Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits.
Detection combing can be carried out on dry or wet hair. Dry combing takes less time, but wet combing is more accurate because washing with conditioner stops head lice from moving. To use the wet detection method: wash the hair with ordinary shampoo.
Continue until you can't see any more lice or nits after combing. This will probably take at least half an hour. Repeat every three or four days for at least two weeks so you remove any hatching lice before they have the chance to lay new eggs. You can't remove the eggs by combing, only the lice.
Using the Nit Comb can take 1-3 HOURS in order to get out all nits and lice from the hair.
Comb sections of hair using a fine toothed lice comb.
Firmly draw the comb from the scalp to the end of the hair. After each stroke, check the comb for lice. Rinse the comb in a sink or bowl of warm water, and wipe dry. Continue section by section until the entire head is done.
Continue to check hair and use the nit comb to remove nits and lice every 2 to 3 days for 2 to 3 weeks. This process should be done for as long as nits and lice are still found on the head. Many lice medicines recommend a second treatment in 9 to 10 days.
To remove lice and nits by hand, use a fine-tooth comb on wet, conditioned hair every 3–4 days for 3 weeks after the last live louse was seen. Go through small sections of hair at a time. Wetting the hair temporarily stops the lice from moving, and the conditioner makes it easier to get a comb through the hair.
After each treatment, checking the hair and combing with a nit comb to remove nits and lice every 2–3 days may decrease the chance of self–reinfestation. Continue to check for 2–3 weeks to be sure all lice and nits are gone.
If you do not comb out all the remaining nits, they will hatch and restart the cycle in 7-10 days from that point. That's why we recommend 3 treatments over a 12-day period of time. This stops the life cycle of lice. These are nits at different stages and a louse.
Can someone have nits but no lice? It may be possible to have nits but no lice. If a person cannot find any nymphs or adult lice in the scalp and the nits are more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp, these may be dead and from an old infestation.
Applying vinegar on the head before going for a hair wash may help loosen the glue that holds nits to the hair shafts. This makes it easier to remove nits using a nit comb.
Rinsing the hair with white vinegar before washing may help dissolve the glue that holds the nits to the hair shafts.
Washing, soaking, or drying items at a temperature greater than 130°F can kill both head lice and nits. Dry cleaning also kills head lice and nits.
Lice and nits can live on pillows and sheets. Lice glue their eggs to the hair strands of their host. However, if a piece of hair with an egg falls out while the lice host is sleeping, an egg could end up on pillows or sheets.
You can be certain that your child is lice free when you have not found any live lice or nits found in clusters on their head for a period of 2 weeks. As said before, even after you have successfully treated your case of lice, routine “head checks” are a key factor in lice prevention.
Head lice sometimes go away on their own because there are not enough insects to maintain the infestation, or they may persist for an indefinite period without treatment. With proper treatment, the infestation usually goes away within about two weeks.
Nits may remain after lice have gone. They are empty eggshells and stick strongly to hair. They will eventually fall out. If you prefer, a fine-toothed 'nit comb' can remove them.
If you're infested with body lice for a long time, you may experience skin changes such as thickening and discoloration — particularly around your waist, groin or upper thighs. Spread of disease. Body lice can carry and spread some bacterial diseases, such as typhus, relapsing fever or trench fever.
Cover all of the hair with conditioner, detangle hair with normal comb and separate into sections. Then, using a fine long toothed metal lice comb, comb through the hair in sections. The conditioner does not kill lice but stuns them for about 20 minutes enabling easier removal.
A viable egg (which will hatch) is brown (Figure 2) because there is a developing louse inside the egg. Once the egg hatches, the eggshell (still attached to the hairshaft) will be white, but at this time, there is no living louse inside the egg (Figure 3).
There is no way to look at a nit with the naked eye and determine if it is dead or alive. And although some people claim it does, popping them does not prove that one way or the other either. They are just too small. The only proof is when they don't hatch 7-10 days later.
Shaving the head does not cure lice. The itching should go away within a few days, but the medicated treatment will need to be repeated in 5 to 7 days to kill any new lice that may have hatched since the first treatment.