Headlice nits verse dandruff

[joanniesolomon]

Great Thread! Very helpful! I've been experiencing all those things.

 

[aprilgail2]

This is yet another old thread bumped up but if anyone in the NY/NJ area needs a nitpicker we used one in Brooklyn that was AWESOME- it was licebustersnyc. They weren't wicked expensive and did a great job!

 

[Magic Mom]

Okay, I don't have alot of experiece in this. My son daycare says that he has nits. They haven't seen any lice. I have looked all I see is his dry skin. He has had the issue since he was born. Can you mixed up the dandruff and nits?

They really don't look alike. Nits are silvery tan, flat half circles attached to the hair shaft. When you run your fingers over them they won't move. To move them you have to scrape really hard. Dandruff and dry skin flakes move easily and don't have that silvery sheen.

 

[3boymthr]

Dandruff and nits are similar but definitely not the same. You definitely might not see any lice those suckers move FAST.

Since it appears you've decided to take preventive measures for lice and you have a little boy I'd suggest instead of Rid take the simplest step for getting rid of them -shave his head. I did this with my 3 when the youngest got lice (from the kids on the bus ). Between this an a thorough house cleaning we never got them again. Since it's summer no one will think anything about you taking a move like this. You can get a Wahl shaver for less than $20. Go with a really really short buzz and after he's shaved put all the blades in alcohol to kill any nits or lice.

 

[ebtbmom]

I wouldn't use the shampoo on him unless you are 100% certain, it is actually a pesticide. I'm a school nurse, and often parents freak out and use it over and over on the kids not realizing how toxic it is and the kids get a red, irritated, swollen scalp. You would have to have a live bug to lay the nits, so if you haven't seen any walking around, and what you are seeing is easily removed, it's probably dandruff. Any way you can post a pic?

Unless your DS wants to have a shaved head, please do not shave his head. That is really an over reaction, again, unless your DS likes that look and wants to try it anyway. Another school nurse story, one family shaved their daughter's hair, yes daughter, and she had long beautiful black hair. She had to wear a scarf wrap the rest of the year like the cancer kids wear. Such an over reaction!

 

[kimmyann]

My kids got lice from a neighbor a few years ago, what a nightmare My youngest was 18 months old & had it, lice & nits can be VERY hard to see especially if your child has light color hair. Either take him outside in the sunlight or use a flashlight & section the hair in small parts to look. There has to be a bug to have nits, eggs don't lay themselves.

After a week of cleaning EVERYTHING & picking heads I thought I had it beat, but I wanted to do one last check on my youngest. While searching through her hair with a flashlight (I would have to wait until she was asleep) I was almost done when I saw a slight movement, you guessed it, there was one left (they are almost transparent in color & they move, so they are hard to catch). I literally broke down, I had to start everything all over. It was a nightmare. You will never see them if you just casually look through the hair until it gets really bad, so just check & double & triple check. Thankfully, we have never again dealt with it & hopefully never will, it's alot of work.

 

[YodaGirl]

Unless he has been previously treated, he would have to have lice in order for there to be nits. It would be impossible for the eggs to appear without having the live bugs, first.

Be warned that lice shampoo does NOT kill nits. Those will still have to be pulled out. Also know that lice have become...what's the word (I'm blaming pregnancy brain here)...immune? to many OTC treatments.

As others have said, nits will be pretty much glued to the hair shaft, whereas dandruff will not. They will also be shaped differently.

Theoretically, a day care center should know the difference, but that's not always the case. It could be that another child has had head lice recently, and they are on hyper-alert.

Not all places will alert a parent when a child's classmate has lice. I teach at a private preschool. We always send home a form letter alerting the parents to the situation (not telling them who the student is, of course). Our public school system doesn't even check the rest of the class, any more, much less inform the parents that there is an issue.