A mild case of head lice often looks like tiny, oval, yellowish or white dots (nits) stuck firmly to hair shafts near the scalp, easily mistaken for dandruff but harder to brush off, along with possible faint redness or irritation from scratching, especially behind the ears or at the neck, but without many visible crawling bugs. You might only see a few nits and perhaps one or two tiny, sesame-seed-sized lice, often grayish-white or tan, that blend in with hair.
Be sure to comb the entire scalp twice. Adult lice and developing lice are generally grayish white to brown in color and range from the size of a pinhead to a sesame seed. Because they're so small, lice and nits can easily be mistaken for other things, like dandruff or residue from hair products.
Medicated lotions and sprays
Head 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 after a week to kill any newly hatched lice. Check the pack to see if they're OK for you or your child to use, and how to use them.
Treatment during pregnancy
Using the hair conditioner and combing method is safe when you are pregnant. Some chemical treatments are safe to use during pregnancy. Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist before using any lice treatments during pregnancy.
Lice can be mistaken for dandruff because both can cause itching and white particles to appear in the hair. However, there are key differences in appearance, location, and symptoms. Dandruff flakes are usually larger and more visible than lice eggs, scattered throughout the hair rather than attached close to the scalp.
The best way to check is by using a fine-tooth comb on wet hair. After applying lots of conditioner, comb the hair out in very small sections, and look for lice or nits on the comb. You can wipe the comb onto a tissue or paper towel where it will be easier to see them.
Getting head lice isn't a sign of poor hygiene or unclean surroundings. Head lice prefer clean hair to attach and lay their eggs. Another common misconception is that head lice can jump or fly from one person to another. Head lice only crawl, most often leading to transmission through direct head-to-head contact.
Yes, head lice can briefly live and crawl onto pillows after falling off a human host, but they die within 1-2 days without a blood meal from a human scalp, making pillows a low risk for transmission; nits (eggs) won't hatch off the scalp and need heat to survive, so washing bedding in hot water kills them effectively. The main risk is head-to-head contact, not furniture or bedding.
Eggs hatch in 6 to 9 days. Body lice most often lay eggs in clothing seams. The most common way to get pubic lice is through having sex. Pubic lice on children may be a sign of sexual abuse.
The risk of getting infested by a louse that has fallen onto a carpet or furniture is very small. Head lice survive less than 1–2 days if they fall off a person and cannot feed; nits cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they are not kept at the same temperature as that found close to the scalp.
Head lice information for schools
Students with lice can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after beginning appropriate treatment. Nits may stay in hair after treatment, but successful treatment will kill crawling lice.
Common black bugs found in hair besides lice include fleas, bed bugs, gnats, and other small flying insects. Each has distinct characteristics and requires different treatment approaches.
Head lice most often spread from one person to another by head-to-head contact. This often happens within families or among children who have close contact with each other.
A mild case of lice generally means that it was discovered early, before symptoms start. When there are just 1 or 2 bugs active the hair who have laid several nits, but those nits haven't really begun to hatch yet, that is a mild case. Each female louse lays 6-10 eggs per day, and lives about 30 days.
Symptoms of head lice
Itching (most common) Feeling like something in your hair is moving. Small bumps or sores from scratching. Difficulty sleeping, as head lice are most active at night.
How many head lice are usually found on an infested person? Typically, 10–15 head lice are found. The number of lice often depends on personal hygiene, for example, how often the person bathes, shampoos, or changes and washes his/her clothing.
Lice infestation is a commonly encountered disorder in emergency medicine. The louse survives from a blood meal from its host; hence, iron deficiency anemia is a theoretic possibility.
Lice Exposure: Low Risk for Getting It
Most children who are exposed to someone with head lice do not get them. Lice cannot jump or fly. They can only crawl. Lice are only passed to others by close head-to-head contact.
Adult lice can only live a day or so without blood for feeding and nymphs can only live for a few hours without feeding. Nits will generally die within a week away from the host and cannot hatch at temperature lower than that close to the human scalp.
A drying program was also used. Either washing done with a water temperature of at least 50 C or drying is necessary to kill head lice and nits.
Dry combing takes less time, but wet combing is more accurate because washing with conditioner stops head lice from moving. To use the wet detection method: wash the hair with ordinary shampoo. apply plenty of conditioner.
Hair type matters a little bit. A recent study that has not yet been published has shown that people with thinner hair tend to be less likely to have lice than people with longer, thicker hair. People with wavy hair had also shown more incidence of head lice than people with straight or curly hair.