Nits are lice eggs packed in a special shell of a sticky and air-drying substance. Each nit contains one egg and is located on a single human hair.
Due to the secretion secreted by the lice, the nit firmly adheres to the hair, and a few minutes later it is attached so securely that it cannot be removed even with nails. The photo below shows such a close-up of a nit fixed on a hair:
On a note
Nits in the hair are more noticeable than lice, for the reason that, due to their light color, they are more likely to catch the eye than the parasites themselves. With an abundant infestation of the head with lice, the number of nits is so large that the hair of the infected person, even washed, looks as if sprinkled with grits.
At the same time, adult lice and mobile larvae spend most of their time on the scalp and are not seen. Therefore, in everyday life they often talk not even about infection with lice, but about infection with nits, which is incorrect.
They simply don’t call nits eggs in the scientific community due to the fact that a significant part of the nits is precisely its shell, which does not participate in the development of the larva and does not provide it with food. It is most correct to define nits as a stage of development of the parasite.
The appearance of the nit
To the naked eye, a nit looks just like a white dot in a person's hair. Below in the photo, nits are presented in large numbers, and at first impression they resemble simple dandruff:
When viewed under a microscope, nits look like small, elongated capsules attached to hairs. At the same time, nits in pubic lice look somewhat different: they are shorter and more rounded.
Below is a photo of nits under a microscope:
The sizes of nits are quite small. In head and body lice, they are about 0.7-0.8 mm long and about 0.4 mm in diameter. Nits of pubic lice are even smaller, and reach a length of 0.6 mm.
Each nit looks like a small, round, spindle-shaped capsule. In the lower half, it has a small formation formed by the same substance that makes up the shell and looks like a wide belt tightly wrapping around the hair. In the upper part there is a flat cap, which the larva pushes out when it hatches.
It is interesting
By the shape of the cap of the nit and by the way it looks after the larvae emerges from the egg, an entomologist can tell which type of lice a particular nit belongs to.
In the photo below - nits at the time of hatching louse:
It is very difficult to examine the lid of the nit with the naked eye, and it is impossible to say whether there is a developing larva inside the capsule, or whether it has already hatched. Both developing and empty nits look almost the same.
With a sufficiently long infection with lice and the absence of treatment, a large number of empty shells from nits accumulate on the hair of a person. Because of this, it may seem that nits in the hair are much more numerous than the lice themselves. Dry nits stay on the hair for as long as the hair itself, and disappear from the head only with hair loss.
It is interesting
Reliable attachment of nits to the hair is the key to their survival. Therefore, the secret that makes up the shell of the egg is very durable and resistant to different environmental conditions. Vinegar, cranberry juice, some natural and synthetic acids can reduce its strength (some methods for removing nits from hair are discussed below).
Nits are always light, almost white in color. This helps to see them well on dark hair.
In body lice, nits are located in the folds of clothing, between seams, in pockets, and also firmly adhere to the fabric. Finding them here is much more difficult than on the hair.
The photo below shows lice eggs on clothes:
Development of nits
Almost immediately after the last molt and the acquisition of maturity, each female louse mates with a male and, after a plentiful meal, begins to lay eggs.
The female lays an average of 5 to 10 eggs per day. In this case, the insect clings to the hair and begins to crawl up. In the oviduct at this time, the egg descends to the anus and passes by the glands that secrete a sticky secret, enveloping them.
Immediately after leaving the oviduct, the egg comes into contact with the hair, and the secret envelops the hair itself. Part of the secret flows from the top of the nit, where the lid is formed. Within a few minutes, the sticky substance hardens, and the nits are firmly stuck to the hair.
Below are some photos of nits on the hair at high magnification:
In body lice, everything usually happens a little simpler: the egg simply falls on the surface of the fabric and sticks to it.
Nits develop from 5 to 8 days, depending on the temperature. The optimum temperature for egg incubation is 33°C. At temperatures below 22°C and above 40°C, their development stops. At temperatures up to 0°C, the eggs remain viable for several months; when the temperature rises to 45°C, they die.
