Thorough combing for treating head lice
February 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Thorough nit combing as a means to eliminate head lice is rapidly becoming the nit treatment method of choice for many parents as the persistance of head louse infestation in some schools is making it an unpleasant prospect using chemicals on childrens’ head in the medium to long term.
Pesticides are all toxic to some extent and can eventually lead to head lice becoming resistant to them.
Other treatments for head lice have uncertain safety or efficiacy records (as discussed in earlier posts) and some, such as flammable treatments, are downright dangerous!
For all of the above reasons, many pharmacists are recommending using a high quality nit comb such as LiceMeister and Nitty Gritty combs which have the capacity to remove unhatched eggs, nits, nymphs and live lice from the scalp. Combs such as these top of the range nit combs make nit combing an easy job.
I remember the first time that I used the NittyGritty comb on my daughter’s hair. I had carried out what I thought was an effective nit combing with a cheap metal nit comb one day previously and believed myself to have done a thorough job. Two days later I pulled out over 100 nymphs, 13 more adult lice and a terrifying amount of nits and eggs. A high quality nit comb is a must if your child is being contaminated with head lice. With a bit of conditioner and a thorough nit combing of the hair every two days, an head louse infestation can be completely cleared up within a maximum of 2 weeks without any toxic chemicals going onto your child. They will then stay clear of head lice provided they are not in continued contact with someone who has lice. For this reason, it is wise to check the whole family’s scalps for lice when you first suspect an outbreak.
Hair removal as a means of controlling head lice
December 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Even if desperate to control persistant head lice infestation, parents are advised to avoid the temptation to shave their child’s head.
Whilst hair removal as a means of controlling head louse infestation will be effective (by removing any hair shaft for lice to lay eggs on), it will increase the risk of the child being teased or even bullied because of their different appearance.
What are pseudonits?
December 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment
When determining whether you or your child really do have a head louse infestation, it is important to realise that there are some things that may be in the hair that resemble nits but are, in fact, something completely different and usually harmless. These things are sometimes known as pseudonits and can cause diagnostic confusion. When in doubt get a medical professional or pharmacist to give an accurate diagnosis so as to avoid unnecessary treatment.
Examples of “pseudonits”
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dandruff scales may give the impression of the hair being peppered with nits.
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dirt
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hair grooming aids can leave specks on the hair resembling nits.
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pollen may present as small white flecks resembling nits at a quick glance.
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hair spray flakes
As a general rule, if the item can easily be flicked away from the hair it will not be a nit (as a nit will be glued to the hair shaft and take more effort to remove).
Where do head lice come from?
November 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Head lice have been around from time immemorial. There are nit combs to be found in museums that date back to the 1600s….even royalty in those days suffered with lice….if it makes you feel any better! If you have a problem with lice at the moment, you need to know that they can affect anyone of any walk of life regardless of personal hygiene standards.
I have never had lice before…now my entire family has them. Where do head lice come from?
Basically head lice come from head to head contact with others…which explains their prevalence amongst younger children (up to the age of 12 and especially girls with long hair) as children of this age are more likely to share toys and work in closer proximity in the classroom. They literally walk from one head to another as head lice do not have wings.
If your child has come home with little visitors you can consider the head lice have probably come from another child working close to them, playing with them or sharing hats, scarves etc. Lice do not live for long away from the scalp. However, you shouldn’t be complacent about this.
The most common way for lice to be passed around the family is by sharing hair brushes in quick succession or enjoying a cuddle with your child. If you know that someone in your family has lice, it is best to avoid sharing hairbrushes, towels scarves, hats and head to head cuddles until the problem has cleared. If your child has a head lice infestation, it is best to check the whole family for lice as they may have spread already.
If you have had a nasty shock with your child coming home with head lice, you need a quick and easy solution that is not going to cost a fortune (like over the counter head louse remedies). Head Lice No More represents just that solution. With household items going into the preparation, you can download this cheap ebook and be on your way to conquering this problem this evening. Once you know you have the little critters in the house you need to get rid of them fast before there is a head louse infestation.
Head lice life cycle
November 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Potential multiplication of one breeding pair of head lice
Stage 1 of Head Lice Life Cyle – Laying louse eggs to newly hatched nymphs
When a female head louse has been fertilised by a male head louse, she will lay a number of eggs. Each of these will be glued firmly to the base of the hair shaft where there are two benefits for her to successfully breed:
- the head louse egg will derive warmth from the scalp which created an ideal environment for the head louse to develop in the egg; and
- there will be an instant source of food for the newly hatched nymph from the scalp.
The eggs take approximately 7 days to hatch and newly hatched head louse is called a nymph in its infancy. The empty egg shell remains glued to the hair shaft and will grow out with the hair unless removed.
Stage 2 of Head Lice Life Cycle – Newly hatched nymph matures into adult head louse.
The newly hatched nymph has three developmental stages or growth. As they have a hard shell, this will be moulted three times during this phase (which lasts 10 days).
After only 10 days the nymph has become an adult head louse capable of reproducing in its own right. This is why head louse treatments need to be repeated to catch lice before they become sexually active.
Stage 3 of Head Lice Life Cycle – Life expectancy of a head louse
Head lice only have a life expectancy of a maximum of 30 days. During this time their efforts are focused upon reproduction and feeding from the scalp. Generally speaking, a female head louse can produce 5 – 10 eggs per day. This may reduce as she gets older.
As the illustration above shown, the potential of the briskness of the head lice life cycle to serious infest a scalp in a short space of time is spectacular. However, not all of these hatched nymphs will survive.
