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Original poster

How do I know if it's nits?

51 replies

Sugarmag · 08/05/2005 07:03

About a week ago I noticed lots of little white specs in DDs hair. At first I assumed it was just dandruff - she's never had any skin problems before but her hair has seemed a bit dry lately. Yesterday she was out playing in the garden (right in the shrubs for some reason known only to herself!) and when she came back in I noticed lots of really tiny little bugs in her hair. Washed and combed her hair (with just normal shampoo and comb) - the bugs went but the little white specs are still there.

How do I know if this is head lice or if it is just dandruff + flies from the garden? if it's lice I'll need to tell the nursery but really don't want to tell anyone if it isn't! Help please.

OP posts:
BarbaraX · 09/05/2005 12:19

Can I ask?

where do you get this electric comb from?

I have never knew they existed. Is their original purpose to help with headlice or other?

Magscat · 09/05/2005 12:22

When ds had headlice, we all got them in out family. I found the itching was quite distinctive - like a burning sensation - and tended to be behind my ears and on nape of neck. Dh & Ds didn't have a problem with the itching though so maybe I'm more sensitive to it.

Best thing I found was to get over the squeamishness and comb them out as others have said with conditioner & nit comb & then pop the little sods between my finger nails. The eggs are teardrop shaped & greyish/brownish. The lice themselves are amber/brown and you can't mistake them - they do look exactly like the pics on the stuff from the chemist or in the books.

Everyone with kids gets them. Don't be ashamed and don't be surprised if they don't go straight away. You have to break the cycle (kill adults, eggs hatch, kill new adults before they can lay more eggs etc..) & it takes about 2 weeks - assuming no re-infection from other source.

Glad your nursery were understanding. Makes everyone's life easier if parents are honest about this sort of thing.

BarbaraX · 09/05/2005 12:22

the reason I am asking is in case if they invented a magic comb for little girls with long wavey hair who screams the house down as soon as you try to comb it

she has had the lice only once and I am dreading it happening again.

Original poster
Sugarmag · 09/05/2005 12:53

Do you really have to pop them? I saw on Desperate Housewives (I know - not my usual source for medical info!) she put them in a glass of water? Maybe to stop them flying/jumping/crawling away if you can't bring yourself to kill them? Any ideas?

OP posts:
Carla · 09/05/2005 13:14

Put them into a mug of boiling water (watch your fingers, though) and then, if you feel so inclined, pop them once they're dead

Lice soup's not nice though - you may have to sieve them through 2/3 sheets of paper towels to enjoy this experience

Original poster
Sugarmag · 09/05/2005 13:30

Is there a puking-face emoticon?

OP posts:
tiredout · 09/05/2005 17:50

Hello all. First time on Mums Net for me and I see you're talking about my favourite topic (not really!) head lice. My daughter has really curly hair and over several years had lice more times than I can think - or maybe it was just the once and I couldn't get rid of them. Impossible to nit comb properly - too thick & curly. I sent her to school in a bandana so she wouldn't infect others.
The only way I got rid of them was to cut her hair really short and thoroughly wet comb them out daily. Then I sent her to school again in a bandana (freshly washed natch) so she wouldn't catch them again. Did the trick, unlike those ole organophosphate poisons. That's the only answer - get rid of the hair - she'll hate you for it but it's got to be done!

MarsLady · 09/05/2005 17:58

you can get the electric comb in argos. It stops every time it kills one of the little b*ggrs. Will help with all lengths of hair.

personally I find wet combing each weekend does the trick and tying back their hair.

Original poster
Sugarmag · 10/05/2005 13:27

Now that I've started this I thought I'd give a bit of feedback as well. I used Lyclear creme rinse on DD and found it ok -it was just like putting conditioner in her hair and it smelled all right. Combed her hair then rinsed it out - no problem.

