Thread: Fitness, Beauty, Costuming? NO. NITS!!!!

Yep, I have nits. Head Lice. Creatures living in my hair. Raks Al-Nit.

Aaaargh!!!!!!!,m::

Never had them before. Got two sons aged 8 and 11 and they've never had them before. But we have them now. The little swines are lying in their nit sacs on our hairs and making our heads itch like there's no tomorrow!!!!!!!

HELP!!!

So we just went to the doctor's and got some stuff to put in our hair for 10 mins after we wash it, but to be honest I don't know the first thing about treating theses little divvils, so any old-wives-tales or nuggets of advice would be VERY welcome right now.

Haven't seen anything with legs yet, just the eggs. I always thought the itching started after they hatched, not before.

Off to hit some nitty websites now . . .

Panic nearly over - found this fact sheet - looks very good:

Head lice - symptoms and treatment of nits

Old wives tales still appreciated though ...


ETA:

the fact sheet says that there are three main chemical concoctions that can be used:
* malathion (eg Derbac M)
* phenothrin (eg Full Marks)
* permethrin (eg Lyclear)

We were given Lyclear. Anyone ever used it?

Never got them myself, but I know a few who have. Seems combing the hair thoroughly with special nit-combs for a few days, combined with using nit-shampoo does the trick.

Hope you get rid of them soon!

[QUOTE=Freddie;424036]Panic nearly over - found this fact sheet - looks very good:

Head lice - symptoms and treatment of nits

Old wives tales still appreciated though ...


ETA:

the fact sheet says that there are three main chemical concoctions that can be used:
* malathion (eg Derbac M)
* phenothrin (eg Full Marks)
* permethrin (eg Lyclear)

We were given Lyclear. Anyone ever used it? [/QUOTE]

Like anyone will admit that? ..g.: Actually I know a number of teachers who work with kids and they're always getting them. ,f:: Some of the kids look like someone sprinkled sugar in their hair they're so bad

Ye olde herbal remedies includes using a ton of conditioner/oil on your hair, it's supposed to soften the 'glue' that makes the egg stick to your hair shaft. Follow up with fine nit comb.

They're not supposed to like tea tree and neem. If you've ever smelt pure neem oil they won't be alone. The stuff pongs but it's a great conditioner for hair and scalp. I'm sure I read something about it stopping them breeding....

Neem Oil, Neem Bark, Neem For People, Neem For Dogs, Neem For Horses

Faith in Nature have a Neem, Propolis, tea tree shampoo/conditioner that is very reasonable.
Good luck in clearing up the buggers.

I think I had them once as a kid but since I don't work around kids now or have any of my own, I have been safe.

I agree with the tea tree oil. I would also like to add rosemary.

Ooooh good, thanks! Will check out the Neem stuff. Aha I have some pure tea tree oil in my cupboard - will finish today's treatments off with that I think.

I'm just grateful that none of them have hatched yet - I'm quite happy with spiders etc., but those tiny lice are nasty little gits.

My mate was a primary school teacher for about 20 years and she told me that she got nits about 6 times a year! So she must be a past master (mistress?) at dealing with these, will ring her when she gets back from work. Six times a year - aaargh - imagine!!


scratch ...

Originally Posted by Freddie

Ooooh good, thanks! Will check out the Neem stuff. Aha I have some pure tea tree oil in my cupboard - will finish today's treatments off with that I think.

I'm just grateful that none of them have hatched yet - I'm quite happy with spiders etc., but those tiny lice are nasty little gits.

My mate was a primary school teacher for about 20 years and she told me that she got nits about 6 times a year! So she must be a past master (mistress?) at dealing with these, will ring her when she gets back from work. Six times a year - aaargh - imagine!!


scratch ...

I started scratching when I was typing the other stuff...l;,

I remember standing at a bus stop, there was a lady in front of me, I saw a couple of money spiders in her hair. When I got home I told my mum....They weren't spiders they were 'runners'.
At my mums school they used to be able to wash the kids hair and treat them. I've heard many a tale of them falling off kids hair and running across the desk....Having the staff comb the kids hair over newspaper, nits fall out, burn the newspaper and hear them pop. Can't understand how they let kids get in that state. Well actually I can when I heard one of the parents say, 'what can I do, they come out of the central heating'...c::

btw. I always tuck my hair inside my coat or wear it up on buses and trains. I've got waist length hair. The last thing I need to do is try and drag nit comb through it.

Let us know how you go on?

Be sure to wash any bedsheets, stuffed toys, clothes, furniture, etc you may have touched with HOT water just in case. I had them once years ago when my baby sister brought them home and it was awful! Good luck getting rid of them soon!!!

