11/04/2013

I thought it was just dandruff...

When I ask parents when they first noticed their child's head lice, it usually becomes clear that the signs of head lice were present long before the parents would like to admit.  They say things like, "Sure, my daughter's head was really itchy, but I thought it was just because of dandruff" or "My son's been taking swimming lessons and I thought his head was itchy from the chlorine".  Sometimes, these parents have had no experience with head lice or they never knew anyone who had it so the possibility of head lice doesn't even come to mind.  However, many parents  are just in denial about head lice because they don't want to have to deal with it.  Later they tell me, "I thought it might be head lice but I didn't do anything at first because I was too busy" or "I knew that her friend at school had recently had head lice but I didn't think it would happen to my child".

In my house we have a rule - if you scratch your head, you get a quick spot check.  It is even true for me - if I scratch my head, my youngest daughter says, "Mom, c'mere. Let me take a look."  And these spot checks, because they are not always reliable, are still done in conjunction with weekly wet combing checks. Of course, someone's head is really, really itchy, they get a wet combing check right away. (I should mention that routine combings will often prevent the itchiness of head lice. Most people are asymptomatic - they don't get an itch - until they've had head lice for quite a while.  Routine combings will often find the bugs before the itching starts.  It happened to me!)

If someone is itchy, investigate. If you find that you or your child do have a lot of dandruff, use a dandruff shampoo to remove the dandruff before doing a check for head lice. With head lice, you need time to be on your side and the sooner you find the little critters, the sooner you can get rid of them. 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Im guilty of thinking it was dandruff. Now that I know the truth a treatment was done, altho I still see several nits and today has been 1 week. Is it possible the treatment wasnt effective? Or is it normal to see this many nits still?

Anonymous said...

Also, please tell me what to do with the comb during and after combings. (To clean & keep clean.) ie: alcohol, bleach...?

Cathy, the Nice Lice Lady. said...

Yes, I have never found a treatment that was 100% effective. Make sure you keep combing for at least 2 weeks with no new sightings of lice or nits. Treatments may claim to kill lice and nits, but they don't remove anything. Removal only comes through combing or picking out the bugs and eggs. So, if you only "shampooed" with something, it would not change the number of nits on your head. A plastic comb will not remove the nits, nor will an ineffective metal comb where the teeth are too "bendy". Good combs like the Nit-Free Terminator or the Licemeister will remove eggs but even then it will take many strokes. If you don't have a good comb, grab a buddy and ask him/her to either manually pick off the eggs by scraping them off between his/her fingernails OR by carefully snipping off the individual hairs that the nits are on. As for the cleaning of the lice comb, lice are not germs that are microscopic. Simply wiping them off with some tissue or paper towel will usually remove the eggs and bugs. If something is stuck between the teeth of the comb, do not pry the teeth apart to remove it - use dental floss to clean it out. What really makes lice combs dirty are the hair oils and conditioners. A dab of dish soap will remove this. If you are very worried that you may have missed a live bug or egg on the comb, put your comb in cup and pour some boiling water over it. Problem solved. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

A few days ago I wet combed and found a few adults but no nits? I did a natural treatment on myself and my children and wetcombed their and my hair again my combs ( a plastic one and a red rid metal one) pulled some nits and dead lice out of their hair but I'm not finding anything but dandruff in my own is it possible with finding adults three days ago to not find any nits even with several wet and dry combs? Can I assume I'm lice free now? I still plan to do daily combings for a few weeks just wondered if i need another comb or what.

Cathy, the Nice Lice Lady. said...

I know that some time has passed since you posted and I am sure you have dealt with your head lice. If someone has head lice, I never assume that they are lice free unless they have had two weeks of regular combing with no new bugs found. This is why, when I was working in people's homes, I always gave a free follow up appointment a week later and instructed the family to do their own follow-up combing. A lot of lice problems continue for months or even years because someone does one or two good combings and assume that they have the problem beat. I'm glad to see that you planned to continue combing for a while. I'm sure you had success.

feelgoodtime said...

===>> How to Get Rid of Dandruff?