How do you figure out whether you have nits? (You, not your children)

[clockworkbesom]

ds (10) has nits/lice for only the second time in his life (we've been very lucky), we're getting rid of them (shampoo, spray, combing).

I've got ds to have a look at my head, but really I don't think he'd spot anything even if I was crawling with the creatures. The lice ds had were tiny, and they were exactly the same colour as his (and my) hair.

I've combed and combed and not found anything, I've used the spray stuff I used on ds, I'm pretty sure I don't have nits. I do have an itchy head though, and I want to be 100% sure. I don't have an adult handy to help me check. I really don't want to ask anyone at work!

Any suggestions? Would it be crazy to go to the GP and get them to have a look? Could I do something clever with mirrors?

Could you not just treat yourself anyway. I can't see it would do any harm if you don't have them, and you will know that if you do they are gone.

I comb a bit & if I don't find any or don't itch then I assume I'm in the clear.
Don't touch heads (hair) again with your children for a week or 2, just to be safe.

Having had them, I would definitely know if I had them again .

Treat yourself anyway.

What treatment are you using?

If one of mine gets nits I treat all of us with the hedrin/full marks chemical stuff.

Make sure you wash all the pillowcases too and I put the hair brushes in the dishwasher to clean them as well.

I've used a chemical spray on me and ds, and lots and lots of combing. I was planning to do another treatment after a week, which will be tomorrow.

I suppose I'm just worried that I'll get ds's head clear, then pass them back to him if I've got them.

Then don't touch heads. they spread by crawling from head to head.

I wouldn't bother treating without some evidence. I'm not made of money and it's hassle. But it might be worth it to you for peace of mind.

Get a Nitty Gritty comb (about £10 but a worthwhile investment) and comb your wet hair (start at the nape of the neck, comb up and down)

Live eggs are dark brown and small, but stuck well near the scalp. The comb will shift them.(and the nits)

Caf I ask which chemical spray? Some at better than others- I am, sadly, an expert!

Put a load of conditioner in your hair and run a nit comb through it. I wouldn't treat yourself unless you find some of the bastards, it's nasty stuff so you don't want to put it on your head unless you have to. Check the comb after each run, so start at your scalp and comb it through to the end once, and check it (wipe it on some tissue, you'll see anything crawling). When you wash the conditioner out your hair will be super soft.

wash hair, plenty of conditioner (3x normal amount, massage into scalp), comb through, then comb through with a fine tooth comb (one with long enough teeth to get through your hair, rather than those white credit card size things). You should be able to feel it on your scalp so should know if you have covered it all.

Check after each combing (they are dark, hard gritty lumps)

Takes a few minutes.

I don't use any chemicals, just comb thru wet hair & look for eggs as well (I don't like Nitty Gritty, prefer the boots comb). I don't trust any method but finding & removing the blighters physically.

I'm lucky it's not difficult to spot eggs in DC hair, too.

We're going through this-one out of three of my children has them so we're constantly combing at bath time (I have long curly hair so not easy!).

I always thought that you shouldn't treat preventatively as the lice build up resistance to the treatments (along the same lines of infections becoming resistant to anti-biotics)? Any experts out there will soon put me right (would be quicker and easier to just blitz us all with Hedrin if that's the case!).

I would not use the chemicals, mostly they are ineffective and pricey. Also, you just get reinfected in school so it's pointless.
I went through this for years when DD as younger.
My advice is

1. Weekly, wash hair, plaster with cheap conditioners to immobilise them then comb though with nitty gritty comb. Wipe comb on tissue - you may see evidence
2. At 10 your DC should be able to look near the roots of your hair. Little white specks are the nits, they are they discarded shells of hatched lice and they are evidence of lice.
3. I was at GP for something else and asked her and she was v happy to look. Thing is, it makes little difference if you can see any or not. If your DC had had them , you should regularly comb all hair in family anyway. The metal nitty gritty comb is great IMO.

It's miserable, I had a itchy scalp for years but never found an actual louse in my hair. The GP spotted a few white flecks which she said indicated I had had some.

I would also tell school so they can remind other parents. We used to have a set day for a class blitz on them.

Work with young people, have done for 19 years.

Simply put, I condition and use a nit comb every fortnight. The little bastards are brilliant at hopping from head to head!

except they dont hop, they crawl from head to head (they cannot jump or fly)

except they dont hop, they crawl from head to head (they cannot jump or fly)

DD used to pick up the most enormous whoppers off her untreated friend at school. They crawl like racehorses at that size! Still, any comb would have got them out

They technically hook a leg over & heave selves onto a new head. More like pulling than crawling or hopping.
Anyway, main thing is to avoid contact.

Regular combing & checking is only foolproof method for removal.

I think my itchy head might be due to the spray, not nits. I've just re-sprayed ds's head, a week after the first go. His neck, which was fine before spraying, instantly came up all red and itchy. Para plus spray - not sure if you can get it in the UK, we're in NZ. It's Malathion and Permethrin anyway.

I'll carry on combing regularly. I might invest in a new comb, we're just using the cheapest plastic one (another question - how on earth do you clean those things). The school recommended a fancy zappy electric one but they're ridiculously expensive.

I itch when I've got them. The best prevention is to nit comb at least every other day, as a matter of course, whether you have them or not. Implemented that after my second year of teaching and never got them again!

My MIL got me a nice plastic handled one with sensible length metal teeth that was easy to use - from the PET SHOP! The best thing ever with loads of conditioner.

I have an electric one and found it especially useless, particularly on the girls with their long hair. Used to accidently zap DS with it around the nape of the neck, which is where you need to use it!

Thinking about them makes me itch! I could always feel the little buggers crawling around - but I only ever had one in my fringe

Make a parting in your hair and press a strip of sticky tape (Sellotape) over the parting then lift it off - any live nits will come off on the tape (this is a way to see if you have them, not a way to get rid of them!)