Question:
My six year old daughter seems to have the most determined headlice in the
world. For the past week I've been trying to get rid of them by using
conditioner and a nit comb on a daily basis - but still she is scratching.
I've finally resorted to buying some Derbac M, but am reluctant to use it
because of its chemical content. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to
deal with persistent head lice?
Answer:
Keep going with the conditioner and nit comb - it takes a while but does
work. It doesn't remove eggs but live nits so you have to keep going for
about two weeks until all hatched. Then repeat fortnightly to prevent any
more outbreaks !!
Their are also aromatherapy lotions available
I have heard that there is an electic nit comb available from Argos for
about £20 or £30, I don't know if it is any good or not, but it seems like a
good idea
I'd second that. Our GP's used to prescribe treatments, but now refuse to
do so. They say that it is partly due to cost, but because the chemicals
were being used too freely and therefore causing an immunity to build up
along with the fact that "it is best to avoid chemicals if they are not
really necessary". That is the general policy of the local education
authority. Yet the school like treatment to prevent spreading or keeping
kids off for 2 weeks. There has been a fair bit of argument going around
the village over this as school will no longer send home warning letters but
they will send hv to you if you report infestation twice within a term. A
group of us mum's whose kids play together now don't tell the school but do
tell each other at the first sign. We all check on a weekly basis and have
found that by the immediate warning, condition & comb and keep hair
controlled with either bun or plaits, we cracked it within a week.
It will take some time and effort to zap all the little visitors, but IMHO
it beats use of chems on what ends up becoming a regular basis as we found
that in our area the suspected source of the problem never took adequate
action.
It's my understanding that tea tree oil is a deterrant rather than a cure.
The lice hate the smell apparently, so tend to avoid it, but it doesn't
get rid of them if you've already got them and they've laid eggs.
