headlice advice needed

[????'s Mrs]

Unfortunately my daughter has a bad case of nits. I have tried several different products including tea tree oil, but none deter/ get rid of them. The headlice are killed and removed effectively but nits remain. Nit combs in particular are completely ineffective- I think due to her hair type being very fine.

I have heard of a professional service that can offer a course of treatments and wondered if anyone has the details. Any other advice greatfully received.

Thanks

[espelli]

Don't know about a professional service, but Lice Attack from behind the counter in larger Boots and other pharmacies is excellent. It is coconut based and basically suffocates the lice. You treat the hair every seven days over three weeks to catch any of the recently hatched lice and break the life cycle. You use the nit comb but only to comb out the suffocated lice. Hope this helps.

[Mamma Mia]

Hi ????'s Mrs

We discussed this a little while ago. Hope this link to the thread works.

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,349765,350042#msg-350042

[gwod]

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

This nit comb really does help. It's ?10 which seems alot for a comb but the tines are very long and have groves carved into them which really help to strip off the eggs in a way the other combs do not. You still have to do the treatment with something like Full Marks once a week for 3 weeks because you never get all the eggs - but it certainly gets more out than the others.

[Mamma Mia]

Agree about the nitty gritty comb. It really is good. I never use any headlice treatments - just conditioner combing every 3/4 days for 3 consecutive sessions always seems to do the trick and both my daughters have long hair. Need to comb the hair thoroughly with the conditioner and a wider tooth comb first to get tangles out because the nitty gritty comb can get stuck otherwise and grips so hard it is uncomfortable to remove. ?10 seems a lot but the teeth are really strong and never break or bend so there is no worry about gaps forming that let the lice tbrough. As long as you get the big ones each time, and comb again 3/4 days later, you will catch the growing ones before they lay more eggs which breaks the cycle. Also removes the little white nits.

[Mrs TP]

I was amazed we managed to avoid the whole nit & lice thing until my daughter was 7. We were struck this summer. The adult lice are easy enough to get rid of and can be combed out, killed off with the various shampoos etc but it is the nits / eggs that are the real problem as they are not killed by the shampoos and are difficult to comb out even with the specialist combs. You need to pick the nits out - wash the hair and whilst wet part it every single way you can and look for all the little buggers and just pick them out with your nails / tweezers - sounds disgusting but becomes weirdly therapeutic.

Don't be fooled by the whole 'white nits' thing either, they are only white when hatched and it is just the egg shell / casing remaining. Whilst the louse is forming in the egg they are brown and oval shaped - Google image them - cause first time around I thought it was bits of pollen in my daughter's hair.

I am the biggest wimp ever and was mortified when I realised we had been infested but checking through her v. thick hair on several consecutive nights and they were soon gone. Didn't even spread to siblings or me thankfully.

Good luck but will soon be gone if you are vigilant.

[????'s Mrs]

Thanks for all the advice. Off to work I go..............

[Tanza]

headlice article in Guardian

Hello - think the professional service you mention was written about in the Guardian recently.