Nits again!

We’ve only just been back at school.  The standard school lice letter hasn’t even been sent home. Yet, we have nits again.

The days of being a smug “never had nits” family is sadly long past.  It was so much easier when we just had a boy with very short hair.  It's those girls with the flowing locks that ruined added to my long list of qualifications on my parent CV. 

I don’t recall nits being part of my school life ... and neither does my mother.  I have no idea what has changed since then but they are here and it's best to keep a fine tooth comb handy.

The scenario is played out as follows:  my eight-year-old daughter is itching her head at breakfast and suddenly alarm bells go off. 

“Why are you itching your head?”  A quick morning inspection reveals a few nits.

For the uninitiated, that means lice eggs.  Fortunately, I only found the brown ones that have yet to be hatched. The white ones are egg casings. That mean they’ve hatched ... much worse.  Unfortunately that also means some pesky little critters have found a home on my daughter's head.

Still chewing breakfast she is whisked away to the shower to have a handful or two of conditioner lathered into her hair so a fine toothed comb, or nit comb, can easily slide through.

The poor child’s hair is then tied in two very tight plaits. So tight that her hair is still damp when we undid her plaits in the evening. The whole process only took about 20 minutes and I found it strangely satisfying to find the source of the problem. 

I am a strict convert to the conditioner and combing or "wet combing" method of lice removal.  It was using a toxic-smelling overnight product that did it for me.  These products are basically insecticides and they kill the lice, but are unable to kill the eggs that will eventually hatch. Therefore, a second application, is usually required.

So the nit combs are not kept too far away and will be used regularly until we start getting a little lazy and nonchalant. Then when you least expect it ...

This post was written by Charlene, a Thames Valley Mums Blog main contributor.

Photo credit: elisabeth

Comments

[Mommyaulait]

I am soo very sorry to hear about the nit infestation hitting you. When I was pregnant with my third child and tandem nursing my first and second children. My Stepson and Stepdaughter came to visit and left nits all over our house. We used a product that saved our sanity and we felt safe to use while I was pregnant and breastfeeding. Here is a link to the product. WE never had to use anything else. I used it on my 3 year old and my 1 year old. My husband and myself. We also took precautions to become quite neurotic about cleaning pillows and bedding
http://www.licekiller.com/
I too keep that nit comb handy. I have one in my diaper bag/purse and one in the bathroom. Every once in awhile one of my kids will scratch their head and right away I'm over there looking for nits.
Best of luck!

[Charlene]

Thanks for the note. Good to hear you found a product that worked for you.