The photo below shows what nits look like on a person's eyelashes:
In body lice, the development of eggs can be delayed up to six months, if the person often removes the clothes on which they were deposited, and they cool for a long time (All this time, clothing remains potentially dangerous as a source of possible infestation with linen lice). With the constant wearing of infected clothing, nits develop on it at the same time as in head lice.
The larva itself cannot immediately get out of the egg, since it sits very tightly in it. She just pops the lid off and starts breathing. Part of the air enters her lungs, part she swallows and passes through the digestive tract, releasing through the anus. As a result, pressure rises in the lower part of the capsule, which pushes the larva out of the egg. The whole process usually lasts only a few minutes, after which the insect leaves the shell.
The photo below shows what the nits look like immediately after the larvae emerges:
Where to look for nits?
Nits are not located along the entire length of the hair. As a rule, the female sticks the egg at a distance of 2-3 centimeters from the root.
Females rarely lay their eggs on hairs that already have nits. This can only occur with a very large number of lice on the head.
Increasing the level of literacy
My four-year-old daughter suddenly began to constantly scratch her head, I even thought it was an allergy, but I could not understand what it was. And the itch didn't subside. My baby was constantly scratching her head, almost all evening until she fell asleep.
In the kindergarten, I approached the nurse, but she laughed and said that she regularly looks at all the children every day, in groups of heat, so the kids' heads sweat. But still she said she would look at my daughter. And after 30 minutes they called me, they said to pick up my daughter as soon as possible with the words “She has a head full of nits!” It sounded pretty ominous. Moreover, until this moment I met nits only among people, and not among insects.
But it turned out that nits are lice eggs.
Alina, Kemerovo
It is more difficult to find nits in thick, curly and light hair than in dark and straight hair. As a rule, it is advisable to use special lice combs to search for nits. They allow, after combing a few strands of hair, to comb out a few nits.
And further: Killer remedy for lice and nits for 40 rubles - hellebore water (the article has more than 60 comments)
Nits can be found on almost all parts of the human body. The head louse leaves them on the head, the pubic louse - on the pubis and in the groin. Much less often, the pubic louse breeds in the armpits, and only in exceptional cases - on the eyebrows, eyelashes and beard.
Just from a distance, it is difficult to notice nits on a person’s hair. They catch the eye only with a strong infection and a large number of them on the head, and usually this picture is complemented by the impression of a general slovenliness of the hairstyle and hair.
The photo shows how the nits on the hair look with a large number of lice:
Body lice nits can be found in the seams of clothing. However, getting them out of there is a hopeless business. And yes, they are hard to find here. It is much easier to find adult insects biting the body on the sides and back - these are definitely not pubic or head lice.
Are nits transmitted from person to person?
Nits on the hair do not know how to move and therefore are not transmitted between people. Only in exceptional cases, with close contacts, they can fall with fallen hair on the head of a healthy person.
Sometimes nits are transmitted to a healthy person on combs, invisibles and hair ties. (they fall on these objects with their hair falling out).
Even knowing well what nits look like, they are very difficult to notice on a comb, so for reliable protection against them, it is better not to use other people's hair care products at all.
Is it so difficult to deal with nits?
Nits are much more resistant to various external factors than larvae or adult lice. Most pediculicides will not kill them, and only a limited number of ovicidal products (usually based on organophosphate insecticides) can kill eggs.
- It is known that vinegar and cranberry juice contribute to softening, and in high concentrations - even the destruction of the shell of nits. However, they are also capable of causing scalp burns, and therefore today they are usually no longer used for such purposes.
- Quite reliably, nits are destroyed by treating the hair with small portions of vinegar in strong dilutions and then combing them out with lice combs. However, due to the small size, complete removal of nits will not occur.
- The most effective extermination of the lice themselves, as sources of nits. After they are removed with special shampoos or creams, only surviving nits remain on the head. After 5-7 days, larvae hatch from all nits, which are killed by re-treatment with the same means.
- Sometimes it is much easier, more effective and faster to get rid of nits by simply shaving off infected hair.
