lice...i dont know how to tell?

Question

How can i tell if my child has lice? What are the signs? Her friend gena's mother just called me and told me they sent gena home today as they found a lice infensation in the classroom and gena is one of the kids that got it. the last time my daughter played with her was thrusday...what are the chances she has it?

i meant the last time she played with her was wednesday not thrusday

Answer 1

Head Lice - What They Are and How to Eliminate Them
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What are head lice?
Head lice are small wingless insects (bugs) that can get on your hair and scalp. Lice are parasites (say: pah-ruh-sytes) that feed on very small amounts of your blood. Lice bites may cause constant scratching, and lead to skin irritation or even infection.
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Who is at risk of getting head lice?
Anyone can get head lice, but they are more common among school-aged children. Head lice spread more easily among children 3 to 12 years of age because they share their belongings more often than adults and play close together.

It's not true that people get head lice because they're dirty. Head lice are very contagious. No matter how many times you or your child takes a shower or washes his or her hair, it's still possible to get head lice from head-to-head contact with someone who is already infested with lice. You can also get head lice if you share hats, towels, pillows, combs or brushes with someone who has head lice.

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Can head lice be prevented?
It may be difficult to prevent head lice from spreading among children, but the following are some steps you can take to help keep lice away:

Ask your child not to share combs, brushes or hair decorations.
Ask your child not to try on hats that belong to other children.
If your child will be sleeping away from home, be sure to pack his or her own pillow and towels.
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What are the signs of head lice?
Because lice move very fast, they are not always easy to see. Here's what you can watch for:

Frequent scratching
Small red bumps or sores on the scalp, neck and shoulders
Lice eggs, also called nits, which look like tiny, oval shaped, white or clear dots. Nits usually stick at an angle on hair shafts.
If you think someone in your family has head lice, it's probably best to check everyone in the family. If you're not sure, your family doctor can help diagnose head lice.

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How can I treat head lice?
Head lice can be treated with over-the-counter or prescription products. Shampoos and lotions that kill head lice contain pesticides and other chemicals, so it is important to talk to your doctor before using these products, especially if you are pregnant or nursing, or if you have allergies or asthma. It is also not safe to use products with pesticides on or near your eyes. If you find head lice or nits in eyelashes or brows, talk to your doctor.

The products that kill head lice don't usually kill all nits. To reduce the risk of another lice infestation, pick the remaining lice and nits by hand or by using a special comb (one brand name: LiceMeister comb) to remove them. Comb through all of the hair one section at a time every 3 days or more often, for at least 2 weeks or until you stop seeing head lice and nits.

You should also use hot water to wash any bed linens, towels and clothing recently worn by the person who had head lice. Vacuum anything that can't be washed such as the couch, carpets, your child's car seat and any stuffed animals. Because head lice don't live very long away from the scalp, you don't need to use lice spray on these items.

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Written by familydoctor.org editorial staff.

Source
American Academy of Family Physicians

Pediculosis and Scabies (American Family Physician January 15, 2004, http://www.aafp.org/afp/20040115/341.html)

Answer 2

I've volunteered in the nurse's office and we've had to do several head checks. If you have a light that you could use it will make it easier to see the nits or the lice. Start at the bottom of her hair (at the neck line), look for what looks like tiny eggs (hard to distinguish dandruff and eggs) The difference is the eggs stick and you have to pull them off where dandruff will flake off. Move through her head until you get to the top of her head. The actual lice, you have to look closely but you will see the little bugs crawling around. Her head would be itchy and she would be constantly scratching if it was lice.

They make products over the counter to use for lice treatment.

Don't panic if she does have lice. It is very easy to spread and no big deal if children get lice. just treat it. Wash the sheets and sterilize the combs/brushes.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

You can tell my looking at the back of the neck or around the ears. They are little nits and they are white and can be black if they are getting ready to hatch. If some already hatched than you could possible see a bug. You can by RID shampoo and if you do this please follow the directions on the box or bottle. It used to tell you to retreat in 7 days. If she does have them you will want to laundry her bed. There is also RID Spray and you can spray this on the bed or any furniture. If she has had contact with anything like a stuffed animal you can put it in the dryer for 30 minutes. If your child's friend was at your house I would go ahead and treat your house. There was a spray a few years ago that you could spray on your hair to stop you for getting it. I hope this helps!! I ran and Head Start program for three years and we saw this a lot.

