Question:
Unfortunately, we dealt with the louse issue this summer when my
daughter picked them up at camp. I gather they are rife around here.
Ugh.
I was keeping an eye on my daughter for itching and thought, if
anything, she was itching less than usual. Hence, I breathed an
unwarranted sigh of relief. I also was checking for nits--or so I
thought. Turns out that 1) I must have had no idea what I was looking
for, and 2) you really should spend quite a long time looking--otherwise
the nits can be there and you just will not see them. I probably spend
10 minutes on a quick check (which seems inadequate); when my daughter
had nits, I could easily spend 1.5-2 hours going over every strand of
hair!
Another moral of the above is yes, do be cautious with possible spread
of lice even if you have not discovered them on you son.
I would not say nits look like grains of rice. I think they are more
like tiny sesame seeds, which generally are glued to the hair within ca
1/4" of the scalp (though not necessarily that close--you really have to
examine all of the hair). You can distinguish them from dandruff
because 1) dandruff is easily moved; and 2) they nits are more
3-dimensional and regularly shaped.
Oh, don't use Rid etc., esp. only as a preventive measure. Eevbn though
some of these OTC products seem to be natural, they can be quite harmful
and, according to what I have read (everything on the Internet and in
the newsgroups) they are losing/have lost their effectiveness. I used
the toxic stuff on my daughter (since it is routinely recommended by
doctors, et al.) before I did my research, and I REALLY regret it.
Subsequently, I found a product called NoNits at a local Health Food
store, which was much better and nontoxic--contains essential oils, etc.
If it turns out your son has nits or lice, I'll be happy to tell you
what I've found out about combatting them (in addition to the above).
Answer:
They're actually a lot smaller than grains of rice...look for something
that resembles shiny dandruff, and which won't comb out. Nits glue to
the hair shaft. See if he starts itching. If you *really* want to check,
and he cooperates, get a lice inspection comb. (It's a fine-tooth comb,
much finer than the usual,and you carefully comb through the hair with
it. If you wash it after each stroke in a mug full of hot water, you'll
see if you get any live-stock.)
