WHILE most parents will be jumping for joy as their kids go back to school next month, there is one thing they dread, nits.
The pesky little critters seem to make a comeback every time the kids head to school, and it can be a nightmare if you have other children in the house.
Kelly Court has been a professional nit nurse for three years[/caption]
Fortunately, a professional nit nurse has exclusively spoken to Fabulous on how to prevent an infestation and what to do if your kid does end up with them.
Kelly Court, 44, from Essex, says she’s always been grossly fascinated by the critters, even getting excited when her kids got them.
“I always loved doing it. I used to get a bit excited,” she said.
So when she saw a job to become a nit nurse on Facebook, she jumped at the opportunity.
After a year, she began working for herself, and now runs Nit Nurse, where she sees around 15 clients a week, either visiting clients in their homes or in her outhouse turned clinic.
Kelly also shares some of the cases on social media (@nitnurse), with one of the worst infestations taking her 20 hours to comb out.
In one clip, the girl’s brunette hair can be seen covered in headlice eggs and nits which Kelly meticulously combed out, she says this one took her eight hours to go through.
While the nit nurse admits it takes years to get to that point, nits are obviously a common issues, especially with children.
Contrary to popular belief, lice and nits have nothing to do with cleanliness or having dirty hair.
Head lice are the tan coloured creatures you might see running around their scalp, while nits are the white oval-shaped eggs they hatch.
Kelly said there were two main times infestations happen, coming back to school and during summer holidays.
“It’s usually after a holiday, because obviously they’ve been mingling with friends and going to stay with family,” she explains. “It’s been really busy through August.
“You can’t stop your kids from mingling, and at school, it’s a no-brainer, it’s going to happen.”
But to help prevent it as much as possible, Kelly has three tips to keep them at bay.
TIED UP
The nit nurse first recommends having your kids have their hair up while at school, and tightly.
This limits the head lice from being able to spread from head to head.
Kelly also recommends that for girls with long hair, it should be braided or put in a bun.
HEADS UP
If you can, try to get your children to avoid close contact with other children to prevent the spread.
If it’s not possible, (which is likely with kids), Kelly suggests sitting down once a week to check for any lice or eggs on the scalp.
EXTRA HELP WITH SCHOOL UNIFORM COSTS
IF you can’t get targeted help from your council, you might have some other options available to you.
In some areas, you can talk directly to your school, which might be able to offer you clothing.
Or, you might be able to get cheap garments from low-budget shops or charity stores.
Some charities offer help to families in need too.
But bear in mind charities often have a limited amount of money to give and usually have specific criteria which must be met in order to get a grant.
Charity Turn2Us has a free grants search tool on its website which you can use to find out what help is available to you.
Meanwhile, you can always try approaching your nearest Citizens’ Advice branch.
If you don’t know where your nearest Citizens’ Advice branch is, you can find out by visiting www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/nearby/.
If you’re not eligible for a school uniform grant you might be able to get help through the Household Support Fund.
WASHED UP
If you have a child that does have head lice, Kelly recommends washing all hair-related products to ensure they don’t spread.
“Clean out all hairbrushes and combs, make sure there’s nothing in the hairbrushes,” she says.
“When it’s a really, really severe case, then yes, they’re going to be on the bedding, but for just a normal case, you don’t need to wash bedding.”
BUG OFF
Kelly, who has been a professional head lice remover for over three years, knows the best way to get rid of them.
She recommends using a nit comb to brush through the hair, getting rid of both the insects and the eggs.
For Kelly, she swears by the NitNOT solution which costs £16 from Tesco and comes with a comb to go through the hair.
The product stops the lice from releasing its bodily fluids, causing almost instant death and preventing the eggs from developing and is 100% chemical free.
COMB THROUGH IT
- Saturate the hair with NitNOT ECO Head Lice, Egg & Nit Serum.
- Start at the nape of the neck, and choose which side of the head to start with (left or right) and take a horizontal section about 1 to 2cms deep.
- Clip the hair above the section securely, so you can focus on the hair you’re working on.
- Starting from one side of the section, hold a manageable amount of hair at 90 degrees to the scalp.
- Use the headlice comb as close to the scalp as possible and move the comb down from the base of the hair to the tip and off the end.
- When the stroke is complete, wipe any lice and eggs on a tissue.
- Repeat these steps on the same piece of hair until the comb has been clear for at least three strokes.
- When the hair you are combing is clear, select a new horizontal section of hair to work on, making sure you have a portion of overlap with the area you have just combed.
- Repeat until all of the scalp has been covered.