Nits

Getting rid of Nits and Lice in Childrens hair

This is a real problem for most of us as parents at one time or another!  Some years ago, my youngest daughter and my grand-daughter battled with nits consistently over a three-year period.  This was driving us mad!  The girls were missing school because of a lice infestation on a regular basis.  The cost of the treatments was adding up and the routine of washing everything was just taking its toll on us.

We tried every treatment on the market!  Every time my daughter would come home from school, we went through the same process;

1. Wash all the clothes she was wearing;
2. Strip ALL the beds in the house and wash all the sheets;
3. Everyone’s pyjama’s had to be washed and everything vacuumed;
4. Then the applying the hair treatment to everyone in the family – errrr!

Many of the pharmacy products were highly chemical based and after constant use, became ineffective.  Worse than that, many of the products would sting delicate young heads already sore and bleeding from weeks of scratching.  Meaning lots of crying during the process.

Meanwhile, my eldest daughter, Alli who was studying Beauty Therapy in Queensland and became fed up with the same problem, with her own daughter constantly getting nits at school.  Everytime we would go from one state to the other to visit each other, one child would end up giving nits to the other and the process would start again.  We were so good at the nit action that we all worked together washing and vacuuming without even organising each other.

So after trying every treatment we could find and being at the end of the road, Alli decided that a whole new approach was needed and mixed up a blend of essential oils for us to try.  Well, first time we used this mixture it worked!  The nits were gone!  Of course over  a period with children at school they come back again, and again we would mix up the stuff according to Alli’s formula and each time it would work.

Many of Alli’s friends also asked her to mix up some “Nit Stuff” and it always worked.  So early in 2010, Alli decided to make her nit stuff into a product and now we sell “Alli’s Nit Stuff” and Alli’s Nit Shampoo’s and Conditioners online at our In the Bush at the Beach online store.  The Nit Stuff is an initial Super Treatment made from a unique combination of natural ingredients, including 100% pure essential oils.  Alli has specifically blended and perfected the formula over the years to make sure it is a workable yet gentle solution to long-term nit problems.

So this is what worked for us to get rid of them;

CLEAN EVERYTHING

1. Clean and wash everything from pyjama’s to all sheets;
2. Vacuüm everything including the bed mattresses – on all beds for all the family;
3. Make sure you clean children’s school hats as this is a great breeding ground for nits;
4. Wash all towels and once you have used a towel for the treatment and shampoo, put it straight into the washing machine;
5. Use a small amount (maybe half to one capful) of Eucalyptus Oil in your washing machine with the linen and clothes;
6. Throughly wash out the bath if you have treated children in there and remember that nits can crawl and can survive the water so there may be live ones about in the bathroom you need to deal with;
7. Check with a natrapath or doctor to see if your child needs added vitamins during this process – long-term nit infestations can make children feel sick and lethargic so they might need a boost for best results;

TREATING AND WASHING THE HAIR

1. You will need to do everyone’s hair – one after another so make sure you have enough treatment to go around;
2. If you are using a natural product like Alli’s Nit Stuff, then put the treatment straight onto dry hair, no need to wash it first;
3. When you have throughly covered the hair, comb through with a nit comb;
4. Wrap the hair in plastic film tightly and leave on for as long as you can – I found for bad infestations to leave it on for about 4 hours, but 30 minutes ifs fine.  I would wrap another small towel or warm hat on the child if it was a cold day so that they didn’t feel too cold while they were waiting;
5. Before you wash it out – comb again using the nit comb;
6. Wash out the treatment with a Nit Shampoo and Condition
7. Nit comb again to be sure
8. Dry the hair

You will still need to use the nit comb every morning for up to 2 weeks to get rid of any dead nits but you will find that this process works well and has the benefit of being gentle on your child’s hair leaving it really smooth and silky so that it is easier to comb through.  Nothing worse than knots!!

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT NITS AND LICE

Nits are the eggs of head lice and when they hatch they turn into lice that crawl around and make you scratch your head.  You should try to get all the live lice out of the hair and as many of the nit eggs as possible as it is the little brown to white nit eggs that can hatch even after you have treated the hair!

Anyone can get lice and it they tend to like blonde/brown clean hair so it is just a fallacy to think that only dirty children get lice – everyone can get them.

They can crawl so don’t just think that they can be passed from two heads touching – oh no!  They can crawl from your shirt collar all the way down your arm and then onto someone else’s clothing so you need to act fast to get rid of them.

We used a follow-up Nit Shampoo and Conditioner, like Alli’s Stuff and my grand-daughter has managed to stay nit free surrounded by nit effected children at her school by replacing a daily shampoo with Alli’s Nit Shampoo and Conditioner.  This has the same nit formula except in a SLS and Paraben free shampoo base and is safe enough to use everyday.

Buy Alli’s Stuff Nit Super Treatment and Shampoo’s online

MORE REFERENCES

Head Lice Facts

Better Health Channel – Head Lice Treatment