Calling All Nitty Noras.

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scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by scarlett »

Thanks everyone. :) Just have to persevere I suppose.The last straw was finding one on myself...hope mine didn't take a walk across my forehead too whilst chatting.I've got DS1 parent consultation on Monday...shall have to make sure I've no more by then ! I don't know how children can bear them.I only found 1 but the itch was unbearable..like an intense pain.

PPMum..I'm surprised to hear that about your pimary school. I thought they weren't allowed to check childrens hair these days, although you don't really need to , the frantic scratching usually gives the game away. I expect at your old school, PPMum those with nits were doused in petrol and sat in a cupboard . :P
push-pull-mum
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:52 pm

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by push-pull-mum »

scarlett wrote:PPMum..I'm surprised to hear that about your pimary school. I thought they weren't allowed to check childrens hair these days, although you don't really need to , the frantic scratching usually gives the game away. I expect at your old school, PPMum those with nits were doused in petrol and sat in a cupboard . :P
From school website -

If a child is seen to have head lice by a member of staff then the school will phone the parents of that child and ask for them to come and be collected immediately from school, so they may be taken home and treated. This should include all members of the family.
(It should be noted that the school has no legal power to enforce this but that it will seek the support of all parents and carers in the school)


The part about 'no legal power' has been added recently - the Home School Agreement (which I can't lay my hands on at the moment) has the bit about reporting for neglect - and also arrangements for CRBed volunteers to treat nitty children before school.

At my old school we were all taught how to check each other. The mortification of a child whose headlice have been publically detected by "next child on the register" can only be imagined. :evil:
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by mike1880 »

The conditioner and combing method worked extremely effectively for ours, but the long term solution turned out to be changing primary school - end of problem.

Mike
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by mystery »

It's all a bit of a mystery to me. I read a very long scientific paper on this and I have decided that unless you frequently use the organophosphate lotions / shampoos that kill a lot of the eggs as well as the lice, chances are that if you just condition and comb frequently that there will just be a very low level of infestation in the school population most of the time - not high enough to make people itch or for it to be easily visible, but constantly there nevertheless.

Do you think when you condition and comb that you get out as many live lice as you would get out dead lice when you use the chemicals that kill lice? I'm really not convinced.

I used the organosphosphate stuff so much last year that I got worried - it took a very long time for the smell to completely go from my children's hair - I am talking several months so they are going to get the same long term effects as people exposed to sheep dip!!

So it's combing and conditioner for me ........... an extremely lengthy procedure with one of my children ........ and I don't expect it to work perfectly unfortunately. But maybe I'll blast again with the chemicals sometime soon - I suspect it's doing the rounds of our family at the moment.

I read somewhere that from exposure to having an obvious infestation is 6 weeks or more which when I looked at the life cycle of the louse seems reasonable!! So you can't always blame the pesky visitors who came round the day before.
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by scarlett »

I'm afraid changing primary didn't work Mike as DS1 appears to be scratching like a nutter at the moment .Sorry to everyone at his secondary , by the way.....I think the infestation has come from DD and me.DH can't abide nits and when I'm at work takes the opportunity to douse all mine in those chemicals but doesn't tell me and I'm left wondering 2 days later why they all look most unsavoury. Next time he starts brandishing his old army clippers I'll send him round to yours Mystery. :)
Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by Looking for help »

I think the idea of nitcombing with conditioner every 2 days is that this is the lifecycle of the creature from egg to adult. So on day one you are breaking the legs of the live ones, and combing them out, then on day 3 you are doing the same with any hatched eggs. If you continue doing this every 2 days rigorously for 2 weeks you should get rid of all the eggs and all the live nits. That is what we were told when my oldest was in the infants. The head at the time was trying really hard to encourage all families to sign up to a 2 week programme in order to get rid of the problem altogether, however some people just wouldn't play ball. We just got into a routine doing it almost always, and never really had a problem :lol:

edited to say....I've just googled their life cycles and actually its a month, so I don't know why a 2 week programme would work.....maybe people should be encouraged to do it for a month.
Fran17
Posts: 1440
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:16 pm

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by Fran17 »

I found one little critter on middle son's head when he was about 6. I washed all three sons' hair in a tea tree oil solution which had to be left on for about half an hour. I then covered their hair in conditioner and used the nit comb every day for two weeks. Someone also advised me to change their pillowcase every night for the duration of the treatment. We have been very lucky and have not had them since. I do feel for anyone who has to do this everyday to a little girl with long hair. I don't know about you but just typing about nits makes my head itch. :o
bondgirl
Posts: 802
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:30 am

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by bondgirl »

Fran17 wrote:I don't know about you but just typing about nits makes my head itch.
I read this thread about an hour ago and haven't stopped scratching since. It was the one crawling across the forehead bit that really started it. I'm convinced there's one crawling down my neck! :lol:
Fran17
Posts: 1440
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:16 pm

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by Fran17 »

:lol: :lol:
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Calling All Nitty Noras.

Post by mystery »

Oh this was a bad thread. Just cut, conditioned and combed both children and one had louse and eggs, other nothing. I can't bear the thought of not having got everything as she has quite some mane so I think I'm going to resort to the killer chemicals again. Oh dear. My head's itching but I can't find anything!
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