How can I tell if it is nits?

[Daffodilly]

DD (20 mths) has been scratching at her head for last few days. When I look her scalp seems a bit flaky and few red scabs - probably from the scratching. She isn't in nursery and not knowingly been in contact with carriers!

I took her into the pharmacist today who suggested nits - but she couldn't see any evidence either. Mind you DD wasn't really sitting still and cooperating!

This eve I have dry combed with a nit comb, then done again in bath with loads of conditioner. Didn't find any lice. Couple of flaky white bits - could be nit egg I suppose or just dead skin?

This is our first encounter with the dreaded nit, so not really sure what I am looking for. Any advice?

PS - DH and I now both scratching like mad too. Though that only started since the first mention of the N-word.

Eggs stick to hairs near skull. Brown if full, whitye if empty. Lice themselves can vary in size. Biggest like head of amatch.

If it's nits you'll soon see them crawling around! When they have a mass hatching... loads will appear when you comb. My ds and dd have had them 2 or 3 times now and they're a right PITA to get rid of!
I found Hedrin was the best. Doesn't smell and isn't an insecticide. I tried 2 different type of insecticide and none got rid of them.

clawing at head now... ta

They like it best behind the ears - nice and warm - so when doing a visual check that's the best place to look for both eggs and adult lice.

What hair colour are you? Easier to find the eggs once hatched on dark hair. Tricky with fair. Best way is with conditioner and nit comb. Make sure you put the comb through right from the scalp though. The adult lice are 1-3 mm long and pretty transparent.

It could be that it's not lice but some itchy scalp skin thing so I would say if you still haven't found lice/eggs in a week or so think about trying different shampoo etc for sensitive skin. Prob is nits though (sorry!)

Thanks for all responses. Sounds like fun - happy years of this ahead then!

We are all a lovely light shade of mouse brown. Thankfully (in this case) all fine hair too so at least easy to comb.

Will keep going with the combing and see what we find. I don't really want to add any other chemicals which might irritate her scalp if it is something else.

DH is such a wimp. He now claims to be itching from head to toe. It has spread to his whole body in the 3 hours since he heard the first mention of nits. I tried to reassure him that though his thinning hair line I would be sure to spot any infestation. He didn't seem all that pleased though...

.....having spent a fucking horrific happy few hours yesterday de-lousing my four urchins, I feel qualified to answer!

....a swift comb behind the ears normally reveals the bastards little darlings, and I am a veteran of removal techniques.

In the past I have tried enough variants of "Agent Orange" to make Colonel Kurtz blush. They all failed to kill eggs, though leading to relapse.

...however, I can now vouch wholeheartedly for the "Nitty Gritty" comb with tea-tree conditioner. This device is not cheap (about a tenner in Boots) but actually works, unlike some more high-tech or expensive devices and lotions.

Good Luck!

Ooooh, someone posted a link no Classifid free board on here about how to get one of those nitty gritty combs for nothing, on prescription or someting. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but wortha lok in the free topic

You go to your GP and ask for a prescription....you need to be infected though.

On teh Nitty Gritty website there is a kletter you can download to give to your GP telling them all the codes and ifno and stuff ehy need to know (but they shouldan't actually need it)

Oh thanks for that. Sounds like worth a trip to the GP then. With one DD and another on the way I can see I will get my money's worth over the years ahead.

Speaking of head...I'm off to scratch some more.

RetiredGoth - impressed that you managed to comb four of them. I was cursing after two mins on one wriggling toddler! I think she has added some less than desirable new words to her expanding vocabulary this evening.