Visual checking for head lice
December 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment
If you are unable to check for head lice using the combing method or lack confidence in doing the nit combing for the first time, your pharmacist may be able to help. However, a visual detection process is never as effective as nit combing.
Your pharmacist should still use protective gloves and examine the scalp under strong light using a magnifying glass, if needed. This method is less effective than combing as if there are only one or two lice present they may be missed. Only more obvious head lice infestations will be detected this way.
Your pharmacist will be looking for live lice and nits as part of their evidence of head lice infestation. It is hard to discern visually whether a nit is an incubating nymph or an old egg cast. However, viable eggs are laid close to the scalp so that the nymph can feed straight away. Any egg casts (nits) more than 1 inch away from the scalp are signs of an old infestation. Eggs not laid near to the scalp are unlikely to hatch as they will not derive enough heat to incubate without heat from the scalp (the only exception to this being warm climates). In winter, viable eggs would only be laid near the scalp. During a hot summer there may be viable eggs further along the hair shaft.
How a nit looks is another clue to whether it is viable or not. Empty egg cases tend to appear much whiter and dull also lacking transparency. A viable nit that has an unhatched of dead nymph in it will appear darker and more translucent. Visual examination makes this quite difficult to discern. Often examination under a microscope is the best way to be sure.
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”
-
dandruff scales may give the impression of the hair being peppered with nits.
-
dirt
-
hair grooming aids can leave specks on the hair resembling nits.
-
pollen may present as small white flecks resembling nits at a quick glance.
-
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).
What do nits look like?
December 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Sometimes people mistake the name “nits” for head lice. This can cause confusion as nits are the empty egg casts from the hatched head louse nymph. The head louse is the actual creature that has been breeding and causing the infestation. In reality, to say “You child has nits.” usually means “Your child has head lice.” The nits left by the nymphs may, however, be the first obvious visual cue that head lice are present on a scalp.
So, what do nits look like?
Nits look like a fine dusting of white sugar grains across the hairs ….usually found on the hairs behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. This is because these areas of the scalp form the warmest place to successfully breed. The closer to the scalp the nit is, the more recent it is. Nits a long way down the hair shaft are just a sign that head lice bred there a long time ago. They may nolonger be present if treated.
What does a head louse look like?
A head louse looks like the little critter you can see in the banner image….although the colour has been changed there for aesthetic reasons, the image of the louse is accurate.
A head louse can vary in colour from almost translucent beige to nearly black as they have the ability to adapt their colour to their host’s hair colour so as to avoid detection. An adult head louse can grow up to 3mm long and will be easily identified from the above picture once removed from the scalp. A nymph is smaller than a pin head and often very dark in colour. Their smallness means that a very fine nit comb is needed to remove them.
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.
