Health – Ninety nits

While ‘90 Nits’ may sound like the title for a horror movie, it stems from a close encounter of the ‘nitty’ kind that we experienced at Christmas. Just reading this column will make your hair itch and your scalp crawl!

Unbeknown to my wife and I, our long haired four-year-old daughter had caught nits (head lice) and by the time we found out, she was heavily infested. I suggested that a quick trim with the hair clippers would help immensely, but I had three generations of females giving me looks of death. This made me re-consider what would be the best approach. After nights of hours spent literally ‘nit-picking’, we seemed to be getting no-where other than frustrated. We decided not to use chemical products or ‘front line’ flea control, contrary to popular suggestion. So the search for a better solution began.

I won’t bore you with the details, but I will explain that what we found to be the most useful was the oil and vinegar treatment. Here’s the recipe: A mixed solution of about six tablespoons of olive oil and six drops of pure tea-tree oil massaged through the hair and scalp so that all hair is covered. This is left for 30-60 minutes.

The nits hate the oil (tea-tree oil is a natural insecticide) and come crawling to the surface. On the first application, we gathered 90 nits (hence the title)! As you remove the nits, make sure you kill them. This can be achieved by squeezing them between a finger and thumb nail (they will explode) or drop them in hot water for the more faint-hearted. A towel around the neck of the person helps to catch any stray nits that fall out of the hair.

The next step is to kill the eggs and this is the job of the vinegar. Again, it is crucial to cover the whole scalp and hair so a good dousing is needed with longer hair. The vinegar also helps to remove the sticky stuff that keeps the eggs stuck to the hair so this is the time to start removing the eggs. This can be done between nail tips or with a nit comb. With both the oil and vinegar, avoid any contact with eyes or skin abrasions/lesions as it will sting. Trust me, you don’t want a child running around the house screaming and nits going everywhere! You may not remove all the eggs in one go and will often need to spend a few evenings of egg removal.

The most crucial step is to keep checking. Even when you are sure you have removed all eggs and there are no more signs of nits, it is recommended that you check the hair weekly in case anything was missed or there is future exposure. Prevention is always easier than treatment and the shorter the hair is the easier things are to manage. Ok … you can stop scratching now!