Answer 4

You should be able to see them in her hair. Use a fine toothed comb to part her hair in different sections and look for small white sacs, called nits. These are the eggs of the lice and they tend to stick to the hair. The actual lice are black and very small. Your child should be scratching a LOT too.
As for what you can do, you can buy over-the-counter treatment and they should disappear within a few days. Wash all of her bedsheets, pillows, comforters, etc. with a small amount of bleach. Vacuum the carpet and sprinkle some flea powder on it. Also if you have any pets, give them a flea bath just in case.

Answer 5

If you come to discover your chid has lice, remember these facts....
1) lice are not something 'dirty" people get...in fact, the cleaner the childs head is, the more likely they are to be infested.

2)Over the counter products help, but the best way to get rid of these pests is parental dilligence. Only total and physical removal of the bugs ensures complete riddance.

3)Lice are NOT like fleas...they CANNOT jump, fly or hop...they move from head to head by traveling on inanimite objects (hats, brushes, etc.)

4)Animals CANNOT support human head lice...head lice survive on HUMAN HEADS only. Trying to treat your animals will be pointless.

5)Adult human head lice can only survive away from a host for about 24 hours....bagging stuffed animals, etc for longer than two days is unnecassary. A simple HOT wash and dry for bedding is a great idea, but there is no need to go to extreme. As far as carpeting, padded cusions, couches etc....unless your kid lays on the floor for hours at a time everyday, there is no need for anything more than a through vaccuuming.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Answer 6

Chance, yes. A very good chance. The only way to know for sure is to pick through her hair and look. Your looking for a very small, whitish bug and their egg sacks which are called nits. The nits are very small white deposits that go around the hair shaft. The nits look sort of like the roots of a hair, only they go around it a short distance above the scalp.

You can get shampoos that will kill them, but those shampoos contain pesticides and aren't something you should use unless your sure she has them.

Picking through her head will be painstaking time consuming process. You need a strong light, best if you can get one of those lighted magnifying lenses.

Been there, done that, don't want to do it again.

Answer 7

Chances are very good that she got it with close contact. If she is scratching her head alot that is one of the first signs. You do not generally see a bug just alot of little tiny nits(eggs) which are a grayish color(white with a black center giving it the grayish look) and they generally attach themselves to the root of the hair and it is usually found at the back of the neck behind the ears etc. but depending on how bad the infestation can be found anywhere.

Answer 8

sit down with your child!
and look at her scalp the hair closer to the scalp would have the eggs little white things that are attached to the hair you can pull them off!

if your super parioniod then get the lice kit and run that little comb that removes those eggs through the hair the bugs you may see to!

eassy to over look! if your just getting to it so inspect the head EXTRA carfully don't miss a spot!

if you just want to safeguard yourself just run throught the process on the box if she only has one you won't have to disinfect the hole house!

and follow up with your friend! Lice love clean hair and skin!

Answer 9

Look really good. the eggs attach to the hair and are visible white speaks. Wash her hair with a little vinegar. I have been told that will keep lice out. Do this periodically to remedy your child from getting lice.

Answer 10

Ugh! Lice! It's the worse thing to have! i had it a few times as a kid, I always lived in a clean enviorment, but the kids I played with always seemed to pass it along to me, Iice is so hard to get rid of! After so many treatments the lice gets immune to it. If it is lice make sure you bug your house with a bug bomb (getting all the people and pets out of the house for at least 4 hours) and wash all clothes and bed linens. To tell if she has lice, just look in her hed thoroughly looking deeply at the scalp for small flea like looking bugs. Her head should itch. Its kind of like the dog having fleas!