help! what works better than Hedrin for nits?

[hellosailor]

Our daughter had (has?) nits and passed them to me, we're not sure if my partner has them as of course as soon as someone mentions nits you start scratching your head manically so I think he may be imagining it as I can't see any on him!

We have treated all of us twice with hedrin and yet I think me and my daughter still have nits as we're both still scratching?

Or do nits bite? i.e is it poss we're scratching from bites even tho nits have gone?

What works better than hedrin? it's the lotion you leave on overnight we've been using, I gather there are other products in the range, something you leave in for just 15 mins etc, maybe it's more like an insecticide?

Or are there better products out there?? thank all!

[canela]

crossing my fingers someone will be able to answer this as we are in the same situation! i've used the one you leave on for 15 minutes, left it on for an hour, and i still see them wiggling, i.e. not dead!

i have resolved to daily combing with the nit comb, plus the treatment now and again - but they never seem to go away for long. as soon as we are clean, someone comes to stay with nits or else they get them at school - is a complete nightmare!

i've heard on the grapevine of a product called nitnots - will try it out and hope it works. otherwise feel i may be combing daily for the next 10 years!

weird thing is, my husband never gets them....must have horrid tasting blood the lucky thing.

[LSB]

Am also crossing my fingers for some decent recommendations - we used the "leave on for 15 mins" stuff yesterday and I'm still itching today! So grim.

[embo71]

my head has started itching just reading this post!

my daughter had nits at Christmas (nice seeing all those relatives), and in the end i used a coimbination of:

full marks - solution that you have to use once a week on everybody in the houses head (something to do with the lifecycle of the nits, they can reproduce after 7 days), as well as a nitty gritty comb http://www.nittygritty.co.uk/site/home.asp

Then after another week i just used the comb with conditioner in the hair (to check they had all gone).

This worked and we've been nit free ever since (although i do wash her hair with teatree oil shampoo and have put teatree oil in a conditioning spray that i use everyday). i think the only thing that stops them from coming back is keeping her hair up at nursery too.

Hope this helps...

P.s. i was amazed at how hard they are too see, they seem to be a mid brown colour (same as daughter's hair)

[bluesuperted]

I used to be very prone to nits, even in my twenties!! I'm not looking forward to my son starting nursery as sure I'll get them!

Anyway, I never found OTC products that worked. I used nitmix which was amazing:

http://www.nitmix.com/acatalog/nitmix.html

And also my own concoctions of teatree, lavender and olive oil, a nitty gritty and lots of combing. I mean lots and lots. Every evening, every morning, obsessive combing. If you leave even one they will start up again. They are pretty resistant to the chemicals that it's really just oil and elbow grease that works! I remember calling the guy at nitmix (probably back in 2000!) and him telling me that my hair (very fine, dark, smooth and straight was probably reminiscent of pre-teen hair in smell and texture which is why they prefer it. My mil was a teacher for 30+ years and never got it but has much coarser hair so there may be smth in it. My mum always caught them off me and my sister too, so think you are either prone or not.

[hazelnunhead]

I have managed to keep the nits at bay for almost two years now (which means as I type this they will infest our heads!), and use a teatree shampoo. (A bit like bluesuperted mentions above) (I will find the name and post it here, but I found it in a health shop, and it is one for avoidance of nits). I use this when I wash my duaghters hair, and it seems to keep them at bay. You can also put some tea tree oil mix in a water solution and spray on hair (I do this when the letters from school appear warning of nits) . This has been working for us.

[Crokes]

It's making me itch just reading about it... we've used the nitty gritty comb (used shed-loads of hedrin 15min stuff which definitely made some progress, but combing every few days with the nitty gritty comb made sure the last stragglers were gone.)

I also continued to spray with the nitty-gritty spray and made sure long hair was tied back to avoid getting them again and again!

I've also heard that neem oil is effective (added to shampoo and then combing + as a deterrent).

Good luck!

[GinaG3]

I cant use anything on my daughter as she is just so sensitive with her skin. She has had them twice from one child, although not from pre-school so far. Thank goodness! The best method I find is just rigorous combing and checking through hair, twice a day. Pulling eggs off the hair if possible and squashing. Nits are really resistant to treatments these days, hardly any work. My method normally takes 2 weeks as you have to make sure you catch any new hatchers before they grow and lay more eggs but its definitely the best way to do it. Wet hair preferable and a traditional white plastic double sided comb.

My sister had serious problems when she was younger and my mum tried everything on the market, nothing worked, natural or chemical. I took to combing through her hair every night and sitting under a spotlight flicking through like a book, it worked every time.

[Mrs TP]

Yes sift through for unhatched eggs. They are brown and elongated with a little hook that attaches them to the hair. I thought they were bits of pollen at first because everyone says the eggs are white. The egg cases only look white when hatched so remove before then.

See it as one of life's annoyances like the toaster breaking and not as a huge social stigma / plague :)

[bawdy-nan]

comb, comb, comb, with a nitty gritty comb, every 2 days until you see no eggs or nits then comb and comb again

[JackieO]

I agree with bawdy-nan - combing with a nitty gritty comb is very effective. My child has very sensitive skin so we didn't use any treatment other than the comb, which cleared the nits within days.

[crystal7]

Another vote for the nitty gritty comb. Try to get into the habit of frequent combing. I'm dreading my daughter getting them, she hates having her hair brushed. Apparently applying conditioner and then combing with said comb is effective.

[civilservant]

Yet another thumbs up for the nitty gritty comb

It's having its second outing in two months - first time round, obsessive combing twice a day for over a week did for the little wrteches, but then DD insited on going to school with her hair down and sure enough she's picked up a second crop...

[bawdy-nan]

mine haven't had them for ages -actually miss it oddly -something very satisfying about a job well do e-like a Xmas jigsaw or a self-assembly set of shelves

[hellosailor]

Thanks everyone, very useful!

Is there somewhere I can get a nitty gritty comb in ED?

x

[canela]

most chemists sell them

[Mrs TP]

I never got the hang of the combs with long hair - I always seem to loose the carefully trapped eggs partway down the long hair shaft.

[hpsaucey]

Oh man! Nits ... clothes moths... chickenpox .... I'm under siege and feeling itchy! Wine needed. :(

[MsMaz]

When you comb, make sure you put conditioner on first. Comb every 2-3 days for 2 weeks. Use Tea Tree Oil conditioner if possible (Faith in Nature good). Get a small bowl of water and every time you comb through rinse the comb off in the water. You'll see what comes out after - first time usually a few mature bugs and mini ones. Then just mini ones (these can't hatch eggs), then after 2 weeks it should be clear.

Use Tea Tree oil shampoo and do the conditioner combing. It's great for getting cradle cap off too!

[civilservant]

Mrs TP Wrote:

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

> I never got the hang of the combs with long hair -

> I always seem to loose the carefully trapped eggs

> partway down the long hair shaft.

The important thing is to unstick the nits from the hair that mummy louse has glued them onto. The comb does this and they can then be washed out.