Nit to be Outdone

One of my brothers (B), gave this sound advice for nit treatment. Certainly something we will be taking up. Here it is:

You shouldn’t use neat tea tree oil on the skin on a regular basis. Same goes
for lavender oil.

We use the “bug busting” approach, which means we shampoo with tea tree shampoo, then apply lots of tea tree conditioner, which we comb out using a metal-toothed nit comb. We do this twice per week, every week.

The idea is that you don’t have nits afterwards, even if you did before! You also don’t have to spend ages inspecting hair, and worrying about getting every last egg, because if you don’t get them on Saturday, you will get them on Tuesday. The whole process takes about ten to fifteen minutes for our three.

I add about 1/3 water to the conditioner as it is hard to apply when it is too thick.

What I like most about this advice is that it accepts the fact that, while kids are at school, nits will keep returning. It is nit management if not nit cure. Terrific.

The Nitty Gritty

We are happy to say that as of yesterday, the infestation is (hopefully) over. As it happens Mum was also pronounced nit free, leaving the two boys as the only victims. But then, they are more likely because of school, nursery etc.

It took about 5 hours yesterday, and a couple of short hair cuts to feel confident that we had missed nothing. That being the case I can see why they are so easy to catch at school. I mean - how many parents are willing to put in the time it takes to make sure their kids are nit free after they are diagnosed?

When we were kids it was always that delightful shampoo - Prioderm. Unfortunately mass use of this product has resulted in subsequent generations of nit building up an imunity. So it is not guaranteed to kill the infestation (haha - great word that).

We heard somewhere that headlice hate Tea Tree oil. So after the erradication we have applied it to heads as a preventative measure. You can also buy shampoo with it in but I can't vouch for its efficacy.

Anyway, for the benefit of my readers - who no doubt will find the unwelcome visitors to their family at least once (though I hope you don't - such is life with kids at school), I have gathered some more information for your persusal:

This fantastic image shows an adult head louse and a firmly attached egg (nit).
More information and images here - Lindane.com >

At times like this you need a sense of proportion. This image gives you an idea of how big the little beasts are.
More information and images from whyfiles.org >

Identifying the suspects. For those who prefer images to descriptions, try the 'Wanted' poster below.
More information from - Harvard.edu >

Return of the Nit

The wonderful thing about nits and headlice is that they survive - wonderful for the nits that is. As long as even one person in the community has them, they will keep coming back. You send a nit free child to school, they come back not nit free.

And back they have come. So instead of shooting up north to visit family we are doing the nit check and annihilation procedure.

So far Dad has been pronounced clean, J and E show signs of having been got, and we don't know about M yet since she is checking everyone else, but no-one has checked her yet. M is more concerned than the rest of us, partly because she is Mum, and partly because she has long hair - no fun.

The joys of parenthood.

Meanwhile how about some fast facts:

• Head lice are parasitic insects found most commonly behind the ears and near the neckline at the back of the neck.
• The medical term for head lice infestation is Pediculus humanus capitis.
• The life cycle of the head louse has three stages: nit, nymph, and adult.
• The life cycle of a single louse from egg to egg is about 1 month.
• Head lice eggs are called nits.
• Nits take 6 - 9 days to hatch.

For further information visit:

• NHS Direct >
• Head Lice on About.com >
• Head Lice Article >