How to Determine if Your Child Has Head Lice

Head lice are "small, wingless insects that infest the hair and scalp of a person," according to
kids.emedtv.com. They are blood-sucking insects. Even though most anyone can get head lice, school-age children are infected with them most often. Young children who are ages 3 to 10 get them more than older children do. According to the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Arkansas, girls get head lice more often than boys do. African-Americans who live in the United States don't usually get head lice. Every year, there are approximately 12 million cases of head lice in the United States. Read this informative article and find out how to determine if your child has head lice.

Common Symptoms of Head Lice
If your child complains of having an itchy scalp, or s/he feels like there's something in their hair or on their neck, they may have head lice. But, the itching can also be caused by other factors such a dry scalp. If your child does have head lice, the itchiness is caused by an allergic reaction to bites. If the bumps that are caused by the bites are scratched open, they can become infected. This infection can lead to a swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, according to medical-look.com.

Inspect Your Child's Head
To determine if your child has head lice, you'll need to closely examine his/her head. Do this outside in direct sunlight, or in a brightly-lit area inside your home. Using a magnifying glass will help you search for head lice, especially in finding the tiny eggs.

What to Look For
Look for two different things during the examination, head lice and their eggs. The easiest lice to spot are the crawling adults. They're grayish-white in color, and they resemble a piece of rice. When head lice are filled with human blood, their bodies are reddish. Head lice can't fly, but they can move very quickly.

The eggs, or the nits, of head lice are white in color. Since they're about the size of a pinpoint, they can be difficult to see. Use a magnifying glass to help find eggs. A black light can also help locate nits since they'll glow in the light.

As previously mentioned, you may also see red bumps from head lice bites.

How to Look
To determine if your child has head lice, start at one spot on their head. Separate their hair into small sections with your fingers, reaching all the way down to the scalp. Look for head lice and their eggs. The nits will be found attached to the hair shafts. To determine whether a white fleck is just a flake of dead skin or a head lice egg, touch it with your fingertip. Since nits are firmly attached to hair shafts, they'll won't move easily.

After you have inspected one section, move on to the next area. Repeat the process until you have covered your child's entire head, checked around his/her ears, and on their neck. You can visit the Harvard School of Public Health web site here to see detailed photographs of head lice and nits.

Resources
http://www.drgreene.com/21_576.html
http://kids.emedtv.com/head-lice/diagnosing-head-lice.html
http://www.arfamilies.org/health_nutrition/topics/head_lice.htm
http://www.medical-look.com/Skin_diseases/Head_lice.html
http://www.dhpe.org/infect/lice.html
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice/photos.html