- Nits of body lice are destroyed quite easily. For this, infected things should be boiled in boiling water for more than 5-10 minutes and dried. After that, eggs will remain in the seams of clothes, but they will be dead and will no longer pose a danger. After a few washes, they will all wash out.
The main thing to remember when you find nits on your hair or clothes is that they are only a consequence of the reproduction of lice. Therefore, the struggle should be aimed at the destruction of lice in the first place, and nits will disappear with them.
Can't get rid of nits? Consider important details...
Rare footage: the birth of a louse from a nit
Interesting video: how to get rid of lice
Wow, this is so horrendous
People, I bought a shignen - it turned out to be with nits. Worn for several days. What to do, they can go. How many nits develop without a person?
I agree
Yes, you are just right.
Exactly. Fu, crap.
Why are you looking?
Looks like "strangers".
Oh fufufuu.
Fu, what a horror! I burped right from the photos (
Are you afraid of them?
I have lice.
You know, you can't talk about lice to anyone.
Correctly.
How did you take them out?
I am kerosene. But he is very hot!
I felt sick from these nits. My head itches a lot and I can't sleep because of it. Muck!
Take Dichlorvos, spray on your whole head, then a bag on your head. And you will even hear them explode.
I didn't think lice were like that.
My daughter brought lice from somewhere, they treated her with Paranit 2 times with an interval of 7 days, and pah pah, no more.
The doctor told me in the kindergarten that she found empty capsules in my daughter, lice eggs. But it does not itch, I checked - there are no lice. Could it be that dry nits were transferred to her from someone?
My son has a lot of live nits, and hellebore water helps with them.You just need to smear your head with hellebore water, then put a bag on your head for an hour, and then wash it off and spread it with lavinal from skin irritation. And then wash it off, and after 12 hours they will die. Hellebore water does not work immediately.
Yes, I have the same thing with my daughter, only there are no capsules, what should I do? Tried Nude - nothing helped.
Pair Plus Helps
We bought, and found 2 alive at my daughter's.
By the way, yes, it helps!
Flea drops for dogs are very helpful. We took granny's lice out. 4 TAIL title. And if you take it for children, then take it for puppies (1 was treated, repeated in 5-8 days). Helps without fail.
Spray with dichlorvos - and under the bag, for 30 minutes. And then choose them from your head. If there is a desire, then press and pull out, collecting them on a piece of paper, which you then burn.
Sometimes children do not immediately feel that they have lice, and do not even itch, but this does not mean that there are definitely no lice. I recommend that you go to a dermatologist or try to kill the lice yourself and comb through with a comb. If there are no lice, it will not be superfluous anyway. At first we didn’t find anything either, and then there were so many of them. So it's better not to risk it.
Did you read the article at all?
Never had one, didn't even know what it was! And now, out of nowhere, I constantly take it out, and it's useless. Where they come from - no one can understand. Everyone's head was checked, no one was found.
Good luck
One girl studies with me, she had lice and nits. She yelled at me and said that I told everyone that she had nits and lice. But I didn't know. Then the next day he comes up to me and says: let me write off English.I told her to back off. She hugged me and the lice came to me ...
I have lice, I don't know how to get it out.
I bought Paranit and Nyuda at the pharmacy, took it out in 2 days.
Shave your head if it's a boy. And so - a special shampoo, plus vinegar, diluted in water, plus combing.
Lice is the worst thing that can be.
And I thought that the worst thing was blindness ...
I haven't and won't!
Don't be so sure about it. You can pick them up anywhere! In the tram in the store, but just from people. And if you say that, you'll definitely pick it up.
Yes exactly.
I also thought that I would never have them. No need to renounce, someone will reward, you won’t understand who.
Will be!
Don't hesitate.
Will be!
Everything happens in life!
Fu, lice are such a nasty thing, they are so painful to comb out along with their mushrooms (cubs).
They picked up lice on the train, fu, such an abomination. We don’t know how to withdraw: they washed it with antibite and paranit. Advise more effective means.
Hellebore water helps adults. Well, children can buy something at the pharmacy. I bought the NUDA remedy for my daughter.
