Last week, it was hard to find any over-the-counter lice treatments in my town at CVS and RiteAid. They had sold out, after a head lice breakout had prompted a run on the local pharmacies. But shoppers should have considered themselves lucky: Aside from being toxic, the OTC lice treatments are a waste of money and effort these days.
Why? It appears that the modern louse has evolved to tolerate the pyrethrin- and permethrin-based chemicals (i.e., pesticides) that are the main active ingredients in OTC shampoos and products such as RID and Nix. Enter the age of the new “super lice,” hard-to-kill critters that are raising the stress levels and blood pressure of parents and school officials across the country.
Experts say that lice become tolerant of the OTC shampoos and products when people apply them incorrectly. Perhaps the shampoo doesn’t stay on the scalp long enough, so the lice get a small dose that doesn’t kill them but makes them stronger. Then a new breed of super lice develops, with stronger eggs and exoskeletons that resist treatment.
What can be done? Some pediatricians recommend the “smothering” method to kill the bugs and loosen the eggs. One such method involves liberal use of Cetaphil cleanser, a shower cap, and a hair dryer. Others involve olive oil or tea tree oil.
The homeopathic product LiceFreee – available in a gel, spray, and preventive shampoo – is a nontoxic option available at many health food supermarkets.
To tackle a very persistent infestation, you can get a prescription from your doctor for Sklice, Natroba, or Ulefsia – all of which use different chemicals that demonstrate effectiveness even against the so-called super lice. Until they evolve again, that is.
This article appears in October 2014.
“The Deceptive Dozen”: The National Pediculosis Association Offers 12 Important Tips to Help Parents Avoid Misleading Information on Head Lice
Twelve of the most commonly made statements about head lice that mislead parents, require fact-checking and put child health and wellness at unnecessary risk.
http://www.headlice.org/news/2014/deceptive_dozen.htm
Head Lice Can Be a Public Health Opportunity http://www.headlice.org/news/2014/comb_first_headlice_public_opportunity.htm
Loved the article, our lice ladies will definitely share at http://www.momsbestfriendliceremoval.com
Lice problems are overrated: it’s so easy to counter it. I remember being in the middle of an outbreak in high school a few years ago, and most of my classmates were having a hard time coping with the problem – lessons were highlighted with frequent scalp scratching action. That being said, I managed to be free of the problem by simply taking showers everyday, and by using natural shampoo, like those being sold at http://www.toxicfreesolution.com/ to kill off the creepy crawlies.
Just urge your kids to shower and shampoo their hair – they’ll be fine if they do.
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We will share this on our blog post.