Prioderm - Nit Killer!! (Prioderm Lotion)

Member Name: Dulcie

Product:	Prioderm Lotion
Date:	08/02/01 (1923 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works first time

Disadvantages: Absolutely stinks

When my daughter brought some uninvited guests home from school with her last year I was horrified. Although I knew there was a headlice epidemic I still couldn’t believe it had happened to my little girl.

Our first port of call was the local chemist, who sold us some “Lyclear” shampoo. We had to shampoo it into her hair (didn’t smell unpleasant), leave it for 20 minutes, then wash it out. This product was supposed to kill the lice and their eggs in one foul swoop so I assumed it had done the trick. You can imagine my horror when a week later I realised she still had the little blighters!

I spoke to my sister in law (a teacher), who said that because lice were getting immune to all the lotions on the market, the only sure way to get rid of them was by wet-combing. So, armed with tea-tree oil conditioner and nit comb I went through her hair on a daily basis for several weeks. Every time we thought we were rid of them however, new ones must have hatched out in their place. My main problem wasn’t actually getting rid of the lice, but the eggs.

In the end we went back to the chemist, who, after realising he couldn’t flog us any more Lyclear (believe me he tried), suggested we try Prioderm (active ingredient Malathion). He said that if that didn’t work, we would have to see the GP.

The Prioderm lotion did the job. One bottle holds enough for four applications (luckily she was the only one infected so we still have half a bottle left) and it cost £6.28. It has to be applied to dry hair and after 2 hours all live lice are killed. However, to ensure all eggs are killed, the lotion should be left on for a further 8-10 hours. (I put a swim hat on my daughter’s head and left it overnight).

A warning here – this stuff absolutely stinks. My daughter sobbed her heart out while I applied it – I was having trouble breathing myself and my eyes were streaming. Ensure
all windows are open as adequate ventilation is a must. As my husband is asthmatic (the product can cause wheezing) and we had a newborn baby unfortunately my daughter had to stay in her bedroom while the lotion was on.

The following morning we washed it out, nitcombed it through and we haven’t seen another one since. As suggested by the pharmacist, we repeated the procedure a week later just to make sure we were clear.

So in conclusion, this product is ideal if you’re at your wit’s end and you’ve tried everything else bar shaving the kid’s hair off!

Summary: