> headlice treatment but more because the stuff we

> had to have on our hair overnight & washout was so

> stringent.

It's not common, but, yes, you can catch lice from bedtoys and bedding. Particularly if people are finding that they are being reinfested quite frequently or that they are not able to shift the infestation, then they need to treat these things as well. Just put them through a hot wash and tumble dry.

I spent many of my formative years in a hot climate, where lice seemed to be even more problematic than they are here. I thought I escaped having them as a child... but then I got them when I was 16. Mortifying.

[kf]

Vinegar and warm water! Followed with a nit comb!