How To Check For Lice Without A Comb

Head lice and nits are very common in immature children and their families. They do not have annihilation to do with dirty hair and are picked upward past head-to-caput contact.

Check if it's head lice

Head lice are modest insects, upwardly to 3mm long.

They can be difficult to spot in your hair.

Head lice eggs (nits) are brown or white (empty shells) and attached to the pilus.

Head lice can make your head feel:

• itchy
• like something is moving in your pilus

The only manner to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice.

You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb (detection rummage). You can purchase these online or at pharmacies.

How to go rid of caput lice

Important

You can treat caput lice without seeing a GP.

Treat caput lice as shortly as yous spot them.

Yous should bank check everyone in the house and outset treating anyone who has head lice on the same 24-hour interval.

There's no need to go on your child off school if they take head lice.

Wet combing

Lice and nits tin be removed past wet combing. You should try this method first.

Yous tin can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits.

There may exist instructions on the pack, but usually you:

• wash hair with ordinary shampoo
• employ lots of conditioner (whatever conditioner will do)
• comb the whole caput of pilus, from the roots to the ends

It usually takes most 10 minutes to comb short hair, and xx to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly pilus.

Exercise moisture combing on days 1, 5, 9 and xiii to grab any newly hatched head lice. Cheque once again that everyone's hair is free of lice on twenty-four hour period 17.

Medicated lotions and sprays

Inquire a pharmacist for communication if y'all accept tried moisture combing for 17 days, but your child still has live head lice.

They may recommend using medicated lotions and sprays. These impale head lice in all types of pilus, and y'all can purchase them from pharmacies, supermarkets or online.

Caput lice should die within a day. Some lotions and sprays come with a comb to remove dead lice and eggs.

Some treatments need to be repeated afterward a calendar week to kill any newly hatched lice.

Check the pack to see if they're OK for you or your child and how to use them.

If lotions or sprays practise non work, speak to a chemist about other treatments.

Some treatments are non recommended because they're unlikely to work.

For instance:

• products containing permethrin
• caput lice "repellents"
• electric combs for head lice
• tree and establish oil treatments, such every bit tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender oil herbal remedies

Data:

The charity Community Hygiene Concern has a video about moisture combing for caput lice.

You cannot forestall head lice

There'due south nothing you tin can do to prevent caput lice.

You lot tin help cease them spreading past wet or dry combing regularly to grab them early.

Do not use medicated lotions and sprays to prevent caput lice. They tin can irritate the scalp.

At that place's no need for children to stay off school or to wash laundry on a hot wash.

Page last reviewed: 31 March 2021
Next review due: 31 March 2024

Source: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-lice-and-nits/

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