Ummm...so talk to me about headlice...<vomit>

Yeah.  So.  Three days into our holiday and i'm on the balcony combing Aliya's hair, at first I thought a little bug had landed on her head.  No such luck.

We treated her out there (that night, I sent Mr S out at about 8pm to the chemist to get some stuff!).  We were told how to use the shampoo, then to comb through the hair with the teeny tiny comb and no need to repeat treatment.

I spent over an hour the next morning manually removing the eggs with my nails as the comb hadn't got them.  Not sure I got them all.  about 3 days later I found 2 more live ones .  Got rid of them and am checking twice a day and still combing every day.  No more since then.

Have treated me and Mr S - no signs then, or since.  Austin too young to treat, but have been checking every day and no signs on him (his hair is so thin it would be very obvious!).

Can anyone help with good treatments?  I want to do her again just to be sure.  Also, as all the info we got was in Spanish i'm not sure if its correct (possible translation issues!)

And she is due to start school tomorrow.  As far as I can tell she has no live lice at the mo.  I also always make sure her hair is tied up in plaits.  Am I supposed to tell someone?  Keep her home?  If so, how long does she have to be "clear" of them before she can go back?  How the hell am I supposed to know if they have all gone?

Tiny nasty grim little buggers...

I sympathise with you. I had to treat both my step kids and both of them have really thick hair. I checked the next day and everything was gone but then they went back home so I have no idea if they came back. I also scrubbed my house from top to bottom and changed all the bed sheets so at least you don't need to worry about that at home. x

I just tend to nuke the horrible beasties with Lyclear and spend the next week wetcombing.

We also have a Nitty Gritty Comb - they are fab. And we use tea tree conditioner as it supposedly keeps them at bay.

I had them a few weeks ago thanks to me nieces.  AFAIK there's no need to keep her off school.  I've used hedrin and full marks and both have done the job for me.  One treatment then repeat 7 days later.

Horrid things

lol you think its bad now, wait until the girls are 13 with hair half way down their backs . i have just spent 12 hours(i kid you not) going through one head of hair strand by strand. we have a nitty gritty comb as well , but i find it doesnt remove the dead eggs , just the live ones. what really bugs me, is i have to do this on a regular basis as once kids get to high school they dont like wearing their hair in plaits , god my arms r killing me 

I have had problems with lice and all my kids over the years, we have tried everything from lyclear to full marks mousse. Tea tree shampoo and conditioner, herbal remedies, the lot. I would advise buying one of these kits though it's the only comb that ever got the dead eggs out.

http://www.chc.org/homedir/thebugbusterkit.cfm

I feel your pain! my eldest has very thick long hair and they loved living in there (especially around the ears and neck) We found the best thing to get rid of them was Lyclear and the Nit Comb.  We then used to spray her hair every morning with some tea tree in water and then she wore her hair up in a bun.  This was after listening to other mums up the school declare that they were just a fact of life  and that they just combed them out yuck! I can't stand the critters.

Funnily enough since she has started senior school she has not had any!

HTH

N

Thanks for the advice everyone.  Still no sign of any more in her hair, and I can't see any more of the eggs either.  Am going to get some more treatment stuff today though as its been 8 days since first treatment and it seems that you generally do need to re-treat within 7-10 days to catch any that are just hatching.  Will keep combing as well just to be on the safe side, luckily she's really good at letting me fiddle with her hair!

God I feel sick.  Think I might have to just shave her head and be done with it!!