Please help me figure out what this is on DD's hair (pics attached)

[AutumnNymph]

Calling on the collective wisdom of Mumsnet for help, please. Can you help me figure out what this in on my DDs hair? She is 9 and for the past two weeks has had this fIaky thing on her hair. She has thick curly and lovely hair.
I initially thought dandruff but even with dandruff shampoo and tea tree oil etc It hasn't had any effect - in some places it's so many of them its tough to comb through.

I wondered if it was just dry skin but again its stuck to the hair and wont budge - it also seems to be increasing by the day.

The fact that I am visually disabled and close to blind doesn't help and DH is being useless.

Please please help!

[H1978]

They’re awful aren’t they. I had to deal with it last year when dd3 caught them at school. Although I have two older dds, 18 and 14, I’d never had to deal with lice before. I was so embarrassed when the teacher told me what I had thought was dandruff.

Over the next three weeks it was endless lotion, combing, bed sheet washing and vacuuming. Dd2 got it the worst. She has hip length hair and regretfully I had to chop her hair by quite a few inches to make it easier to comb.

Good luck!

[slipperywhensparticus]

@AutumnNymph

Quick update - we have treated her again and done a full comb out (and for us too) No lice at all so looks like egg cases from the last few treatments. About 70% of egg cases are out now - Coconut oil worked the best - there is another comb out planned for today.

poor thing she has my sympathy i HATED comb out days

[Bumpinthenight]

Ah, glad you are not fighting empty cases and an infestation! Happy combing!

[EugenesAxe]

Brilliant! Yes I admit that as soon as I read @Bumpinthenight’s post I thought I was being stupid about not being able to link lack of nits to that in your DD’s hair; empty cases growing out with the hair was the obvious explanation.

If you ever have to treat again then I guess you will know to be thorough with your Nitty Gritty too!

[AutumnNymph]

Quick update - we have treated her again and done a full comb out (and for us too) No lice at all so looks like egg cases from the last few treatments. About 70% of egg cases are out now - Coconut oil worked the best - there is another comb out planned for today.

[Ewanthescreamsheep]

Have you found any lice now? or is it looking like old egg cases?

[steppemum]

the oily texture actually makes it much easier to comb, and no tangles.

And I used to comb dd's hair and find not one single louse. But she was itching. So I combed the whole head again, and found one.
So we treated, and then combed out the dead ones - dozens of them.
The live ones can move very quickly and run away from you combing.

[steppemum]

the pesticide ones are really harsh. There are 2 which suffocate, like oil (and hard to wash out, buy larg ebottle of cheap basic shampoo)

But where they say leave on for 5/10 minutes or whatever, ignore and leave on for 2 hours

[steppemum]

She may not have any live lice.

You say you have treated her recently, that may have killed all the live adult lice.

Usually you need to treat and then follow up. You can either comb everyday with conditioner, which removes any live adults/new hatchlings.
Or do a second chemical treatment 7 days after the first .

But what you have on her hair are the empty egg shells. If you have treated the adults and got rid, you now just need to remove empty shells with a nitty gritty comb. (be CAREFUL with this, don't get a tangle, only do a bit at a time, the comb sticks if it gets tangled)

One reason that I think they may be old egg shells is that there are none close to the scalp. they are laied right by the scalp, so all the ones you are seeing are grown out and old.

[slipperywhensparticus]

Coconut oil is good for clearing the hair shaft and making it easier to comb out

[PrincessBuggerPants]

There are a lot of myths about treating lice. This group's website is really helpful: www.chc.org/mistaken-advice/

[Bluntness100]

This actually make sense and explains why DH hasn't found nits despite looking for them

Actually it doesn’t, as they wouldn’t be increasing as you describe if this was the case.

Op, all the benign treatments like electric combs conditioner etc are the reason nits are so prevalent, because parents leave some behind.

Do it properly, do it on sat morning and leave it on all day, and then do it the following week, same thing

We had a terrible time with my daughter getting nits about this age, because we were getting rid of them, but other parents weren’t. And we’re giving oh we like to use electric combs, organic stuff and conditioner.

Get the pesticide on there and do it properly.

[nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut]

Straighten her hair every day as well between treating. Fry the little fuckers.

