Head lice! Freaking out!

**Sunshineliz** · May 12th, 2013, 08:44 PM

I'm echoing the nit comb--use it! It'll get the eggs off your hair. I hope the natural remedies the others recommended work for you. I'd rather use something like that if it works. I've had it twice and just used the chemical RID brand. Nasty, but it worked. And make sure to treat/wash in very hot water anything your head may come in contact with--combs, couches, beds, floors, whatever.

**joflakes** · May 13th, 2013, 12:20 AM

Thank you all for your thoughts!

I'm sure I can beat this. I don't think I have them all that badly as I have only found 2 actual lice thus far but I'll carry on with the combing etc just in case for a couple weeks.

**Bagginslover** · May 13th, 2013, 02:13 AM

It's a total myth that head lice are attracted to clean hair, think about it, if they hated dirty hair, they'd have died out years ago, when people didn't wash (think Victorian era, and earlier, when everyone was infested). They like hair, head hair in particular.

You also dont need to have head, or hair contact to get them from someone. While lice can't jump, they will walk off, so if you are touched by your students heads, anywhere on your body, then they can be passed to you.

The best non chemical treatment I have used was a combination of olive, tea tree, and eucalyptus oils, olive being the larger portion. It is thought that the eucalyptus oil does indeed kill the eggs as well (it is highly toxic, but fine on skin), but it is best to retreat anyway, just in case (plus it smells good!).

Do the schools not send home children with lice anymore? They started doing that after I left school I beleive, have they stopped again now? Seemed like a good way to get rid to me....

Hope you are free of them soon x

**wandlimb** · May 13th, 2013, 07:48 AM

You could try neem oil - you can put the oil in your shampoo or get shampoo with it in already. It's good for your scalp too. It was the only thing I found to work when I got them.

**bunzfan** · May 13th, 2013, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by joflakes

Thank you all for your thoughts!

I'm sure I can beat this. I don't think I have them all that badly as I have only found 2 actual lice thus far but I'll carry on with the combing etc just in case for a couple weeks.

I understand your compliant my kids came home with them constantly because most of the parents couldn't be bothered to check or treat it, hears what i've found in recent years worked. They really really hate tea tree oil i put some in my conditioner on put a tiny amount on my scalp and did daily co washing and checked my hair in the shower, smothering all my hair in oil and then putting a hat on top the little buggers get smothered and die (this really works trust me) this is a treatment that my sister told me about that you can buy online that kills the eggs and the lice but its a bit pricey if your interested i could pm you with the details.

**Angelica** · May 13th, 2013, 08:47 AM

Originally Posted by Bagginslover

It's a total myth that head lice are attracted to clean hair, think about it, if they hated dirty hair, they'd have died out years ago, when people didn't wash (think Victorian era, and earlier, when everyone was infested). They like hair, head hair in particular.

You also dont need to have head, or hair contact to get them from someone. While lice can't jump, they will walk off, so if you are touched by your students heads, anywhere on your body, then they can be passed to you.

The best non chemical treatment I have used was a combination of olive, tea tree, and eucalyptus oils, olive being the larger portion. It is thought that the eucalyptus oil does indeed kill the eggs as well (it is highly toxic, but fine on skin), but it is best to retreat anyway, just in case (plus it smells good!).

Do the schools not send home children with lice anymore? They started doing that after I left school I beleive, have they stopped again now? Seemed like a good way to get rid to me....

Hope you are free of them soon x

Absolutely correct. Head lice cannot jump or fly, you only catch them from head or hair contact. It is difficult for them to walk, because their legs are designed to attach to the hair, so they can only walk off if your head is in contact with another. I found this out from experience and health visitors and searching on the web. There are a lot of myths around. So someone flicking their long hair at you will likely infect you with the critters if they have them. They also can't live very long off the head as they need blood to survive. So by using the nit comb, you break their legs and they can't do anything. You don't have to go mad cleaning your house, it's not like cat fleas. Lots and lots of oil will make it too slippery for the bugs to cling onto the hair and they are fairly easy to comb out. I did use lice lotion the first time my son had them and it made his hair look glorious, because it conditions the hair as well. I found tea tree no good,. and I hate the smell of that stuff anyway. Just plenty of conditioner, oil etc., will sort the creeps out. And yes they love dirty hair, perhaps moreso really because if hair is regularly washed and combed they will be disturbed more than hair that is not touched much. Also hairspray can help because it will make them stiff and die and hot irons (occasionally - because they won't like being fryed but neither will your hair).

**Anje** · May 13th, 2013, 10:03 AM

This might be a strangely obvious piece of advice, but DETANGLE your hair before you nit-comb! People talk about how they get so much damage when nit-combing, and it seems like they're usually not using a wide and then regular comb to work all the tangles out and get the hair smooth before the ultra-fine combing begins.

**akka naeda** · May 13th, 2013, 10:45 AM

Buy the stuff from Boots which is a silicone mix - Fullmarks, get the liquid, not the spray.
Do what willowcandra did - put it on overnight and leave it, then wash out in the morning (I washed mine out badly, but didn't leave it in overnight), repeat until they have gone. You don't need to worry about combing them out. She didn't bother, and I tried but couldn't.

**akka naeda** · May 13th, 2013, 10:48 AM

The server is playing up and I can't edit my post.... it may take 2-3 days of using the Full Marks, but as I said, you really really don't need to worry about whether they have all been combed out or even combing your hair at all, as the silicone kills them. It's far quicker than any other method I have tried and believe me when DD was at primary school I tried everything.