While both dandruff and head lice cause an itchy scalp that's really where their similarities end. The itching dandruff causes is caused by dry, flakey skin and often the clumps of skin can be felt in the hair. While the itching caused by lice is from the moving bugs. Occasionally lice can be felt moving in the hair.
If you've found yourself scratching your head lately, take a closer look. Dandruff will appear as white or yellow flakes of dry skin. Lice eggs, also known as nits, look like tiny yellow or white eggs in the shape of a teardrop. Adult lice are darker in color and about the size of a sesame seed.
Not everyone feels lice moving around on their scalp, but some people do. Dr. Garcia says that most of her patients say they “don't feel anything,” but others may get a creepy, tickling sensation as lice move around their head.
An intensely itchy scalp without signs of a rash or another skin reaction can be a sign of a nerve problem. Your doctor may say you have neuropathy (neu-rop-ah-thie). It's the medical word for a problem along a nerve due to damage, disease, or an abnormality in the way the nerve works.
Head lice can cause an itchy scalp, but so can other skin conditions, such as dandruff, eczema, or even allergies to shampoo and other hair products.
There are many other scalp conditions that may cause itching and can mimic the symptoms and some of the physical findings experienced with a head lice infestation. Below, we'll get into what else could cause an itchy head! Tinea Capitis is a common fungal infection that causes irritation and inflammation of the scalp.
Use fingers to separate hair and create a part. The part should allow you to clearly see the person's scalp. Look for lice crawling on the scalp where the hair is parted or on the hair shaft. The lice will be dark in color and the size of a poppyseed.
Common signs and symptoms of lice include: Intense itching on the scalp, body or in the genital area. A tickling feeling from movement of hair. The presence of lice on your scalp, body, clothing, or pubic or other body hair.
They are small, oval-shaped, usually a yellowish-white color, and are firmly attached to the sides of hair shafts. The terms can be confusing because some people only use "nits" to refer to empty egg casings while "lice eggs" is used for eggs that can hatch (viable eggs).
The oval-shaped eggs often look yellow or white but may be the same color as your hair. They are found on the first 1-2 inches of hair shaft closest to the scalp (not the end) and are hard to remove. You may confuse them with dandruff or flakes from hairspray build-up. Head lice nits usually hatch in 8 to 9 days.
You may not experience itching until about 4 to 6 weeks after lice exposure. This is because the lice take time to multiply and cause symptoms of itchiness.
Dandruff is not a contagious skin condition, but head lice spread easily from person to person, especially in children or people who are around children often (like teachers, parents, or daycare employees). Rest assured, however, that lice are not known to carry or transmit diseases like other parasites.
The life cycle of the head louse has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. . They are 0.8 mm by 0.3 mm, oval and usually yellow to white. Nits take about 1 week to hatch (range 6 to 9 days).
Itching on the areas where head lice are present is the most common symptom. However, it may take up to 4 to 6 weeks after lice get on the scalp before the scalp becomes sensitive to the lice saliva and begins to itch. Most of the itching happens behind the ears or at the back of the neck.
Head lice survive less than one or two days if they fall off the scalp and cannot feed. Head lice eggs (nits) cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they do not remain under ideal conditions of heat and humidity similar to those found close to the human scalp.
Using your finger to check for and extract nits (eggs, each of which houses a baby louse) is an integral part of a lice check and can be helpful when treating an infestation. You can actually feel the nits stuck to the hair shaft; each one will feel like a bump on the hair.
You can check for lice in either wet or dry hair, but we recommend wetting the hair and preferably adding conditioner. The lice do not move as much and they attach more easily to the lice comb (10, 13).
If you see sesame-seed-shaped objects, those are the nits and lice, which can be brown or grey and stand out against the white paper towel. “The nits may look like they have tails that stick out the back,” says Faulkner.
While both dandruff and head lice cause an itchy scalp that's really where their similarities end. The itching dandruff causes is caused by dry, flakey skin and often the clumps of skin can be felt in the hair. While the itching caused by lice is from the moving bugs. Occasionally lice can be felt moving in the hair.
Causes of crawling sensations on the scalp include delusional infestations, hallucination, substance abuse, a parasitic infestation, side effects from medication, or issues with the neurologic system.
Phantom Lice Syndrome – Psychosomatic lice. Just thinking about lice can make you itch, and the more you scratch, the more you itch. And the more you may think you have head lice.
Usually, you would have to be in head-to-head contact with a person who has lice. This can be common in schools or kindergartens, where children are often close together. Sharing combs, brushes, towels, hats, and other personal items can hasten the spread of head lice.
Vinegar contains properties that kill and get rid of nits and lice. This mixture should be applied directly to the whole scalp. Mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of warm water. Next, distribute this mixture onto the scalp and cover your hair with a hair cap.