Editorial: Please don't ignore the nits

Nits - the mere mention of the horrid little critters that plague our kiddies is enough to make you scratch your head.

But what's making me scratch mine is the slackness of Rotorua parents who do nothing to prevent their children from having them.

In yesterday's newspaper we revealed the dangerous methods parents were resorting to to rid their children from persistent headlice. At least four parents spoken to by the Rotorua Daily Post revealed in confidence they had treated their children's headlice with animal flea products.

Experts say such products are extremely dangerous and shouldn't be used on humans. A vet store confirmed they had inquiries from parents wanting to buy animal products for their children but were strictly told they were not suitable.

A parent spoken to by our reporter said she never imagined she would use such a harmful product on her daughter's hair but was left at her wit's end after parents weren't treating their children. This meant her daughter was re-infested weekly.

She also knew of parents who didn't bother treating their children and just left them to live with the nit problem.

While I don't condone the drastic measures these parents are taking with pet products, the problem starts with lazy parents who are refusing to do what is right for their kids and others.

As Pharmacy 44 pharmacist Ian Edward pointed out, people needed to remember there was more to tackling the problem of a lice infestation than simply spraying or using headlice shampoo. The eggs need to be eliminated and combing the hair strand by strand is a crucial element.

Sure, it's time consuming but come on parents, how would you feel if your head was crawling with lice?