What do head lice & nits look like?

Head lice infestations & why they make you itch

Head lice are classified as parasites. This is because they live on a person’s head and feed on human blood from the scalp up to four times a day¹.

Itchy heads can be a symptom of head lice bites, though despite being somewhat repulsive, the tiny creatures are fairly harmless and don’t carry any diseases³.  Despite some misconceptions, head lice can’t fly, jump or swim. They spread through head-to-head contact and this is why they’re particularly common in primary school children.

Head lice infestations are more common in girls than boys.³ This is because it’s believed that girls do more activities with their heads close together than boys.

How common are head lice?

A recent study found that 45% of school-aged children have suffered from head lice in the past 5 years⁴ and the risks of being infected has been significantly increased with smartphone or tablet use.⁴

The study also revealed that 55% of school children who took selfies with smartphones or tablets got head lice.⁴ This compares to only 30% infected of those who didn’t own a smartphone or tablet.⁴

There you have it, to all the parents who are trying to get their kids away from phones and tablets, you can just tell them they’ll get head lice!

What are nits?

You’ll often hear parents use the word ‘nits’ to describe head lice eggs. Technically, nits are just the empty shells of hatched louse eggs⁵. These turn white and remain attached to the hair, but further from the scalp surface⁵, which could be why they’re often more noticeable than head lice themselves.

Those who remember the ‘nit nurse’ from years gone by may recall the nurse cracking nit shells to see if they were live or empty. If the shell cracked easily, it was empty. If there was no cracking sound, you had a live egg.

These days, it’s said the only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice⁶.

So,What do head lice eggs look like?

Live lice eggs are small brown or tan coloured dots on hair shafts close to the scalp. These can be incredibly difficult to spot. Broken egg shells, or nits, are easier to spot. 

It’s common for parents to mistake nits for dandruff. This is because they’re a whitish-translucent colour and are usually close to the scalp.

A good way to tell whether you’re dealing with nits or dandruff flakes is to pull on the small white speck with your fingers. Dandruff will be easy to remove, whereas nits will be harder to pull out as they’re glued to the hair shafts.

Where do head lice live?

Detecting head lice and nits can be a challenge for many parents, and it can feel a bit like you’re trying to find a needle in a haystack - especially when you’re dealing with long, thick hair.

The trick to finding the little critters is to know where they like to hang out. Head lice have favourite places to gather, also known as head lice ‘hotspots’.

Head lice like to live close to the scalp surface as this provides food, warmth, shelter and moisture. As a result, these hotspots tend to be at the nape of the neck, crown of the head and behind the ears⁷.  Some parents have also noted that head lice like to hide behind ponytails or braids. 

Adult lice and nymphs can’t survive too long away from a human host. Usually for only 1 or 2 days. Eggs can survive a little longer away from its human host (up to 3 days), but will need the warmth of a person’s scalp to hatch⁸. 

How do I know if I have head lice?

Due to the idea that the only way to be sure whether someone has head lice is by finding live lice⁶, it’s worth checking every family member regularly. This should be especially the case if there are any school-aged children in your family.

A helpful tool in your arsenal for head lice treatment comes in the form of a specially designed fine-toothed detection comb - also known as the infamous ‘nit comb’. 

A technique called wet-combing can be used for detecting and removing head lice⁹. This involves washing the hair with hot water and shampoo, then applying conditioner and using the nit-comb under a bright light to go through each section of the hair - removing any head lice, nits or eggs found after each brush. Once the process is complete, the conditioner should be washed out and the process started again.

Head lice treatment for busy families

Any parent who’s had to deal with kids suffering from head lice already knows, wet combing can be a lengthy process. It might take as little as 10 minutes on short hair. However, if you’re doing it on long, frizzy or curly hair, it can take 20 or even 30 minutes¹⁰. 

For busy families, wet combing isn’t the best option because it can take longer than preferred. This is when an insecticide-free treatments can be a helpful alternative. These can come in the form of head lice treatment shampoos, lotions or spray. 

Although it can be tricky to find and treat head lice, help is at hand. Pop in to your local pharmacy for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment tips.