We went through the rounds of them with my kids....yeah it was pretty gross! Oh, just thinking about it makes my head itch!

You have to make sure you have a really good nit comb (not the plastic one but a metal one) and do the most time-consuming job of combing out the nits small section by section! Take your time....get them all and then go back again!

Follow the directions on washing your bedding, bagging up soft toys, if it's hot where you live close up your car and cook them (we used the spray in the van to kill everything). If the rinse says follow up in 2-3 days, be sure you do that. And sometimes, despite your best efforts, they may get re-infected if the other kids haven't been successfully treated.

I feel for you, lice are a pain & nuisance!!! Just be glad it isn't scabies or something worse!

i remember my mom rubbing our heads with lavendar oil after treating us. apparently it stops the lice from coming back..?

make sure you wash everything that can come into contact with hair: bed sheets, pillows, hair brushes, teddybears, sweaters.... ((eta: oops, just noticed this was already said.. ^^ ))

Thanks for the tips folks, the doctor said that I didn't need to wash the bedding and the fact sheet says the same, but I'm doing it anyway, on Supa-Hot setting lol!

Just glad I have no mad deadlines to hit - I can get these creatures out of this house!!

So far have done one head - just came in here for a quick smoke before doing head 2.

On head number one I did find live crawlies, four of them. And I heard that "snapping" sound when I did the combing too, is that the eggs popping? Yeuch!

Am wondering whether to rub tea tree or lavender into their scalps afterwards. I have read somewhere that lavender encourages the production of female hormones and boys who are subjected to a lot of it can grow boobs. Wonder if that's what happened to my dad?!

To be honest it's my own hair I'm not looking forward to doing. It's very thick and past my shoulders - that will be a couple of hours with the comb I reckon.

Ah - head two is washed, off I go to apply the chemicals, see you in a bit x

Originally Posted by Freddie

Am wondering whether to rub tea tree or lavender into their scalps afterwards. I have read somewhere that lavender encourages the production of female hormones and boys who are subjected to a lot of it can grow boobs. Wonder if that's what happened to my dad?!

if that were true then how come my boobs are so small?? ..l;, my mom would douse all of us with the lavender stuff every time one person in the house had the bugs, and there were 4 of us kids, so it did happen quite a few times. and i assure you my bro's have no booby issues! ^^

for yourself, can't you get someone to do it for you? the combing part. cos it's really not going to be easy for ya..

There is this great book called "what about the love part?" and there is this short story called "Grasp Special Comb." It is about a mom who goes crazy trying to rid her kid and her house of lice. It is so good. I really wish this book wasn't out of print.

"In “Grasp Special Comb,” Abby, soon-to-be-divorced, is battling that elementary school scourge: head lice. While there are plenty of guides on how to deal with the vermin attacking her daughter, nothing warns about the effect it will have on her ability to deal with life’s other infestations."

What about the Love Part? - Google Book Search

Ugh, I had nits once years ago as a preteen - from babysitting! One of my few forays into babysitting in one of the nicest areas of town for a really well off family whose kids attended a very fancy prep school. Too bad the fancy prep school was dripping with lice! Ugh, my sympathies to you and the kids!

Eugh thanks all for the support through this harrowing time lol!

Just completed head no 2. Found two creeping creatures and a fair amount of eggs.

The house smells all tee-tree-oily now.

Me next. Hopefully hubyb will be back soon and will assist with the combing bit, otherwise it'll be the 8 yr old - the 11 yr old won't go near!

Scratch ..

Where I live, in the Pacific Northwest, head lice are extremely common among school children. So I have dealt with this numerous times. It's not fun, and it's a lot of work, but it's doable.

You don't need any chemicals on your head. Instead, you can do this: Slather your head with full-fat mayonnaise. Cover your head with plastic wrap, an old plastic bag works great. Use your blow dryer to heat your hair - this is optional. Heat kills the bugs, but so does smothering them in mayo, LOL.

Vacuum your house thoroughly. I don't know why your doctor said not to washing the bedding, I've never heard that before. Wash everything. Things that can't be washed can be sealed in plastic trash bags for 2 wks. You can use the spray on things like couches and car seats.

Don't be surprised if they come back, then you have to do everything again. It's a real pain in the you-know-what.

At schools here they do regular head checks. The little buggers can live on coats, hats, etc. and they can even jump onto people. They can be on play structures, etc.

Now that my kids are grown I haven't had to deal this for several years, thank goodness!

I think the worst part was the shame of feeling like you were dirty or something, but just get over that. It can happen to anyone who gets next to someone who has them, usually kids.

Forgot to say, of course, use the nit comb after you wash out the mayo. Leave it on for as long as you can before shampooing it out. Your hair should look marvelous afterward.

