I don't really want to fill his head with chemicals, is there something else I can use that will kill them? I know that tea tree oil is meant to be good for keeping them away but does it also kill them?

yuck, I feel all crawley!

There was a mix of Tea tree oil, Eucalyptus + others in Australia that was supposed to be good

But cover his head in a layer of hair conditioner GET A NIT COMB and comb very carefully .......wipe the comb after each section on a kleenex ...you should see the nits .do this every day for 2 weeks and they should all be gone

cjd, have no fear - it seems to be the case in the UK at least that most kids have nits (whereas when I was young it was rare).
If your son is not taking homoeopathic remedies, you can use various oils, whichever he prefers - tee tree, eucalyptus as Pat mentions, also rosemary, geranium and lavander.
However, some boys wouldn't enjoy smelling like that, and if he takes homoeopathic remedies, oils can antidote. So if you can get it, use Quassia chips - the bark of a south american tree. You boil it 1oz per pint of water for half an hour, strain and leave to cool. Then use as a final rinse and as a daily spray.
If your son is one of many at his school who has nits then a homoeopathic remedy probably won't help, but if he is the only one, or one of a few then it means he is unusually susceptible to nits and would benefit most by a homoeopathic prescription tailored to his totality of symptoms.

The best remedy I've ever come across and never fails is Staph tincture in the rinse water, daily and Staph 30 once. I don't know why it works, and generally I don't use specifics, but I used this when I was a student homeopath and ever since and it really works.

cjd

Hold it right there, don't panic.

All you really need is conditioner and a nit comb and do as Pat suggested.

I use the oil mix, it does not smell very "girly", more like medicated shampoo. It does not kill the bugs, it acts more as a repellant.

And for your information, the methods we are talking about here are now being recommneded by allopathic health practitioners (including Health Visitor's - in the UK these are specially trained community nurses specialising in child development issues and I usually find mine really helpful) as the insecticidal shampoos are rapidly becomming ineffective .

And even if they were not, would you want to cover your head in organophosphates?

Janyce

Thanks Janyce for the vote of confidence

Not long dealt with nits outbreak on both 5 yr old grandaughters

Conditioner plus comb works

Interested in this Staph remedy though >>>>sounds great

I popped into the pharmacy this morning and they gave me a staph tincture to put in his hair. a few drops every second day for a week. I also did the nit comb thing, (which came with a tiny magnifying glass so i had to catch one for a full microscopic examination!! I feel a bit like a mother chimp!

we are obviously on the same wavelenght here on the other side of the world! (NZ)

I still feel crawley though!!! they are revolting creatures really!

p.s. How do I do those cool faces Janyce?

Since Staph can sometimes help people who always get lots of mosquito bites as a preventative ( I know, you shouldn't use homeopathy like this) I can understand how it can work on the lice. Again it would only work on susceptable people.

The conditioner and comb thing is the best with lavender in the rinse water as a preventative to reinfection as the lice don't like the smell!!

Ok, go to post reply

Get into the reply window and look to the left . There you will see Smilies Legend on the left hand side at the bottom .

Click on it, and then just follow the instructions .

And if they don't come out quite right, as you will only see them once you have posted , you just go back and edit

Janyce

But it won't let you include more than 8 in any one post.