But then for some reason I tried the Full Marks Solution for myself and DS (pharmacist was really trying to sell it, think he must have had loads to to get rid of). All I can say is UGH! It didn't smell at all but was basically like pouring a bottle of oil on your head. What a mess. I found it really hard to keep out of DS' eyes and trying to do it on myself was a complete nightmare. It went everywhere! And having washed my hair twice now it still looks like a big greasy mop.

OP posts:
jodee · 10/05/2005 20:22

are black specks in the hair anything connected with nits at all? ds has strange little black bits in his hair that aren't 'alive', didn't know if they were shell/eggs (yuk). ???

lou33 · 10/05/2005 20:23

eggs are dark colour, stuck like glue to the shaft of the hair, the white ones are shells from which the lice have hatched. Are they stuck to the hair?

Orinoco · 10/05/2005 20:28

Message withdrawn

lou33 · 10/05/2005 20:32

mine still get them with tea tree

dont think the dh theory is true tho

Orinoco · 10/05/2005 20:34

Message withdrawn

lou33 · 10/05/2005 20:49

we were nit free until dd1 was 10, she is 13 now and it's a common event with all 4 of them

jodee · 10/05/2005 22:44

lou, they're not stuck to the hair, just the scalp, and easy to pick off. Can't see anything crawling,and he's not been scratching??

lou33 · 10/05/2005 23:31

if not stuck to hair likely to be just dirt!

jodee · 10/05/2005 23:34

could be! The dear little children in his class were covering his head and the hood of his coat yesterday with leaves, could be to do with that (he has had a bath, btw, but had his hair cut yesterday and insisted on the spikey look with loads of gel and wouldn't let me wash it!).

Swimming tomorrow, so he will be having his hair washed, no questions. Might buy a nit comb and go through it with conditioner, just to be on the safe side. Thanks Lou!

Carla · 11/05/2005 00:11

He's just an old husband. You need a new one

lou33 · 11/05/2005 00:20

i do, how did you know?

Carla · 11/05/2005 00:23
Wink
Rachee · 11/05/2005 15:36

HI ALL, i am a hairdresser and often have many kids in my salon with nits. I actually went to my local school and did a talk n headlice, using a little girl i was able to show all parents what they were loking for. By the way, prevention IS better than cure. try over conditioning the hair, make it so smooth they cannot get a grip. or gel in little boys hair works a treat, they dodn't like product so moose, gel even hairspray will help to keep them away. Eggs will hatch on an uneven cycle so, i recommend you combe through every day for 2 weeks to clear them all...... hard work but worth it, otherwise you haven't got rid of them all and they will be back.

Rachee · 11/05/2005 15:46

methods of over conditioning could be : leave-in conditioners, serum's like frizzez, or just using a conditioner thats too heavy like elvie, the smoothing ones or for damaged hair. Tie the hair back, securely ie. plait it, don't just leave it in a pony tail. even put it in a bun, (that's the best) buy a bun net if ness, they are pence from a chemist.

Eaney · 11/05/2005 16:05

When my DS was about 2 the nurse at the nursery he was attending suggested that we put tea tree oil in his hair every day as they had an outbreak at the nursery. She herself had done this for years and had never had nits. She had the most beautiful waist lenght hair so I thought it worth a try.

We put about 1 drop per 10mls of liquid (we use tangle tamer but you can use a carrier oil)and spray his hair every morning. To date (he is now 5 and a half) he has not had nits (touch wood) and I know he has been in contact with Nits several times.

It could just be a coincidence but I thought I would share this see what anyone else thinks.

mummycan · 11/05/2005 18:17

In the past I read on mumsnet that instead of using conditioner to comb try baby oil - it was fantastic - the blighters really cannot hold on with all that oil. You do have to wash their hair a couple of times to get it all out but at least baby oil smells nice - I have tried tea tree oil - didn't work for my dd and unfortunately I now associate the smell of tea tree oil with having nits.

Good luck - it's horrible when they have them.

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