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Conditions

Pediculus Capitis

A female head louse (Photo courtesy of CDC)

People of a certain age will undoubtedly be familiar with the legendary ‘Nitty Nora’, the once ubiquitous, but now defunct, nit nurse from their childhood. It was Nitty Nora’s regular school visits that usually struck fear into most children’s souls, terrified that she would discover head lice ensconced on their bonces. These pin-head sized grey-brown, wingless insects, live by sucking blood from the scalp, and leave their eggs (tiny white specks commonly known as nits), glued to the base of hairs. Head lice are transferred by close hair-to-hair contact, which makes them common in schoolchildren, particularly between the ages of 4 and 11. However, anyone with hair – child or adult – can catch them. Head lice cannot jump, swim or fly, so they’re not quite the all-action heroes we might think. However, contrary to popular belief, they have no preference whatsoever as to the cleanliness or style of a host’s hair.

If you’re suffering from any of the conditions featured on this site and want to apply for an onscreen consultation with one of the EB team then you can find more details here >>

Remember that you should always check with a health professional if you have any concerns about your health.

If you are worried that your child may have headlice, check our condition guide for parents on Embarrassing Bodies: Kids.

Watch Tiffany get her pesky nits removed here.

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Im 16 my hair is curley and thick and i have head lice and its so hard to put a nit comb through my hair and it hurts really badly. plus it dosnt get that much of the head lice out.I have a lot of head lice and have had it for years... ive tryed every thing, but nothing seems to work. PLEASE HELP !!!!....





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im 16 and ive had head lice all my life since primary school. i have a big family we all have head lice and cant seem to get rid of them. we have tryed everything, i need help badly im so sick of them and soooo embarrassed please help me....





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My 7 yr old daughter has been getting nits since nursery I can't get rid of them 100% I have tried every nit lotion going all different conditioners and nothing has worked I was lookin on line the other day about it and someone had said try pure orange juice on the hair it's supposed to kill it all not sure if it works, not tried yet just been doing my daughters hair with conditioner and a nit comb I picked up from boots it's a metal one ten pound and gets the eggs out to its great. The only problem I have is I get them out my daughters hair but she goes back to school and comes home with them it's a constant battle. Does anyone else have any idea's.





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hi i have had nits for about 4 / 5 years and i cant get rid of them at all we have tried every single treatment out ther and they just keep coming bk when i have my hair up in a ponytail i am worried about the eggs showing behind my ears and near my neck can anybody tell me how to prevent this?!?!?!!?!?!? need help asap! xxx





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There is a Chinese herbal you can get from the Chinese chemist that sorts them out perfectly.. I used to suffer nits as I used to catch them non stop back in primary school. I can't remember the name of it but just talk to the Chinese herbal people and they would no. As soon as I used it for a month my hair cleared up and my mum use to tie my hair up high in to bunches and just told me to stay away from those you she new who had the,.. I recomended this to several mums and has worked really good. Good luck





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How do you remove lice eggs my daughter is 10 and she gets lice really bad from school please help





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I'm so fed up with constantly having to deal with head lice which my primary aged daughters catch and re-catch from their classmates. Is there any way a National No Nit day can be organised through embarrassing bodies where all school age children are encouraged to have their hair checked and if necessary dealt with on the same day? I know nits can never be fully eradicated but there must be a way of making them less prolific...?





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hello my 8 daugther has nits and its an on going battle we have tried everything to protect her from getting the nits but the latest treatments don't seem to work we check her hair every night and also get her to sleep with some conditioner but it doesn't seem to work. any tips? :)





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hi your better to tell your mum itsnot that ,bad im a mum of four and im still fighting eggs and lice with my daughter as they constant reoccur this has been going on since she was in primary school and she is in her second year of high school iv used alot of stuff but tea tree shampoo and loads of the conditioner helpbut just perserver with it you mum will be understanding us mums dont bite lol,gud luck

im 14 almost 15 ive had nits for about a month now i got them at school before i finished in july... i went camping.. on 2 holidays with them.. i havent old my mum yet cause i just feel so embarrassed and i feel like i cant tell her AT all.. i had them last year and it killed me how embarrassing it was :( please help i dont know whether to tell her or just get rid of them with orang ejucie or something.. i dont have a nit comb and cant go and get one :/ any ideas?? im going back to school on the 5 sept :/ x





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omg i have the same problem. its hell i cant tell my mum and i have had them for around a year they just wont go. :(

ahaa this was such a long time ago.. here's what i did: i said to my mum i think my head's a bit itchy and she was just like oh dear:/ and then we delt with it and she was fine:) im sure if you tell your parents they will be absolutley fine and help you deal with it i promise;) xxx

hey ,i have nits now and im constantly scratching my head i have had them for a couple of months but yesterday i got the nit comb out and combed my hair with it how long does it take for them to go ?





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It looks like no one else has asked this question, so please fill in the rest of your details below.





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