What You Should Do If You Discover Something Strange in Your Child’s Hair (Page 2 ) | November 24, 2025

If you’ve just spotted something strange in your child’s hair, resist the urge to panic. The first step is to take a closer look.

Try to answer a few important questions:

• • Is it something moving?
  • Does it look like tiny eggs or dandruff stuck near the scalp?
  • Is there redness, flaking, or irritation?

• Has your child been scratching frequently?

Using a magnifying glass or a smartphone camera with zoom can help. Document anything you see — this can be very useful if you end up seeing a doctor later.

Lice and mites can be small — lice eggs (nits) are about the size of a sesame seed and attach to hair strands, while adult lice are roughly 2–3 mm long. Mites are even smaller and often invisible to the naked eye. So what you’re looking for may not always be visible — but the symptoms will usually provide strong clues.