This helped me too
Try FULLMARKS (fullmarks) - it comes with a comb ... Everything is written in the instructions.
The most effective tool is a razor.
Take it and smear your head with kerosene, wrap your head with a towel and walk in a towel for half an hour, and then wash your hair with regular shampoo. All nits and lice will die, kerosene will not harm the head and hair.But all the same, you need to comb your head with a comb, otherwise they will start up again.
Kerosene. Helps a lot! You have to keep it for half an hour.
Try Pedex, and if it does not help, I advise kerosene.
Lavinal
The best remedy is Nyuda. Helped me.
Try Dichlorvos, apply on the scalp, wrap your head in a bag and walk like this for 20 minutes or even half an hour, then rinse well and comb your head, after a few days everything is the same, I brought it out like this.
Dichlorvos - poison, will be fatal.
As a child, I was also taken out with dichlorvos, and then combed out. Never happened again!
I tried to withdraw with Paraplus, withdrew in 2 hours.
No, Pair Plus does not display, this is bullshit (sorry) rare.
benzyl benzoate bakes
Faced this problem for the second time! For the first time, a couple was taken out with a plus, but still I had to remove half-dead nits (eggs) manually. No combs will remove anything, do not believe it. The second time I decided not to spend money and buy tar soap (18 rubles): I washed it, lathered it a second time, put on a plastic bag and put a towel on top, washed it off after 20 minutes. I rinsed it with a solution of vinegar and water, I had an essence, so I poured 2 tbsp into 1 liter. spoons, and began to sort out her hair in small strands and remove the eggs by hand. They did this for five days in a row in the evening! In the morning I also looked through my hair in small strands and wondered why I took everything off in the evening, and in the morning there are still eggs ... And only after reading articles and watching videos about their life cycle and the action of various drugs, I realized that I was doing everything right. As a result, after 5 days there was nothing left.
To heal the scalp, I bought tea tree essential oil and added 5 drops to the shampoo in the evening. Exactly one week later, everything went away, without harm to the health of my daughter (6 years old). No means will remove the eggs from the hair! Only each manually, long, but true. But in reality, even a dead one will hold on until the hair falls out, and will never fall off. I hope my advice will help you, because reading the reviews of other moms, I took note of the tea tree oil treatment recipe. Do not be afraid, everything is treated, you need patience and a system. Good luck.
Thank you Maria Helped a lot. And then no trace of lice. Everything has healed. Sometimes the other person's experience is better than the advertisement.
This method was taught to me by my mother. Previously, lice were not uncommon. My mother had very thick and long hair. Caught lice. It’s a pity to cut, so my mother smeared them with Deta. Spray the head with Deta (mosquito repellent). Wrap your head with cling film or a bag. Wash off after an hour. And the lice and nits will die. After dry your hair well, and iron it with a hair straightener. The nits will all burst. Got it from my daughter the first time. Good luck.
And where is it for sale?
As a child, they took me out with kerosene, it was unbearable to endure, but there was not a trace of lice.
Yes. My mother also smeared me with kerosene yesterday.
Today I found nits in my son, this is the first time I encounter this, so I had a tantrum and I scared my son with this. I called my husband, he reassured us, said that it was not fatal, but contagious. Now I’m thinking if I could get infected from my son, I sleep with my son in the same bed! ((Tell me, I could get infected, I started to itch all over!
Yes, as much as she could.
Yes
A proven tool is FULMARKS spray. 10 minutes - and forgot about this infection.
Oh! It even got worse, as I saw it on my eyelashes. This is probably among the homeless, I have never seen anything like this in my life. Anonymous, naturally get infected, now you are being treated comprehensively. Paranit shampoo or spray, also after treatment, comb everything out with a comb. Shampoo, by the way, comes with a comb, and quite convenient.
How nasty, thank God I don't have them.
Guseva, but is the spray without a comb? We kind of took a spray, there the scallop was so interesting, a squiggle. Convenient.
Dmitry, of all the sparing oily products such as fullmarks, paranit and nudes, fullmarks has the shortest comb for combing out, some kind of stub, it really pissed me off, it’s a pity for the iron on the teeth or something.
