I found head lice nits on my childrens hair

wonderwomanusa · Dec 7th, 2007, 05:28

I have had head lice in India and they are more of an inconvenience than anything else. At the chemists, they gave me some sort of heavy oil treatment for this ... something I had to comb through my hair and leave on for a couple of hours, then shampoo out. Besides killing the bugs, it was a very good oil treatment for my hair. Ah, but it was many years ago and maybe those chemicals are now banned ... ask the chemist what he recommends.

capt_mahajan · Dec 7th, 2007, 07:22

http://www.tradeindia.com/Exporters_...ce-Killer.html

Madhu10 · Dec 7th, 2007, 07:34

If the kids are going to school..i bet they might be getting this from their classmates. I remember when mom send a note to school saying they should check the hair of my bench mate :-)...did not go too well with my teacher. I had very short hair and my freind..long flowing locks.

Those combs work really well.

I know here in the US you actually get specific medication for the eggs so if somebody can send you some that might help a lot. Maybe not for immediate use but for the future.

Its all about the bacteria that we need in India to beat all the ailments. After 15 years away I get sick every (i mean every) time I went back home. Slowly but surely kids build up their immunity.

More than anything sounds like you need a little time for yourself. Once all the kids are well..take a little break ..go to a local spa and take a well deserved time off for yourself.

Good luck.

the opoponax · Dec 7th, 2007, 07:40

The American medication is called Rid, and it's supposed to work on the lice themselves as well as the eggs. It also comes with this horrid little comb with extremely fine teeth, for pulling the lice and eggs away from the scalp so they can be thoroughly washed out the first time (they like to hide deep in the roots, on your scalp). If you can't find an Indian equivalent, you might try getting some of this stuff.

This is what my mother used on my brothers and me after I brought lice home from my fancy montessori kindergarten in the good ole US of A.

Edit -- Rid is primarily composed of Pyrethrum, if that helps find it in an Indian pharmacy.

kristinm · Dec 7th, 2007, 08:29

Don't get me started - Oh too late you just did. Head lice are a plague here in Sydney..I think anywhere with a vaguely tropical climate is awash with nits, cockroaches and all the other lovely things!.

My son had them almost continually through primary school - there's always one family that doesn't de-louse when the whole school is meant to do it!!!! You will never be nit free for long..

My ten cents worth - put all the chemicals on if you want, personally I think they don't really work. They can only live off the hair for about an hour, so washing the sheets, toys etc is not necessary - really, I know everyone says so, but its not.

The only way I have found to get rid of them is to use a thick gloopy cheap conditioner, fill the hair with it, and then with a metal NOT plastic nit-comb (extremely fine toothed specially for nits) section the hair and painstakingly comb and nit pick while child squirms and squeals - the comb hurts! Wipe the comb on towels, and dip in hot water to clean it. Buy several combs as (and this is GROSS) the nits kind of get wedged in the comb and you can't get them out.

Do EVERYONE in the house at the same time... then change the bedding if you want, or do it the day you change the bedding.

Do it every day (sorry!) for 7 days - that's the life cycle, so you get any that have hatched and you missed. The eggs attach to the hair shaft so you need to use your fingernails to slide them off the hair, and you will always miss a few. Any eggs that are a centimetre or more away from the scalp have already hatched!
If you have boys and its chronic at school - give them a buzz cut, for girls, send them off every day with nice tight plaits!

By the way - the kids love seeing the bowl or towel full of dead lice...

I feel for you - its kind of the ultimate blow when you're struggling with a new life to find your kids hair full of creepy crawlies - and yours too!! (I'm itching just writing about it!).

Be assured though that they do not actually do any harm, apart from the itching... so in the bigger picture of illnesses and so on they are at the bottom end.

I reckon if I went from Sydney to Finland I'd be sick all the time too - I didn't handle the European winters well at all when I lived in London and was constantly sick. You have made a more complete change than say if we went to live in Chennai -its only natural that your systems should be in some kind of shock!!!

Can you manage a weekend or few days in the country or at the beach - out of the city just to give everyone a break. Take the kids out of school and away for a few days - works wonders, and when you're all more cheerful your immune systems will work better...