[IdblowJonSnow]

Agree, bad case of nits. Have worked in a school and seen this before.
Treat and wash out and then use a nit comb and conditioner.

[catnoir1]

I honestly wouldn't bother combing them out first. Just treat and comb out the next day.

[GazingAndGrazing]

Agh, fond but not so fond memories... DD1 inherited my curly hair, such a Blaine but we made it through.

I used a nitty gritty and lots of conditioner

[oakleaffy]

Nape of neck , behind the ears, under the fringe.. but nape pf neck as PP said is the ''Cote D' Azur'' location where they love to mate, chat, feed and drink with their buddies.

[oakleaffy]

@AutumnNymph

I feel like such an awful Mum now. The school normally are very fast on catching instances of nit infestation but I know she has been ti the njrse twice this week and its not been mentioned at all!

@AutumnNymph
Don't feel bad! Especially as you are visually impaired.

Some people are much more allergic to lice than others...the dreaded scratch would make me fly to my own or DS's hair with a nit comb!

Your husband will have to treat you all, including himself as you won't be able to see clearly enough.

[Bettyjojojo]

Lice lay their eggs very close to the scalp so it looks like they are old hatched eggs in your photos. There may not be any live lice in her hair if you have already treated her. I would keep using the comb and conditioner at least twice a week and that should keep it under control. I used to use a couple of drops of tea tree oil in the conditioner when my kids were younger it seems to deter them.

[BeTheHokeyMan]

Have you anyone that you could ask to run their eye over her hair just to make sure it's lice? I know that my husband would also struggle too to identify the obvious ! She must be tearing itchy and terribly uncomfortable poor thing . If it's lice you will need to get all members of the family's hair checked and wash all bedding on a high temperature

[chuffedasbuttons]

My dd has thick thick long long hair.

It can take 3 hours to de nit her with nitty gritty but we do it because chemicals affect her

Advice is to brush, straighten and then apply condition root to tip in sections start at the nape. Use lots of clips to section out - like the ones the hairdresser uses.

Tiny section with normal comb. Then redo with nitty gritty making sure you lightly scrape her scalp before coming to the tips.

The nitty gritty gets rid of everything in one sweep but it's a very tight comb so get the hair totally tangle free before dragging it through.

Wipe.
Repeat. You'll use a lot of kitchen paper.
Put her in front of the tv. Get comfy!

There also a bit infestation in her class. They will be going round and round and round.

Repeat treat. If one parent isn't repeating, you'll all be treating endlessly.

[TinkersTailor]

Get DH to check the nape of her neck OP. The live bastards love to congregate there.

I agree with PP. Get the biggest, cheapest bottle of conditioner you can find and a nitty gritty comb.
Bribe DD with whatever is needed to get her to sit still and comb until your arms are hurting.
You'll have to do it a few times.

I use Nenuco cologne spray on DDs hair, it's meant to be an excellent nit preventative. She has knee length, thick, curly hair and she's never had nits (so far.) Smells like lemons too, really nice!

Good luck!

[oakleaffy]

@Phoenix76

We use Vosene children’s hair lice prevention spray on our 7&4 year olds (used it as soon as they had hair) and we’ve never had a case of head lice here despite e-mails from the school and nursery warning of class outbreaks. We’re totally going to get some now I’ve said this aren’t we 😂

Yes!
Never but never say this: 'We have never had {insert thing here} as it is guaranteed to happen.

Every time.


''I have never won the lottery '' 😂

[oakleaffy]

@AutumnNymph
Head lice...Nits.

They are cemented onto the hair shaft.

Use a nit comb and conditioner method, ''Bug buster''...and treat the rest of the family too...including yourself.

Don't worry... they are quite curable.

[neveradullmoment99]

@DancyNancy

Treat with lice shampoo
Then slather in conditioner and comb out section by section

Then...hair straightening. You'll hear any missed eggs popping.

We had severe case with my SD with seriously thick hair and it was a 3 week job she had them so bad. Twice a week for 3 weeks when she was with us I did this and it worked.

They get immune to the treatments so the main thing is conditioning, combing and the hair straight

Totally agree. Loads of conditioner and nit comb is the best. Straighteners for insurance policy! Repeat frequently.