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Original poster

Help! Is this a nit (pic)

16 replies

surfie21 · 26/04/2022 09:43

There has been a headlice outbreak in my daughters class before Easter…she didn’t catch them and I have been combing her hair through with a nitty gritty everyday throughout the holidays (nothing)…then, one day back to school and I combed out three of these…no lice, nothing else. I have even looked through with a magnifying glass she has a short bob and blonde hair so surely anything would show up? This was tiny, light brown and has been blown up using the magnifier app on my phone. I know it looks like an egg but it was flat, didn’t pop when pressed with my nail and didn’t feel gritty/sandy, just was totally flat. Any ideas. I have a serious phobia of headlice and luckily haven’t had to deal with them before. Daughters are 5 and 7 - I always wash their hair with the vosene shampoo and use the Hedrin protect spray religiously! Thank you.

OP posts:
SoManyTshirts · 26/04/2022 09:46

There’s no pic but it sounds like a nit egg. One giveaway is minute black flecks of nit poo on the pillow. Nits like clean hair, it happens to us all 🤢

steppemum · 26/04/2022 09:48

I can't see your picture.
eggs are usually very firmly attached to the hair, so pretty hard to remove even with a nitty gritty.

steppemum · 26/04/2022 09:48

I can't see your picture.
eggs are usually very firmly attached to the hair, so pretty hard to remove even with a nitty gritty.

Sickoffamilydrama · 26/04/2022 09:53

Sorry the image isn't showing for me.
Nits are crafty bastards they hide I've combed my daughter's hair for over an hour (I timed myself) and then thought one more brush and found a enormous one.

They do sound like eggs. I know that people swear by preventive products but when I've used them my kids still get headlice in fact I'm sure I saw them laughing at me for wasting my time!

The only thing I've found that works is a silicone based product because it suffocates them so they can't build an immunity. Then repeat treatment a couple of times about 5 days apart and comb in between.

Sorry they freak you out FlowersGin

Original poster
surfie21 · 26/04/2022 10:21

Sickoffamilydrama · 26/04/2022 09:53

Sorry the image isn't showing for me.
Nits are crafty bastards they hide I've combed my daughter's hair for over an hour (I timed myself) and then thought one more brush and found a enormous one.

They do sound like eggs. I know that people swear by preventive products but when I've used them my kids still get headlice in fact I'm sure I saw them laughing at me for wasting my time!

The only thing I've found that works is a silicone based product because it suffocates them so they can't build an immunity. Then repeat treatment a couple of times about 5 days apart and comb in between.

Sorry they freak you out FlowersGin

Thanks. What is the silicone based product? I think MN is having some server issues I can't post pic atm.

OP posts:
Sickoffamilydrama · 26/04/2022 10:41

Look for dimeticone in the ingredients here is a page with the brand's listed there's a few they act very quickly so that's the other way you can recognise them.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/head-lice/management/management/

Original poster
surfie21 · 26/04/2022 10:56

Sickoffamilydrama · 26/04/2022 10:41

Look for dimeticone in the ingredients here is a page with the brand's listed there's a few they act very quickly so that's the other way you can recognise them.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/head-lice/management/management/

Thanks...the hedrin protect spray does contain that. Hopefully there is a pic now!

Help! Is this a nit (pic)
OP posts:
Original poster
surfie21 · 26/04/2022 10:57

Letting me add pic now. This did seem to come out very very easily. And also seemed flat, couldnt be felt in my fingers or popped etc.

Help! Is this a nit (pic)
OP posts:
nzeire · 26/04/2022 11:01

That looks like a piece of barley :)
nothing nittish about it

WinterSpringSummerorFall · 26/04/2022 11:03

I was thinking Sugar Puff

pbdr · 26/04/2022 11:04

That does look an awful lot like a grain of pearl barley Grin I must admit though I don't know what lice eggs look like, so maybe they do look like barley??

SummerHouse · 26/04/2022 11:04

Here for the nit pic. 😂

That looks more like a miniature sugar puff.

Greensleeves · 26/04/2022 11:05

That looks like something plant-based to me OP, are there catkins in the playground or other pollen-dropping plants/trees?

Original poster
surfie21 · 26/04/2022 11:55

Greensleeves · 26/04/2022 11:05

That looks like something plant-based to me OP, are there catkins in the playground or other pollen-dropping plants/trees?

It was TINY. Just showed it to pharmacist who thought it prob was but couldn’t be certain! Will keep combing!

OP posts:
steppemum · 26/04/2022 13:16

I think that if it just combed out, it is unlikely to be an egg. Eggs stick very firmly to the hair shaft.

BUT as pp said, you can comb for 20 minutes and find nothing and then suddenly find one. This is because they run fast!
So when people say they cover hair in conditioner and then comb, what they are doing is making the hair easier to comb, but also the sticky conditioner slows the nits right down, and then you get them. Also they like to sit behind the ears and at the back in the hair line, rarely on top of the head.
Spray conditioner isn't really thick enough for this. Cover in conditioner, divide using clips of some sort and comb in sections. Comb quickly and check you comb on every swipe.

They are a bugger.

Original poster
surfie21 · 26/04/2022 14:54

steppemum · 26/04/2022 13:16

I think that if it just combed out, it is unlikely to be an egg. Eggs stick very firmly to the hair shaft.

BUT as pp said, you can comb for 20 minutes and find nothing and then suddenly find one. This is because they run fast!
So when people say they cover hair in conditioner and then comb, what they are doing is making the hair easier to comb, but also the sticky conditioner slows the nits right down, and then you get them. Also they like to sit behind the ears and at the back in the hair line, rarely on top of the head.
Spray conditioner isn't really thick enough for this. Cover in conditioner, divide using clips of some sort and comb in sections. Comb quickly and check you comb on every swipe.

They are a bugger.

Thanks. I do use a tea-tree conditioner when combing and the spray for their hair when going to school. I have googled pussy willow pollen and it does look very similar so fingers crossed this is what it was…like I said it didn’t seem to be stuck just appeared on the comb!

OP posts:
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