Massage, spa, long lunches, a weekend away - all as good as a million antibiotics!!!!

troppo · Dec 7th, 2007, 10:09

I agree completely with KristinM's advice.

We live in the tropics, and someone at school always has head lice. I was just thinking we've had a very lice-free year when I found some on my children this week.

I am doing exactly the treatment that Kristin recommends: daily combing with nit comb and cheap, thick conditioner. We don't bother with the chemical treatments. The manual method is time-consuming but more reliable, and the kids don't have foul chemicals on their scalp.

Good luck!

sandytsang · Dec 7th, 2007, 12:16

bad luck for us again that I was 3 hours this morning looking for that shampoo, but seem they don't even know what is head louse or head lice or nits, and of course I didn't find the nit comb. I think I will try to use the tooth comb. And now I am going to clean my house. We will go to finland next friday, I think we will have the treatment in there.

My driver whole family have chickenpox since last Saturday, and he is now at home. I hope we don't get the chickenpox in the Christmas.

I will go one more pharmacy to find that shampoo and nit comb.

Working begin now....Thank you all and I post later...

kristinm · Dec 7th, 2007, 12:56

If you can't find the comb, use the conditioner, section the hair and pick through with your fingers and fingernails.. do it every day until none are left.... you and your partner will have to do eachother! Yuk I know....

sandytsang · Dec 7th, 2007, 13:26

haha....I found the mediker killer shampoo from a store, not from pharmacy. Well, seems this morning I look into the wrong place. I really thought that should sell in the pharmacy, I was so wrong about that.

backpakker · Dec 7th, 2007, 13:39

Hi

Lice is a common problem and as kids we used to get it as well .My cousins and my friends always had it and I used to come home with it too as a kid ..shampoos like mediker, kenz are very useful..you also need a special thin comb that will remove it..the trick is to kill them when they are young..my mother used to diligently comb my hair everyday and pull them out..esplly the eggs..if you have a clean maid at home, she can help out too
Also check the water you use ...This season is one of the best and worst in Chennai ..The second summer changes to winter monsoon and most health hazards come in then.Actually Chennai weather is one of the healthiest and Im sure your kids will soon be alright

take care and am sure all will soon be well

Nick-H · Dec 7th, 2007, 13:41

Odd... my post disapeared! Maybe I put it on some other thread

I asked Mrs N to call our pharmacy shop for you: the stuff I was going to recommend is called PERLICE but they mentioned your stuff too. Definately a pharmacy is the place to go for perlice.

iwanttogoback · Dec 7th, 2007, 17:27

follow kristin's advice, but perhaps do it for 10-12 days. a pain in the butt, but very effective.

basically you are drowning the lice, and as new ones hatch you drown them before they have a chance to lay eggs.

i think that you can do the same with olive oil.

kristinm · Dec 8th, 2007, 05:55

Every time I look at this thread my head starts to itch!

qwan · Dec 9th, 2007, 03:37

with lice you have to be careful about catching it again. Many of use use shampoos which actually poison, but we never clean the pillow covers and mattresses. They can harbour lice. Clean combs and spray some Baygon spray on the beds(especially wooden) after the shampoo.
When we were young we had lice problem, and shampoos were never a permanent solutions. Then once my mom put some kerosene on our heads for 5 minutes and then washed it off then we kept the mattresses pillows in the sun for a whole day. Since then never had a lice problem. It is an extreme solutions but it was recommended as an extreme solution by someone who had success with it. I am not recommending this I think if you take care of the mattresses etc then shampoos would do the trick.

Nick-H · Dec 9th, 2007, 03:42

Yikes! I think the shampoos will do the trick!

But I agree with emphasising the cleaning of towels, pillow cases, sheets etc on the same day

Sandy, how are you getting on?

