Head lice

[lulu]

Can adults get head lice?

Jack has long hair and I have had to do his hair tonight as he has been scratching. Found headlice which he has had once before - he must be getting it from the soft play he goes to as he doesn't go to nursery and he seems to get it whenever he goes there.

His hair is washed every night and I have recently been putting conditioner on it as the lice don't like conditioner apparently.

I did mine last time and didn't find any, gonna do it tonight - more for peace of mind really, someone just said adults cant get it so wondered if it was true.

I use tons of hairspray so cant see how they would attach to my hair!!!

 

[nickilubs]

I would of thought they could, cant see much of a difference between kids and adult hair.

 

[Sherlock]

Lice tend to like clean hair without styling products. Children tend to get them as they often have heads close together so live transfer.

Tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner is very unappealing to head lice. As is tea tree oil itself. If you google 'tea tree oil, headlice' you should find lots of info on it. I've used it lots in the past and found it really good at deterring them. I don't think most of the over the counter washes are any good. The last decent one I bought was in the US and is not sold over here.

Longer hair tends to be inviting as they have more to hide in and lay eggs.

 

[mary70]

yes hun they can most of the teachers where i used to work had them a few times

 

[lulu]

ooh, aren't they horrible!!!

We bought a metal come to do Jacks hair which was about a tenner and supposed to be 100% effective. Mainly because the shampoos are so expensive and I couldn't use it being pregnant anyway!

Can you use tea tree during pregnancy?

 

[mary70]

i have just bought tea tree headlice deterant shampoo and spray from morrisons its brill

 

[Gemma & Jake]

Adults can get head lice. The best thing to do is either buy a headlice treatment OR wet your hair, put loads of conditioner on and then brush all of the lice out over the bath with a nit comb(with conditioner still in). You might need to repeat for a few days if you use conditioner to make sure you have gotten rid of lice and eggs.

 

[lulu]

Yes, this is what I have done with Jacks hair (conditioner and nit comb) as I didn't really want to buy the chemical stuff just for jack as I cant use it being pg.

Tea tree sounds good if you can use it whilst pregnant.

 

[EllieG]

As the others have said, adults definately can get head lice, so can people with clean/ dirty hair, curly/straight! I was a school nurse and the only treatment we used to advocate is conditioner and combing, I think its best to do it every 2 days to catch the lice as they hatch, you should do it for 10 days, then its good to wet comb once a week. Try these combs, they are fab, the only thing you will need to buy to eliminate headlice, apart from conditioner http://www.chc.org/products_kit.cfm . Its really important to treat the whole family too, otherwise it will go round in circles!

 

[jue]

Poor you, I know how you feel, my dd used to get them regular, and yes adults can get them, I am living proof, having caught them off my dd

I would never use any of the chemical products, they dont work especially that mouse one that you only leave in for 10mins, (sorry cant remember the name) I have also used the tea tree oil spray...she still got them `

Best method is the conditioner/nit comb one, I would comb through every night for a week or so then every other night till they are gone. I also washed all of her bed clothes on a hot wash and steam cleaned her matteress. Supposedly they cant live for long off the human head, but I wasnt taking any chances.

I have started putting my daughters hair up in a plait every day, and luckily she has not had any this school year

Good luck

 

[weenik]

My niece had them last week - there's lots in the nursery just now. I went to the chemist and they gave us combs - they don't give out the solution stuff in the first instance any more because it only kills the live ones, and not the eggs. We were told to comb through with loads of conditioner (they can't move around in wet hair) - we done it twice and it seems to have worked x

 

[Geordie&Bairn]

yes adults can get head lice
though ive been very lucky and never caught it from the kids at work.
i keep my air up at all times.
hopem youve managed to find the right product to said you with lice busting.
sarah

 

[JoAnn&Aimee]

YES! I got head lice when I was 21 because my friends little sister had them. They got passed onto the family and then me! It was horrible. It didn't help that her boyfriend at the time, who lived with them, was a minger who refused to get his treated so I got it a grand total of 3 times before I stopped going to the house.

 

[Happybunny]

I got them in my first ever teaching post! There was a major class epidemic and I still managed to get it with my hair meticulously tied up! Conditioner and combing got rid of it. Luckily I was only there two terms!!!