Nits (head lice) how common in UK schools

I hate to ask this, it really makes my DH very sensitive but with many things with being a new stepmom I rather ask on the web than upset my family. My DH's wee ones have had nits from what I can remember at least 5-10 times each school year.  Its seems too often  when he sees them or picks them up their mom mentions they have nits or my DH notices that they have treatment in their hair. I hate asking him about it but this just seems weird and way too often, we are also getting really upset about them getting picked on but their mom just says that its going around their school again.

Does this sound like its happening a bit too often or is it just more common that kids get nits in some schools in the UK. Honestly I could be barking up the wrong tree on this one.

Touch wood, but I've had children (two girls) in nursery or school for the past 3 years and no one's had nits or lice.

A total of 3 nurseries and schools, 1 in Edinburgh and the rest here.

I've heard of it being a common occurence, though.

Have you tried a Nitty Gritty comb? 

Plop cheap conditioner on their heads every other day and comb with the Nitty Gritty comb.  Then rinse.

Or BizNiz for a treatment rather than Hedrin or FullMarks or the like.

Also, if the children have long hair, it's probably best to wear it up for school.

I have no idea, but my head immediately became itchy upon reading the title of this thread, lol  

Nit are common in schools.  Some kids are more prone to getting them than others too.  In my experience the only way to keep them at bay is to do the nit-combing really well and thoroughly every day until you see no sign of nits at all.  I don't have much faith in chemical treatments.

It's pretty common in schools - I've had several customers at work lately asking for new treatment advice because their kids have caught it several times from other kids at school. It seems to be that although letters are often sent home to parents about nits, not all parents are actually treating their children, so the infestation keeps going around the kids again and again! I've had a few parents say they've treated their kids 4 or 5 times, but the lice keep coming back (presumably because other kids in the class haven't been treated)!

You can usually get the Nitty Gritty comb on prescription, too (or they are readily available in Boots and large Tescos for about a tenner).

Any ol' cheap conditioner will work, but a lot of my mates use one with tea tree oil in it.

Nitty Gritty also makes a spray that's supposed to repel them.  Maybe after you get rid of the critters get the children into the habit of spraying it on their hair before going to school (I know, I know, another thing to do before getting the herd out the door, but it might work).

Or maybe use tea tree shampoo on them? Apparently that repels nits as well.

Lavender oil is good to repel them also, but to really get rid of them it takes lots of fine-tooth combing and vigilant cleaning, which is tough to do if they keep getting reinfected.

I can't believe lice are this common in the UK!  In my experience in the US and Germany a school was usually never infected more than once a year, and when they were they took drastic steps to get rid of them.  In Germany they sent all the children's extra clothes and bags from their lockers home to be washed, and in the US they did daily checks of the kids and sent home any that had lice or nits.

To the OP, if they are continually infested, you might want to check their bedding & such as I doubt that they could 'pick it up at school' that frequently.

To the OP, if they are continually infested, you might want to check their bedding & such as I doubt that they could 'pick it up at school' that frequently.

Yes, or possibly not all the nits had been combed out, so the remaining ones hatched and it all began again.

And you could also call the school to ask if they currently have an infestation.

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I am suddenly very very nervous about the fun my husband is going to have de-nitting MY hair (and me his; we both have rather long hair) once our little one(s) is/are old enough to be in school.  Even when my hair was &#039;short&#039; back in high school (it's a bit longer now), if someone within a freaking mile radius of me got it, I got it too.  Excuse me while I go have a nervous breakdown in the corner. ><

I can't believe lice are this common in the UK!  In my experience in the US and Germany a school was usually never infected more than once a year, and when they were they took drastic steps to get rid of them. 

According to some head lice info I found online, there are between 6 and 12 million head lice infestations in US children aged 3-11 each year (http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/factsheet.html). In Germany, there are only about 1 million infestations (all ages) each year (http://www.topnews.in/health/head-lice-remedy-should-be-repeated-soon-after-first-treatment-24854). In comparison, approximately 3 million UK people (all ages) get head lice each year (http://www.headlice.co.uk/about/about.aspx).

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I am suddenly very very nervous about the fun my husband is going to have de-nitting MY hair (and me his; we both have rather long hair) once our little one(s) is/are old enough to be in school.  Even when my hair was &#039;short&#039; back in high school (it's a bit longer now), if someone within a freaking mile radius of me got it, I got it too.  Excuse me while I go have a nervous breakdown in the corner. ><

I completely empathise with you. When I was 7, a girl in my class had headlice. The school wasn't notified until after she had infected myself and 2 other girls. I had long blonde hair that went all the way past my waist. I was kept out of school for 3 weeks, and my hair had to be cut off so short that I was mistaken for a boy, and it has been determined that the psychological shock caused my hair to go from blonde to dark brown overnight. It was a traumatizing experience that no child should ever have to go through.

It makes me wonder why lice is so much more common here than in the US, or does it just seem that way?

That's terrible!  My mother never chopped my hair off, for which I'm grateful - it refused to grow past my shoulders until I was 13 or so anyways. ><