Head lice are very tiny creatures and can be almost impossible to spot. Their eggs are a little easier to see but can be mistaken for dandruff. Here is a guide on how to know if your child does have head lice.
Signs of head lice:
- You may have received a note from the school that there has been a break out of head lice. If so, you should check your child’s head that night and continue to check it every couple of nights for the next few weeks.
- If your child is scratching or rubbing their scalp, this is a good indicator that they have head lice.
- If your child has trouble sleeping they might have head lice (lice tend to be more active in the dark and so the itching will be more severe).
- If your child has sores on their scalp or neck from scratching.
Inspecting hair for head lice: Step 1 (dry hair)
- Use a bright light and fine comb. There are special white, fine combs for head lice that you can purchase in pharmacies. They are small enough to catch lice and, because they are white, you will be able to see the lice if you catch any.
- Check your child’s scalp. Part the hair in several places and check the scalp behind the ears and the back of their neck. There may be sores or a rash from scratching.
- Look for movement. This is particularly difficult as you are unlikely to see the lice themselves because they are so small. They also move less when there is bright light being used.
- Look for eggs. The eggs are tiny and white or yellowish in colour. They attach themselves to the hair near the scalp (within a quarter inch from the scalp if they haven’t hatched). Eggs are easier to see and feel than the actual lice.
- Make sure the eggs are actually eggs. Eggs can easily be mistaken dandruff. There is an easy way to tell the difference. Eggs are very difficult to move and stick to the hair like glue. Dandruff will move if you shake the hair.
- Make sure the eggs are alive. If the eggs are more than a quarter inch from the scalp, they may have already hatched and your child might no longer have an infestation.
Inspecting hair for head lice: Step 2 (wet hair)
Visual inspection can be very difficult and it will be hard to see lice. Wet combing is the recommended procedure to find lice. You’ll need to go through this step if you are unsure as to whether or not your child has an infestation.
- Wet your child’s hair
- Put in a lot of conditioner
- Comb the hair with the special lice comb.
- Comb the hair out in sections from root to tip.
- Check the comb after every stroke through the hair.
- Shake the comb out into a plastic bowl after every stroke.
If you have any suspicion that there is head lice in your home you will need to check all the children and even adults for lice.
If your child does have head lice, click here to find out how to treat it.