KROSHKA_M, but in the spray it's a little different, more comfortable, I agree. It is at an angle, it is easier to scratch, the hand does not get tired so much. Recently, they almost lit me up for a comb, 1500 rubles, it’s good that I didn’t buy it, the girls from work dissuaded me, the asset is a comb, like it treats lice.
Damn, have you ever heard of this scallop? It is much better than any pharmacy, plastic. Much more efficient, I tell you.
For all my 32 years, I have never seen live lice and nits. Even when I saw white dots on my daughter’s hair, I didn’t immediately understand what it was. And in the morning came the insight - nits! Panic. Bought NUDA, helped. By the way, after it, the hair is very silky, soft, well-groomed.
By the way, how can it be that the nits were inanimate? I dried my daughter's hair with a hair dryer the night before. Maybe she burned them under the high temperature 🙂
Maybe. Hot hair dryer, curling iron, ironing kill them.
I didn't have lice or nits, and I didn't know what they looked like. I decided to Google it and looked at how they look - such an abomination.
My classmate constantly has nits, she sticks to me. What to do in order not to get infected?!
Ahh, I have lice, and my hair is long and thick, I can’t get it out for 2 weeks, it’s just a nightmare.
I have lice and I've been afraid to tell my mom for 2 years now. Advise, good people 🙁
Tell your mother, otherwise you can end up in the hospital, they drink blood.
If you have lice, then you need to comb them out with a comb.
Pediculin - use it.
Lyalya, don't worry! They cut me under the CARE - and nothing, I’m alive, healthy, but the eggs can catch my eye (( Fu-fu, disgusting, abomination, I thought that they wouldn’t leave me a single hair, but vinegar definitely helped!)
I was in the camp and I picked it up there. Now the back of the head itches a lot. Mom checked - she didn’t find it, but I went to the mirror and found eggs from lice. What to do, mom will scold.
Olesya, say.
You can try the medicine Paraplus - spray to. Or go to the doctor, he will tell you what to do. I once went with my grandmother, he prescribed me some medicine, and it helped. No more worries and problems with lice. I did this procedure for 12 days and I had no more lice.
It is not a problem to remove lice, but at the same time we must not forget about nits. Not a single infection takes them until you manually select them all. Combing helps, but still something remains. Treat the head after detecting nits with anti-lice agents for at least 2 weeks with breaks of 4-5 days and be sure to boil bed linen + even iron pillows and blankets.In the house, it is better to process everything once a week with dichlorvos. She treated her daughter and herself (they slept next to each other) with permin, combed out, chose. Further, so as not to climb (I brought it from school), I used Lavinal a couple of times - there is lavender and ylang-ylang oil - it scares away. Be sure to inform the class teacher, teacher, doctors about the presence of lice in the child, so that they take measures against other children, otherwise everything will go in a circle - you brought it out, and after a few days you got infected again. There is nothing to be ashamed of, worse if you pick it up again because you kept silent.
I have had lice and nits for a whole year now, they are not poisoned by anything
Sophia, if you don't get poisoned, you need to get a haircut!
Can hair dye burn them?
Now there is an epidemic going on, it's terrible.
I don’t know, but I found some kind of white dot on my daughter’s head, I decided to check if it was nits (in childhood, my mother burst them with her nails). She did everything, and she crunched! Didn't find anything else. Maybe it wasn't a bug after all? Itself immediately began to itch (Today I will buy a shampoo for prevention.
I've probably caught it 3 times already. I've tried everything, nothing helps. I think cut your hair. There are simply no words. But to be honest, I painted 3 times, there were no lice, but nits remained. Now I’m alone in the hospital with pediculosis, they don’t let me go anywhere. They say the flea remedy for dogs helps. For long hair, pour along the middle of the hair, behind the ears and at the back of the head, and wrap for 10 minutes. The smell will spread and the nits and lice will disappear.
