Nits And The Identification And Removal Of Them.
Nits, simply put, are louse eggs. There are three kinds of lice commonly found on humans, attacking the head, the body, and the pubic region. The most common of these is head lice. They are easily spread between humans by physical contact, and require human blood to survive.
The best way to search for these eggs is to closely examine the scalp and hair of the potentially affected person. They will be attached to the scalp or the shaft of the hair and can be white to yellow in color, causing them to often be mistaken for dandruff.
Should you find nits on yourself or a friend or family member, there is no reason to panic! There are a variety of home remedies available for lice removal and also many commercially produced head lice treatments. If you are not comfortable using these treatments or remedies and only a few nits are visible, you can even first try just removing them by hand.
The least invasive method of lice removal is nit combing. Wash the hair with every day shampoo, and comb it thoroughly after with a fine tooth nit come. Some advise coating the hair with something oily or gooey, like mayonnaise or olive oil, then bundling it under a plastic bag or shower cap and leaving ot overnight. The claim is that this suffocates the lice. Other professionals feel that the thorough rinsing required to remove the oily substance it what is actually removing the lice and nits.
A range of head lice shampoos are available at your local pharmacy or drugstore. Questions regarding the use of these products should be directed to your pharmacist or physician. Additionally, the use of a nit comb is also recommended with these products, so be sure to pick one up while you are out there.
There is no need to scrub down your entire house after a family member has been diagnosed with lice. A thorough washing of the affected person’s bedding and personal hair care items should suffice, as lice will die within thirty six to forty eight hours of being off the human head. However, if it makes you more comfortable to clean house after giving treatment to the affected individual, it certainly won’t hurt!
The most common types of lice is head lice. They like to attack humans by attaching their eggs, also called nits, to the head, body or pubic region. Most of the time, the process of lice removal can be very easy. Head lice treatments are available at drugstores; they include shampoos and nit combs, which should help in the removal process. But people came up with their own home remedies, for example, covering your hair in an oily substance and leaving it on over night covered in a towel. Whatever your remedy, lice generally die off after 36 to 48 hours of not being attached to the human body.
- norman horowitz