Tips on how to spot lice nits? I can't find them all!?

Question

I have been battling lice in my daughters hair for the last 3 weeks, spending an hour or two every night getting the nits out. But today she was sent home and the nurse said her head was "filled" with tons of nits. I have been sectioning her hair into about 20 sections and have light shining through her hair when I do it.

Any suggestions on how to make it easy to spot them or how to easily remove them? The nurse suggested just plucking the hairs out themselves. I had her soak her hair in vinegar last night for an hour.

I'm starting to more worry about the harshness of the products on her scalp.....

Thanks for any help!!!!!!!

Answer 1

I would ask the doctor. You do know that you also have to treat the sheets and stuffed animals right? You also have to treat brushes or you will never win the battle.

Disinfect all combs and brushes by soaking in hot water (130 degrees F) for at least 15 minutes.

Machine wash all clothing, towels, bed linens (especially pillow cases), blankets, etc. in hot water, and dry for at least 20 minutes on the highest heat cycle of your clothes dryer. Do the same for headgear; hats, caps, and the like.

Store all other exposed items that cannot be machine-washed (like stuffed animals and dolls) in tightly sealed plastic bags for two weeks. Since lice cannot live outside the body for any longer than this time period, any remaining lice or nits will have died.

Vacuum any affected areas such as rugs, furniture and mattresses, and discard the vacuum bag.

Keep in mind that lice LOVE clean hair. Wash her hair only twice a week and use a leave in conditioner.

Answer 2

The Rid Lice Combs work pretty well. You might try those. Other than that, try smaller sections, I know 20 sections seems like a lot, but nits are really hard to spot. Try putting your daughter's hair up using a clip and pulling just a few strands down at a time. Especially pay attention to behind the ears and the base of the neck.

If you need any more help, don't be afraid to ask.

Answer 3

Well you also need to spray and vacuum the whole entire house bag all her stuffed toys for a month and wash all the clothes and towels in the house--you can use mayonnaise then put a cap (shower) on her hair and use a blow drier to heat it up--then wash really well and you need to just about go through her hair --hair by hair--its blinding to be sure and the kids hate it--the places to look the most is the nap of the neck and the temples --those little buggers are the pits--You say you are using a light to help also find a magnifying glass that is on a stand to help too --
After the treatments and you are sure there are no more to be found--take a quart size jar and fill it with water add a few drops of rosemary and tea tree oil and keep her brush's in that --when you brush her hair take the brush and shake out the excess water--for some reason the critters do not like this smell --to us its not bad but they don't at all like it--it repels them--Also if you can keep your daughters hair in a pony tail or braid at school that will help her from getting them from school---

Answer 4

Oh boy! My daughter has picked up head lice three times! I feel for you (and your daughter)!

The nits are *incredibly* small, and are fastened toward the base of the hair follicle.

You're absolutely right to go through the hair so carefully, but you REALLY need a fine-tooth comb -- and I suggest at least two of them -- to get those nasty things loose.

I also suggest using Rid or another solution that is especially designed to kill head lice and help you treat your daughter's hair. Never heard of vinegar, but I wouldn't trust it. If you are courageous, you might also consider treating your daughter's hair/scalp and then having her hair cut short to help you comb through in a week or 10 days, which is when you should administer a follow-up treatment for lice.

Also remember to WASH EVERYTHING in HOT water -- bedclothes, clothing, hats, etc.

Good luck, and try to keep your and your daughter's spirits up. It passes :-)

Answer 5

Take a plastic bag and some olive oil. Put the oil in her hair [it's safe and natural] and keep the bag on her head so that there is no air in there. Keep it on for as long as you can because you are trying to smother those sucker. Then use shampoo and wash her hair. Comb and comb again [I know it's a pain in the ***]. You should have a nit free head.

But have you been washing ALL Towels, blankets, sheets, clothes, hats, hairbrushes? My son had it for what seemed like forever. Finally I took all our clothes and boiled them on the stove. Not for a long time only about 5-10 minutes. That finally killed them. Then of course you go and wash them in hot water. Also you need to take ALL stuffed animals and put them in bags and make them air tight and leave them for a week. It's best if you can put them in sunlight. Then wash them too.

If you have a really bad infestion wash her walls with bleach or something even if it's just hot sudsy water. Then shampoo the carpets and vacuum the beds [all of them] and all furniture that can be vacuumed.

When you are shampooing those nasty buggers out put a bit of Tea Tree Oil in. My son kept getting it over and over in Head Start. We started always washing his and my hair with tea tree oil. Just put some in the shampoo enough so that you can smell it. It does smell gross but it acts as a repellant against them. Plus Tea tree Oil is VERY good for your hair.

Good luck to you. I know this is a hard thing to deal with.

Answer 6

One of the best things I've found is putting thick coat of petroleum jelly on the hair, then wrapping it in plastic wrap. Let it sit for a couple hours. It is a chore to get out, but nothing can sneak out of that. You have to kind of comb this out several times, and wash a few times. Do this once a week, because it takes time for other eggs to hatch. I've also read that cheap conditioner or mayonnaise, used the same way will work, and would probably wash out more easily. You could comb before rinsing. You might want to get her new pillows, as well.

Answer 7

My daughter has really tight curly hair and its thick, it is hard to get rid of em or get all the nits out. During the time between the shampoo that you are supposed to use, I put a lot of conditioner in her hair and left it and I combed her hair with the nit comb and it helped me out a lot. It doesnt pull on her hair cuz of all the conditioner. It wont kill the nits but it will help get them off. Also after you get them all , an idea that I use, before she goes to school put her hair in a tight pony tail or a bun and spray the heck out of her hair with hairspray, or use gel, they cant latch onto the hair. Also get the green tea oil and put a few drops in the shampoo that you use. Its just enough to make the hair oily enough they cant latch on, but not enough to make the hair feel nasty.

Answer 8

The nits cement themselves to the hair root at the scalp, you won't see them in the hair, you have to look at the scalp. When you buy the lice shampoo it should come with a nit comb. You also have to wash all bedding in HOT water, or she will continue to have them.

Answer 9

I had the same problem, I went to the school and asked if other kids had nits and they said not that they noticed as they cant actually check the hair. they said that they saw them crawling around on her head.How I asked as I cant.The problem I found is I treated and other parents didn't and re infestation starts again.If they went back to my time and had the entire school checked at the same time and notes sent home to those who had nits saying dont send back to school until treated maybe them the problem will get better.The problem will stay if they don't .
My daughter and I had enough and as a last resort I cut her hair very very very short (she cut mine) and we wore bandanas this gave the little blighters nothing to lay there eggs in and easy to see and kill.EXTREME BUT IT WORKED.

Answer 10

i hate head lice because they can be a real bother. if they are that bad then you will have to buy some sort of head treatment. i have had to do it before. the only thing that works for me is lyclear. yoo apply it allover the head and let it sit for 10 mins then rinse out. then comb all the eggs and dead lice out. hope this helps.