9/07/2008

Lice Lesson #10: Watch out for imposters.

Most people who ask me to check their heads do not have head lice or eggs. They have dandruff. Or a bad case of hair spray. There are many things you can find on your head - dead skin, hair casts, tiny globs of hair product, sand, crumbs, and sometimes even bugs from outside. How can you tell the difference between these items and lice eggs (nits)?

The easiest way to discern whether or you have found a nit is this:
If you flick it, and it moves, it is not a nit.
The female louse cements each nit to the hair. These nits are extremely hard to remove and have to be scraped off the hair. I still check the whole head anytime an itch has been reported. It's better to be safe than sorry.




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