When people are concerned about treating head lice, they will also want to know about nits. Nits and head lice are quite different. Lice are small grayish bugs that you can spot on and near the scalp. Though they are small, they move and are easy to find if you look. Nits are the eggs of head lice, and since they are immobile and even smaller than lice, they can be quite hard to detect. However, lice treatment depends on the removal of nits as well as lice.

Once all of the lice have been removed, it is important to check for nits. These are the eggs of the lice. They are generally attached near the scalp on the base of hair shafts. Combing and shampooing with regular shampoo will not remove them. They must be manually removed with a special comb to avoid a recurrence.

The best way to get them out is to buy a specialized comb for nit removal. Unlike normal combs, these combs feature teeth that are so closely spaced that they will scrape out and remove nits. First use a shampoo to kill any live lice in the hair, then use the comb to separate nits from hair. You must literally check each strand for remaining nits. A lice treatment may kill many of the nits along with the lice, but you can never assume that it has killed them all.

Even when a nontoxic cure like mayonnaise or petroleum jelly is used, nit removal is crucial. More lice will hatch out unless these are eradicated. Remember that the treatment may have only killed live lice, not those who haven't yet hatched out. Any nits that are removed need to be flushed down the drain or placed in a sealed container as they can live for many days after removal.

If a nit drops off in bedding, furniture, clothing or stuffed animals, it can also hatch out live lice. Thorough vacuuming must be done and everything that can be cleaned or put through a dryer needs to have that done. Steam cleaning with real steam can also help. Anything that cannot be cleaned needs to go in a sealed bag for about three weeks.

Even after treatment for head lice, the host may still be at risk of contracting the lice again. This is because nits can remain in the hair even after treatment. You can find nits by carefully and methodically checking the hairline, nape of the neck and the entire head for them. After removing any nits, you should retreat the head with the lotion or shampoo. While having head lice is no fun, by carefully following the directions on the label and removing any nits, you can eliminate the problem.