Head lice help - it's our first time ever! And do those electric combs work?

Hey everyone,

Well, we (DS more accurately) have head lice.. i can't believe it! I managed to go 26 years without it, and now it's over. I'm pretty sure DS got it from creche or his friends house.

He has been scratching for a week, and i've checked a couple of times and seen nothing, but tonight after his bath i checked, and with the wet hair it was so much easier to see his scalp (we don't cut our boys hair until 3 years, so it's pretty long, and curly) and i found lice - eeeewww!

I had bought from the pharmacy last week a thing called NitWits, a natural one, which i put through and used with one of those plastic combs... i got heaps out, although i'm not sure about the nits, as i could only really see the lice, of varying sizes, but i wasn;t looking so carefully, as i was trying to be quick - it's not easy keeping a 2 year old still for 40 mins to comb through his hair.

So, i've read through all of the other posts about lice, and i saw most people recommended Wildchild, and metal combs - which i will go and get tonight.

Any other products that people recommend? Natural if possible.

I also saw at the chemist they have these electronic checkers, that are supposed to zap the bugs and nits... at $40 i thought i would check to see if they worked first.

Other than that i guess i had better do my hair (he slept in my bed this morning), and wash all the bedding & towels, brushes etc.

And then when we are over this i will do the lavender & tree tea oil spray, and hairspray each day...

Anything else?

you will need to treat again in about 5 days that way if you missed any nits and they hatch you will get the baby lice before they can lay more eggs, if the eltric comb is the one that zaps them then yeah get it, if it is just a eletric plastic one you use a chemical with forget it i got one as good not get the zapping one and the plastic eletric was useless.


Conditioner with teatree in it works well, leave on hair with shower cap on for 30 min the rinse out with vinger comb afterwards. THis is what works the best in both my dd hair.

The zap combs are great - we bought two. You can run them though the hair on an ongoing basis, they buzz when you get one and you can imagine the little buggers frying (sorry buddists) and cackle to yourself. Which you will enjoy if he catches it again....

You must get him in the light so you can hold the comb full of sectioned hair up to it and see them and slide them off with your fingernails too. They LOVE behind the ears mostest.

Lulu!!!!!!!!:o

I don't do the zapping but what I do is to a spray bottle add some tea tree, lavender and eucalyptus essential oils (pure) & water. Spray this all over his hair before he goes to school. It works for me in the prevention once you have got rid of the live lice. Good luck!

I know, I can't help it! A year of recurring headlice was ENOUGH for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I highly recommend vinegar - nothing was working for DD, and it was actually the pharmacist who suggested it!

I just lay her down over some towels with a big bowl under her head (neck supported by a rolled up towel) and thoroughly soaked her hair. Left her for about 5 mins - then popped her in the bath, and with extra extra conditoner used the metal comb.

They havent been back since!:dance:

I treated with nitwits as well and when I found that didn't do the job as fast as I would have liked.. I did a vinegar rinse.. If you DS has been scratching it will sting a little but I promise just a little.. The vinegar will kill the lice then I wash with conditioner to make the eggs easier to get out...

thats where the nit comb comes in...

We have only had lice in this house twice and only on our school aged child.. We stopped is spreading to the other kids

Oh thanks Lulu, the electric combs sound very satisfying!!!! We have only had them twice (eldest DD), but the zapping would make it kinda fun in a bad situation!!! Trust me, it is a task doing DD's hair, it is THICK and down to her bum!!! Bring on the zapper!!