Not sure what I am dealing with

QUESTION:

Few days ago I found something resembling a nit in my daughter's hair. I used lice shampoo as well as combed through her hair, nitpicking. Whatever I found was too small for the comb, only nails would work to remove it. Next day I checked and only found 2 nits. Next day after I found 3 nits and I used licefreee spray all over.

What I find is not by ears or neck and it's not close to the scalp. It's over an inch from her scalp.

Today I was hoping not to find anything and I found 7... There is no life lice running around so where are the nits coming from???


ANSWER:

Hello Not Sure,

If the small objects you’re picking out are over an inch from your daughter’s scalp, they’re NOT viable nits. (Head lice lay eggs and attach nits to hair as close to the scalp as possible. Lice eggs need the warmth of the human head to stay alive.)

How difficult are they to remove? Have you looked at them under a magnifying glass in a strong light? Could they be bits of dandruff, shampoo or a hair treatment product? Nits are glued on tightly; you need to pull them all the way down and off the very end of the hair shaft to remove them.

If your daughter did have a lice infestation which was successfully treated, then the objects you’re finding could be non-viable (dead) nits. However, they would not be increasing in number. That would mean the new ones you find each day were actually present the day before, and you just didn’t see them – nits are so tiny and easy to miss!

There are some magnified photos of nits on this page:
http://www.kidsheadlice.com/what-do-nits-look-like.html
A microscope really comes in handy for positive identification. :-)

If after close examination you determine the objects you’re finding are dead nits, I’d recommend doing a very thorough comb-out with the Terminator comb to remove them.