2. Common Hair Pests in Children: What Could It Be?
Children are especially prone to certain hair pests due to their frequent contact with others at school or daycare, where sharing items like hats or brushes is common.
The most frequently encountered pests include:
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- Head Lice: Small, wingless insects that feed on blood from the scalp. They move quickly and lay sticky eggs on hair shafts, often near the nape of the neck or behind the ears.
- Mites (Scabies): While typically burrowing into skin rather than hair, scabies mites can sometimes affect the scalp, especially in young children. They’re far smaller than lice — only about 0.2–0.4 mm — and are more likely to be diagnosed by their symptoms.
Both can cause intense itching and discomfort, though they require different treatments.
3. How to Tell If It’s Mites: Know the Signs
Mites aren’t as visible as lice, so identifying them requires attention to symptoms. You might not see the actual mite, but you’ll often notice:
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- Intense itching, especially at night
- Pimple-like rash
- Red, irritated patches, especially in skin folds
- Crusted or scaly skin, particularly on the scalp in young children
Scabies, in particular, spreads through prolonged skin contact, and while it usually avoids the scalp in older children and adults, infants and toddlers may show symptoms there.
If your child has recently had close contact with someone known to have scabies — or has spent time in an overcrowded or dusty environment — mites could be the culprit.
4. Other Symptoms to Look Out For
Not all scalp issues are caused by pests, but certain signs strongly suggest an infestation:
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- Frequent or intense scratching of the scalp
- Red bumps or sores from scratching
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- White specks on hair shafts (which might be lice eggs, not dandruff)
- Swelling or rash on the neck, scalp, or forehead
- Difficulty sleeping due to itching
Keep a symptom journal if possible — tracking how long the symptoms persist and whether they worsen can help doctors identify the problem more quickly.
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