Apart from dying anyway at the end of this approximately 30 day life, combing, brushing, styling and straightening hair will kill some of them off….or at least harm them significantly. Some will also travel to other poor victims’ scalps reducing the burdon on the initial carrier.
However, you cannot rely upon all of the above to completely rid yourself of lice….some form of head louse treatment or removal of the lice and eggs will be necessary to avoid a head louse infestation.
What does head lice look like?
November 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
How do I identify head lice?
Head lice are small flat insects approximately the size of a grain of basmati rice (2 – 4 mm long) when fully grown. They do not have wings and are therefore crawling insects that can only be caught through head to head contact. They can not fly.
As shown in the banner picture for this site, they have six legs. The front two legs have strong claws allowing the head louse to grip to the hair follicle or the scalp whilst feeding or procreating.
Are head lice easy to spot?
Head lice have a useful ability (for them) of changing colour to blend with the hair colour of their host. For this reason, when considering “What does head lice look like?”, you need to be prepared for the colour of these insects to range from almost translucent (when on blonde hair) right through to almost black (on dark hair). When my family has had lice I have seen all manner of shades by the time I have checked everyone’s scalps. Delightful!
The tickling sensation of lice moving on the scalp if often experienced most intensely on the crown of the head, behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. With a serious head louse infestation, you will be able to detect movement on the head without even going close. With a small number of lice a bit more detective work is needed.
Newly hatched lice usually appear as almost black and start life about the size of a pin head.
Using good lighting, move slowly over the scalp separating hairs. By looking closely at the scalp you may strike lucky and spot a moving head louse. The more effective way to catch them is to check the head with a nit comb and some hair conditioner or by spotting eggs or nits (empty cases of hatched head lice).
What other visual clues might identify head lice?
The growing louse eggs look like tiny white / brown ovals. These will be glued firmly to the hair right next to the scalp so that the newly hatched louse can start feeding straight away. If you see white dots (in severe cases like little grains of sand on the hair – but particularly under the hair near the ears or the nape of the neck) these indicate newly hatched lice. However, if nits are more than a quarter of an inch away from the scalp then that will identify head lice that hatched some time ago.
What is a “nitwit” and what does it have to do with head louse treatment?
October 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The 1944 Education Act made a significant provision to deal with the issue of head louse infestation in U.K. schools. Under the Act it became illegal for the parent of any child infected with head lice to attend school. The intention of this provision of the Act was to prevent cross-contamination of lice to other children at the school and provide the opportunity for parents to treat their child’s head lice before returning them to school.
The effects of this policy on head lice elimination and education
Whilst this policy to contain outbreaks of head lice infestation were effective for many, there were problems for those who, for whatever reason, struggled to eliminate head lice from their child’s head. For those who were repeatedly infected with head lice, so much schooling was missed that it had an adverse impact upon their education. This is how the derisory terms “nits” and “nitwits” started to be used to describe people who were suffering from missing education and later, to describe people behaving in an unintelligent way.
The U.K. policy on head lice now
Current belief is that children should not be excluded from school solely because they have head lice. This is known to be detrimental to their education and, for persistently affected children, this would leave them with major disadvantages educationally.
However, the cost of this to others at school is that for those parents who do not adequately clear their childrens’ head of lice, other children in their class will be subjected to repeated head louse infestation. This, in its own way, has a social cost for everyone involved that will be discussed in a later post. Please subscribe to Freedom From Head Lice’s RSS Feed to keep up to date with the discussion about U.K. head louse policy that will be starting soon on this site.
In the meantime, we would be grateful for any contributions discussing the State guidlines for dealing with head lice infestation in other countries around the world so as to increase awareness for everyone affected by the misery of head lice.
Symptoms of Head Louse Infestation
October 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Principle symptoms of head louse infestation
1) An itchy scalp may not mean that you have head lice
Although the thought of being contaminated by head lice is enough to send any of us into a frenzy of self-conscious scalp scratching, having an itchy scalp is not a symptom of head louse infestation that everyone experiences. Usually the symptom of an itchy scalp means that a sensitivity to head louse saliva has been developed and it often takes up to three months for the number of lice on the scalp to multipy to a level where sensitivity occurs.
2) Visual clues of head louse infestation
The most likely clues will visual ones that you or your child has head lice. For example:
- Head scratching due to “tickly sensations” as opposed to an itchy scalp may indicate the presence of lice.
- Small black spots left on the pillow case may be head lice that have dropped off the scalp.
- The empty eggshell of the louse (known as the nit) may become obvious on stands of hair near to the scalp. This indicates head louse infection has occurred. The further down the hair the nits are found, the longer the infestation has been going on (unless they are old unremoved nits from a previous infestation that have not been removed).
I am suspicious that my children have head lice. How can I be certain there are lice on their scalps?
Detection combing is the most reliable way to confirm a true case of head lice infestation before deciding to treat your child. Your pharmacist will be able to supply you with a plastic or a metal head lice detection comb that you can use to check your childrens’ scalps with.
Welcome to Freedom from Head Lice
September 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Welcome to Freedom From Head Lice.
This site is here to serve parents and children who are experiencing the misery of head louse infestation, sometimes referred to as nits.
Over the coming weeks a database of information on how head lice are contracted, how they infected scalps can be treated (both naturally and / or using medications) and how to avoid future head louse infestation will be explored.
This site will also review the wide range of remedies available for lice and explore ways in which louse contamination issues can be dealt with in schools.