I'll fess up... I went through this. My daughter got them from school.

She spent the week with me and weekends at her dad's and of course getting HIM to treat his house properly was a nightmare, so we went through a couple of rounds. *shudder*

- The comb is VERY important, the shampoo by itself won't do the trick. Take lots of time with that tiny comb, sectioning and working through the hair. Doing each other is MUCH easier than doing yourself.

- Wash EVERYTHING in hot water. Pillows from your bedroom AND living room, throws, hats, coats, literally anything that comes anywhere NEAR your head and can be tossed into the washer (or dryer) needs to be treated. Heat does kill them. It's loads of work, but less than 100% means you'll have to do it all over again, so go for 100%

- Everything that can't be washed can be sprayed with some kind of bug spray and Hoovered! Furniture, mattresses, etc.

I remember having nightmares where huge bugs (like locusts) were crawling all over my head. Ugh!!!

Originally Posted by dunyah

I think the worst part was the shame of feeling like you were dirty or something, but just get over that. It can happen to anyone who gets next to someone who has them, usually kids.

YES!! Since regular shampoo doesn't kill them, it's not a sign of being unclean. (though it's hard to shake the feeling)

This may sound strange to you, but lice only like clean hair. If you don't wash your hair everyday, you are less likely to get them in the future. If you have natural oils on your hair, they can't attach
to the hair shaft.

Originally Posted by Mahsima

This may sound strange to you, but lice only like clean hair. If you don't wash your hair everyday, you are less likely to get them in the future. If you have natural oils on your hair, they can't attach
to the hair shaft.

I've always doubted that considering said kids at abovementioned school.p::

Blimey this is going to take a while hten eh? Our heads get everywhere!

Well, I'm done now. One crawly, a few eggies. Hopefully that's it, but we will have a follow-up treatment in a few days.

My own combing through wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Like doing my roots for a veeerry long time!

It did make me feel nauseous though, dealing with the little beggars.

That mayo trick sounds good so if they come back after the second treatment I'm going straight to the Hellmans.

Thanks again for accompanying me on this oddysey of infestation!

My daughter had them when she was about 10. We almost had a nervous breakdown over it.

I'm glad it isn't just me who gets jittery about them!

I did, like 10 years ago. I suspect I got them from a homeless patient that I literally cleaned from head to toe.

The doctor had to subscribe the lotion for scabies (the ones that are on the skin) to use in my hair, because my hair was very long and the shampoo just wasn't getting them out! The shampoo made my hair very tangled and it was very difficult to comb. I also had someone else comb them out for me. I suspect, lol that I killed them when I dyed my hair. Ha ha! I kept re infesting myself with the critters. So I had to resort to getting rid of all of my pillows and expensive boar bristle brushes. But, I did wash all my linens in hot water which regretfully ruined most of them. I think I did buy some kind of spray that killed them, but I can't remember the name. The pharmacy can lead you in the right direction for products. My daughter stayed with my mother until they were gone. I couldn't imagine her very thick curly hair getting them, ugh!!!

I had dreams about it for months. People said I was dirty. It was an awful experience. I learned that it has nothing to do with you being dirty, that lice actually loves clean hair. So if anyone ever tells you that, they are very uneducated.

Ugh, I empathize with everyone! Quite a few years ago, I was doing a stint as a home health nurse aide and one of my patients had scabies...not a mild case but a rampant INFESTATION! Talk about feeling ITCHY!!! Not only did we have to wrap & decon before entering their house, we provided personal care (i.e. bathing) but we decon'd on the way out (with a rather foul-smelling detergent).

I felt itchy for days and kept waiting for the tell-tale trails to show up! Talk about going psycho! I'd rather have gone through with lice, at least you can be sure about them!

At least with lice, they don't transmit any disease the way ticks do, they are just downright creepy & bothersome!

Ha got the beggars big time before (that's if there are any left after the hammering I gave them this afternoon).

Took the GHDs to them - root to tip. They don't like heat? Take that, you blighters!!!

Originally Posted by TailaDances

At least with lice, they don't transmit any disease the way ticks do, they are just downright creepy & bothersome!

Ooooo yeh, ticks, I remember when I used to work in Corfu there was this dog (called Deefur, Deefur Dog), a lovely old Dalmatian crossbreed that followed us bums around. He was covered in them and some of the guys used to try to help out by burning them off with the end of their cigarettes. Eeeuugh they were horrible and you could tell they were draining the life out of the dog, poor thing.

My mom used melaluca (tea tree oil) on all my sheets and clothes when I was a kid to treat the buggers. I read on Wiki it kills scabies, so I assume that works for lice too...