Dec 7th, 2007, 07:34	#18
Madhu10 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: On the road (at home in San Francisco, Hyderabad and Goa ) Posts: 109	If the kids are going to school..i bet they might be getting this from their classmates. I remember when mom send a note to school saying they should check the hair of my bench mate :-)...did not go too well with my teacher. I had very short hair and my freind..long flowing locks. Those combs work really well. I know here in the US you actually get specific medication for the eggs so if somebody can send you some that might help a lot. Maybe not for immediate use but for the future. Its all about the bacteria that we need in India to beat all the ailments. After 15 years away I get sick every (i mean every) time I went back home. Slowly but surely kids build up their immunity. More than anything sounds like you need a little time for yourself. Once all the kids are well..take a little break ..go to a local spa and take a well deserved time off for yourself. Good luck. __________________ Flickring away.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/80145936@N00/

Dec 7th, 2007, 13:39	#25
backpakker Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 164	Hi Lice is a common problem and as kids we used to get it as well .My cousins and my friends always had it and I used to come home with it too as a kid ..shampoos like mediker, kenz are very useful..you also need a special thin comb that will remove it..the trick is to kill them when they are young..my mother used to diligently comb my hair everyday and pull them out..esplly the eggs..if you have a clean maid at home, she can help out too Also check the water you use ...This season is one of the best and worst in Chennai ..The second summer changes to winter monsoon and most health hazards come in then.Actually Chennai weather is one of the healthiest and Im sure your kids will soon be alright take care and am sure all will soon be well __________________ www.backpakker.blogspot.com

Dec 7th, 2007, 13:41	#26
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 28,426	Odd... my post disapeared! Maybe I put it on some other thread I asked Mrs N to call our pharmacy shop for you: the stuff I was going to recommend is called PERLICE but they mentioned your stuff too. Definately a pharmacy is the place to go for perlice. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

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Dec 7th, 2007, 05:28	#16
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Dhaka Posts: 3,571	I have had head lice in India and they are more of an inconvenience than anything else. At the chemists, they gave me some sort of heavy oil treatment for this ... something I had to comb through my hair and leave on for a couple of hours, then shampoo out. Besides killing the bugs, it was a very good oil treatment for my hair. Ah, but it was many years ago and maybe those chemicals are now banned ... ask the chemist what he recommends.

Dec 7th, 2007, 07:22	#17
capt_mahajan Dis member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 10,875	http://www.tradeindia.com/Exporters_...ce-Killer.html

Dec 7th, 2007, 07:40	#19
the opoponax Maha Guru Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Brooklyn, via New Orleans Posts: 1,052	The American medication is called Rid, and it's supposed to work on the lice themselves as well as the eggs. It also comes with this horrid little comb with extremely fine teeth, for pulling the lice and eggs away from the scalp so they can be thoroughly washed out the first time (they like to hide deep in the roots, on your scalp). If you can't find an Indian equivalent, you might try getting some of this stuff. This is what my mother used on my brothers and me after I brought lice home from my fancy montessori kindergarten in the good ole US of A. Edit -- Rid is primarily composed of Pyrethrum, if that helps find it in an Indian pharmacy.

Dec 7th, 2007, 08:29	#20
kristinm Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Beautiful Bondi (not Bundi!) Posts: 1,547	Don't get me started - Oh too late you just did. Head lice are a plague here in Sydney..I think anywhere with a vaguely tropical climate is awash with nits, cockroaches and all the other lovely things!. My son had them almost continually through primary school - there's always one family that doesn't de-louse when the whole school is meant to do it!!!! You will never be nit free for long.. My ten cents worth - put all the chemicals on if you want, personally I think they don't really work. They can only live off the hair for about an hour, so washing the sheets, toys etc is not necessary - really, I know everyone says so, but its not. The only way I have found to get rid of them is to use a thick gloopy cheap conditioner, fill the hair with it, and then with a metal NOT plastic nit-comb (extremely fine toothed specially for nits) section the hair and painstakingly comb and nit pick while child squirms and squeals - the comb hurts! Wipe the comb on towels, and dip in hot water to clean it. Buy several combs as (and this is GROSS) the nits kind of get wedged in the comb and you can't get them out. Do EVERYONE in the house at the same time... then change the bedding if you want, or do it the day you change the bedding. Do it every day (sorry!) for 7 days - that's the life cycle, so you get any that have hatched and you missed. The eggs attach to the hair shaft so you need to use your fingernails to slide them off the hair, and you will always miss a few. Any eggs that are a centimetre or more away from the scalp have already hatched! If you have boys and its chronic at school - give them a buzz cut, for girls, send them off every day with nice tight plaits! By the way - the kids love seeing the bowl or towel full of dead lice... I feel for you - its kind of the ultimate blow when you're struggling with a new life to find your kids hair full of creepy crawlies - and yours too!! (I'm itching just writing about it!). Be assured though that they do not actually do any harm, apart from the itching... so in the bigger picture of illnesses and so on they are at the bottom end. I reckon if I went from Sydney to Finland I'd be sick all the time too - I didn't handle the European winters well at all when I lived in London and was constantly sick. You have made a more complete change than say if we went to live in Chennai -its only natural that your systems should be in some kind of shock!!! Can you manage a weekend or few days in the country or at the beach - out of the city just to give everyone a break. Take the kids out of school and away for a few days - works wonders, and when you're all more cheerful your immune systems will work better... Massage, spa, long lunches, a weekend away - all as good as a million antibiotics!!!!

