What are head lice?
Head lice are human parasites that live on the scalp and hair and feed on our blood. They cause itching and discomfort and are contagious from one person to another. They are primarily spread through human contact, so it is important to screen for them regularly and remove all the lice and their eggs (nits) as early as possible. Head lice cannot hop, jump or fly but they can crawl quickly. The goal is to comb out the lice and nits when there are fewer of them and before the task becomes unnecessarily challenging.
What are nits?
Nits (lice eggs) are quite small and uniform in shape. They may vary in color after hatching but nits are generally whitish and oval-shaped. Female lice lay their nits at an angle on the hair shafts close to the scalp where the temperature is perfect for keeping them warm until they hatch baby lice (nymphs).
Mother Nature (what a woman!) protects the nits for hatching by having the louse “glue” them at an angle to the hair shaft. They can’t be removed easily by brushing or shaking them off like dandruff. DEC plugs can also be found stuck on the hair but these are irregularly shaped bright white fat cells and not to be confused with nits. (Clearly illustrated on NPA’s Critter Card.)
Unless the infestation is heavy, it’s more common to see nits in a child’s hair than it is to see crawling lice. Even when no crawling lice are seen in the hair, it is important to remember that nits can only be present on the hair shaft when lice have been there to deposit them. The female louse lays approximately 3 to 10 eggs per day, and the eggs then hatch in 7 to 10 days. This is a big gap in time and yet another reason to remove nits as early as possible.
Screen, detect, remove head lice and nits.
Use the LiceMeister® Comb to safely screen, detect, and remove all the lice and nits. It is the best way to protect your child from unnecessary and potentially harmful chemical and pesticide treatments for lice. Use the LiceMeister® comb to screen for head lice and nits regularly and detect them early.
The NPA is proud to have developed the LiceMeister® comb for families, health professionals and scientific researchers. Launched in 1997, The NPA’s LiceMeister® comb instantly raised the bar on lice and nit removal combs – revolutionizing nit combing around the world. The NPA is proud that all these years later it is still the LiceMeister® comb setting the standard for others to follow.
The LiceMeister® comb is scientifically proven to be the cost-effective, child, parent and environmentally friendly approach that accomplishes what chemicals cannot.
NPA’s Critter Card for Detecting Nits and Lice
Nothing beats authenticity when you show parents what to look for. Critter Cards have actual-size images on a card with instructions to help you distinguish lice and nits from hair debris, because every lice control program must begin with knowing what to look for. Critter Cards are printed on 2 sides and available in sets of 50.
LiceMeister® Critter Cards
