This one will have you scratching your head in thought. Well, probably more in horror to be honest.
Out of all the letters you might have been sent home with in primary school there was one in particular that certainly wasn’t as exciting as a trip to the zoo.
Yep, the bad news to your parents that someone in your class had nits.
The horrible little parasites that end up on your scalp. And despite the thought of them being bad enough already a sickening simulation ‘unlocks new phobia’ after showing why nits actually make your head itchy.
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Instagram user ‘zackdfilms’ shared an animated clip of lice crawling over a person’s head, using their ‘sharp, spiky mouths’ to pierce their way through the scalp.
The video explains that once they’ve broken through the skin, the lice release a ‘special saliva’.
Yeah, gross.
It explains that the saliva contains chemicals ‘that makes your blood thinner’ and the lice then drink it up.
If you end up being allergic to this saliva then you’ll have a reaction and as is the general way, that’ll give you an itchy scalp.
Suppliers of ‘everything you need to get rice of head lice’ Lyclear, explains how this works on its site.
“Itching only occurs if the person affected by the head lice become sensitised to the lice saliva, and this sensitisation can take 4 to 6 weeks. Sensitisation is essentially becoming allergic to the louse saliva,” it reads.
And prepare yourself for this one, Lyclear says that it’s not just the saliva that can make your head itchy, but also the lice’s poo.
Many users commented on the grim simulation video, with one saying “New phobia unlocked.”
For many, it had an instant effect as they wrote: “After seeing this I start scratching my head.”
Another wanted rid of the sight as they put: “I wonder if I really needed to open Instagram.”
One even commented: “Life was a lot better before knowing that info.”
While someone else said: “Made my skin crawl.”
Now, before you starting itching your head in panic, know that it’s a symptom of many other things including dandruff or even a ‘psychosomatic itch’ which is just an impulse to scratch with no physical cause.
To confirm you do actually have nits, you need to find living, moving lice.
You can get rid of them by wet combing the hair and using over the counter treatments.
Jess Battison