Dec 7th, 2007, 10:09	#21
troppo Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 21	I agree completely with KristinM's advice. We live in the tropics, and someone at school always has head lice. I was just thinking we've had a very lice-free year when I found some on my children this week. I am doing exactly the treatment that Kristin recommends: daily combing with nit comb and cheap, thick conditioner. We don't bother with the chemical treatments. The manual method is time-consuming but more reliable, and the kids don't have foul chemicals on their scalp. Good luck!

Dec 7th, 2007, 12:16	#22
sandytsang Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 42	bad luck for us again that I was 3 hours this morning looking for that shampoo, but seem they don't even know what is head louse or head lice or nits, and of course I didn't find the nit comb. I think I will try to use the tooth comb. And now I am going to clean my house. We will go to finland next friday, I think we will have the treatment in there. My driver whole family have chickenpox since last Saturday, and he is now at home. I hope we don't get the chickenpox in the Christmas. I will go one more pharmacy to find that shampoo and nit comb. Working begin now....Thank you all and I post later...

Dec 7th, 2007, 12:56	#23
kristinm Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Beautiful Bondi (not Bundi!) Posts: 1,547	If you can't find the comb, use the conditioner, section the hair and pick through with your fingers and fingernails.. do it every day until none are left.... you and your partner will have to do eachother! Yuk I know....

Dec 7th, 2007, 13:26	#24
sandytsang Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 42	haha....I found the mediker killer shampoo from a store, not from pharmacy. Well, seems this morning I look into the wrong place. I really thought that should sell in the pharmacy, I was so wrong about that.

Dec 7th, 2007, 17:27	#27
iwanttogoback is sorry Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: perth Posts: 1,595	follow kristin's advice, but perhaps do it for 10-12 days. a pain in the butt, but very effective. basically you are drowning the lice, and as new ones hatch you drown them before they have a chance to lay eggs. i think that you can do the same with olive oil.

Dec 8th, 2007, 05:55	#28
kristinm Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Beautiful Bondi (not Bundi!) Posts: 1,547	Every time I look at this thread my head starts to itch!

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Dec 9th, 2007, 03:37	#29
qwan Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Mangalore Posts: 49	with lice you have to be careful about catching it again. Many of use use shampoos which actually poison, but we never clean the pillow covers and mattresses. They can harbour lice. Clean combs and spray some Baygon spray on the beds(especially wooden) after the shampoo. When we were young we had lice problem, and shampoos were never a permanent solutions. Then once my mom put some kerosene on our heads for 5 minutes and then washed it off then we kept the mattresses pillows in the sun for a whole day. Since then never had a lice problem. It is an extreme solutions but it was recommended as an extreme solution by someone who had success with it. I am not recommending this I think if you take care of the mattresses etc then shampoos would do the trick.

Dec 9th, 2007, 03:42	#30
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 28,426	Yikes! I think the shampoos will do the trick! But I agree with emphasising the cleaning of towels, pillow cases, sheets etc on the same day Sandy, how are you getting on?