A year ago, my daughter had lice, they removed Khigiya with shampoo. Yesterday I noticed that she was scratching her head, I immediately had memories of this nightmare ... I started looking - I didn’t find lice, only dry nits.Do you think they could be from last year? (Today I was looking again, I didn’t find anything, but I’m itching myself, I can’t stop).
The dermatologist wrote out: Pediculen, Pair Plus (spray).
Dichlorvos Eco, lavender flavor
The whole family had lice, because. everyone slept together. She cut her daughter's and husband's hair to match, and worked on herself. Looks like it's over. My husband looks - he says, I have dandruff there, but there are small bumps on my head, is it from bites? And can it be that the old bumps are still there, or are there still lice?
Damn, I didn't know there were lice in my eyelashes.
And I have such a question: today I found lice and nits in a child, processed it, but the result is not yet clear. Can he go to school?
It's the same with us. And the same question, let's go to the doctor and call the classroom. Good luck to everyone in curing this muck.
I've tried everything. Better and cheaper MEDIFOKS did not see. Dilute according to the instructions, wet the hair and scalp with a sponge, put on the bag, soak according to the instructions (I walked twice as long, to be sure), rinse. And every 3 days so, then control in a week. Like a possessed woman, she was always afraid that the ripe nits would hatch. Like a crazy woman combed out with a comb a day more than once, her hair is thick and long. Then for a long time it seemed that her hair was moving, she ran to comb out the comb)) She found nothing and calmed down. And do not forget to treat your habitats, and steam the clothes that do not wash with an iron.
Yeah ... Comments go off scale with idiocy (some). First, lice are not fatal. Secondly, no one will scold anyone (except for the ill-mannered and crazy).Thirdly, all lice shampoos from pharmacies are effective, but you need to know the life cycle of lice (repeat treatment or shave hair, remove nits for a long time and in front of a lamp, etc.). Lice appear not only among the homeless or leading a dirty, so to speak, lifestyle, but also among rich clean people too (lice do not care who you are), and this is not a shame. Apparently, these are post-Soviet echoes or something, I can’t understand ...))
Help, good people, yesterday I found out that I have lice ... It scares me that I have thick, long hair!
Daughter from school brought 3 times. The first time (December 31) they found me, my daughter and her sister. Later 2 more times. And now here, it seems, again from somewhere. Almost the entire class was checked - no lice. Where do they come from - do not understand!
Full Marks - spray, spray and comb out after 10 minutes, super product! It does not contain traditional pesticides, fast processing, no smell even. It instantly dehydrates lice and nits, they just dry up! In short, a great tool, but expensive.
Buy Pair Plus - it helps, I used it myself.
NUDA - my daughter was taken out in a day. It clogs the respiratory openings of lice and nits and they die. German tool. Non-toxic, looks like oil.
Nit Free is a safe remedy for children and pregnant women.
Fu, how terrible!
Already the 3rd time the problem with these insects! The first time they were in my kindergarten, well, that's okay. The second time six months ago, I picked it up from my nephews.The third time now, and not just lice, but also complete with fleas and even goosebumps, some kind of misfortune! Everything is complicated by the fact that there is no time to poison them, because I live alone and study in honey in the first year, there is no one to help with the problem. Where did all this come from - I do not understand. And lice are very difficult to remove. It is necessary to try more than one shampoo to travut them completely. And it is also desirable to change bed linen. And when there is no washing machine at home, then there is nothing to do, you have to live on with this terrible itch and infect other people ...
The most disgusting creature on our planet. No one benefits, only harm.
P.S. It even seems to me that there are people who specifically remove lice, and then release them somewhere on a chair in public transport (this is just an example, there can be many options). And then they break the lava for the sale of drugs against these very lice (although I sincerely hope that this is not so).
And my daughter from the kindergarten also brought it once. For three days in a row, all family members were smeared with various means. They scratched and took out in three days. And they washed with paraplus, and with hellebore water, and with paranit. The main thing is to comb well)
Lice and nits die at temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, so a bath with a good steam room should help. Only you need to bathe completely naked, and comb your hair well.
Horror
If I have lice (and I have thick hair), how can I get them out without buying popular products? And without much destroying the structure of the hair and the hair itself.