SM

HeadLice.Org Hot Spots

06/19/19

CombFirst! Before Camp, Advises the National Pediculosis Association
"As children and teens dive into the summer camp season, the National Pediculosis Association (NPA) today encouraged parents, counselors, camp nurses and administrators to prevent head lice from interfering with even a minute of fun! 'Camps that promote parental preparedness via screening for lice before camp are one giant step ahead,' said Deborah Altschuler, President of the NPA, a nonprofit organization advocating for children to arrive at camp lice and nit free. 'There are camp directors spending thousands of dollars checking children for pediculosis upon arrival without teaching parents how to comb their children for lice and nits at home. Parents can and should be first to detect infestations before sending children to camp. Those who know about screening for head lice with a lice comb will be able to identify and remove an infestation early before the task becomes unnecessarily challenging,' she added."

03/25/19

Helping Each New Generation of Parents Tackle the Age-Old Challenge of Head Lice—Safely and Effectively
"No matter how each new generation of parents differs from its predecessors, one fact remains the same—sooner or later, they will be challenged by a lice infestation first identified at school, a childcare center, or camp. What’s changed and improved, though, is parents’ access to a wealth of tools and resources for treating children with lice—without the use of potentially harmful chemicals and pesticides. The catalyst behind these changes is the National Pediculosis Association (NPA)—a nonprofit organization whose impact has continued to grow over the 36 years since its founding. The NPA advocates for the highest possible public health standards for children and their communities, especially as they relate to safe treatment alternatives for head lice."

09/06/18

Going to School with Carefully Combed Hair Takes on New Importance!
"This fall, there is one more important reason for children to leave for school every day with their hair carefully combed. As schools relax their vigilance and allow children with head lice into the classroom, the nonprofit National Pediculosis Association (NPA) is urging parents to proactively use a quality lice and nit removal comb for early detection, so an infestation doesn’t catch them by surprise. The CombFirst! message is central to a year-long educational campaign sponsored by the NPA, which kicks off each September as National Head Lice Prevention Month. The NPA is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to setting the highest possible public health standards, with a specific focus on protecting children and their families from lice and associated risky chemical treatments."

08/23/18

Keeping Children Safe: September Is National Head Lice Prevention Month!
"National Pediculosis Association Recommends Parents Be Informed Before Outbreaks Occur. Parents naturally put their children first, constantly seeking information to keep their families nurtured and safe. But when it comes to head lice, they’re often confronted with conflicting guidance and misinformation—leading them to make potentially risky and ineffective treatment decisions. Among the hazards are serious health effects from repeated exposure to various pesticide remedies, treatment failures, lice resistance, and chronic infestations that make parents and children feel desperate and overwhelmed." Read Entire Press Release.

08/04/18

Parents: Urge the FDA to Amplify Safe Combing Alternatives To Pesticide-Based Lice Treatments
"Lend Your Support to National Pediculosis Association® Mission! Attention, parents: Protect your children from the potentially harmful pesticide-based shampoos and treatments that are commonly used to try to eliminate head lice. The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide more details on safe alternative combing products. Parents who want to lend their support to the cause have until 11:59 pm Eastern Time Monday, August 6 to provide comments at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FDA-2018-P-0599."

PDF of Press Release.

05/23/18

The NPA Urges the US Food and Drug Administration to Recognize Safer Head Lice Treatment Choices
"Let your voice be heard! The National Pediculosis Association® (NPA) has submitted a petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that it update its website and other educational materials so that combing with well-designed nit-removal combs like the LiceMeister® is presented as a safe and effective option for the treatment of children with head lice. Doing so would give more parents access to the critical information and guidance necessary to make informed decisions. There are many children for whom a non-chemical treatment for lice is required. "

PDF of Press Release.

02/13/18

NPA Petitions FDA to Acknowledge the Benefits of Manual, Non-chemical Approaches and the LiceMeister® Comb for the Care of Children with Head Lice
"The National Pediculosis Association (NPA), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting children and their environment from the misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter pesticide treatments for lice and scabies, announced today that it has petitioned the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to amend its website and other educational collateral so that combing, in general, and the FDA-accepted 510(k) LiceMeister® comb, in particular, are presented as valid options for the management and treatment of the communicable disease pediculosis capitis (head lice)."

PDF of Press Release.

09/01/17

All Out Comb Out: September is National Head Lice Prevention Month!
"With school right around the corner, September 1st kicks off the 32nd National Head Lice Prevention Campaign, sponsored by the National Pediculosis Association (NPA). The NPA is calling for parents to stay especially aware of the communicability of head lice and take the necessary steps towards sending their children to school free of lice and nits (lice eggs). September kicks off NPA’s annual educational campaign, which will last the whole year long.”

09/01/16

September is National Pediculosis Prevention Month: How Not to be Surprised by Head Lice
"Relaxed school head lice policies fail to protect children from risky treatments and may contribute to more exposures. The National Pediculosis Association offers tips to parents to be proactive as a cooperative community so head lice won’t catch them or their children by surprise. September kicks off NPA’s annual educational campaign, which will last the whole year long.”

09/01/15

How Mary Protected Her Kids from Lice and Risky Chemicals
"The NPA has a new educational video for September’s 30th annual National Head Lice Prevention Month campaign. It was created for parents as a reminder that children are especially vulnerable to pediculosis and the risks of chemical treatments designed to kill head lice. The American Academy of Pediatrics says, “Children’s exposures to pesticides should be limited as much as possible."

08/28/14

Head Lice Can Be a Public Health Opportunity
CombFirst!, the National Pediculosis Association’s national head lice prevention campaign, urges communities to be informed, prepared and cooperative.

09/03/14

"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.

08/27/13

COMBFIRST! Giving Children a Voice and Parents a Choice on Head Lice
National Pediculosis Association Sponsors the 28th Annual Head Lice Prevention Campaign.

09/05/12

CombFirst! 2012-2013 The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) Kicks Off "National Head Lice Prevention Month”
Preparedness at the beginning of the school year empowers families, and diffuses the anxiety that can accompany this important public health issue.

10/18/11

National Pediculosis Association Occupies Times Square on CBS Super Screen!
When it comes to protecting children from pesticides and other potentially harmful treatments for head lice, the National Pediculosis Association (NPA) says nothing compares to the kindness of a comb.

07/22/11

CombFirst!
A Call to Action for September's 2011 National Head Lice Prevention Month

07/27/10

National Pediculosis Association Says CombFirst! 2010-2011
Back-to-school head lice prevention campaign

09/02/09

September is National Head Lice Prevention Month
The National Pediculosis Association sponsors National Head Lice Prevention each September to raise the awareness and decrease the stress of head lice as children return back to school.

08/11/09

"Precaution, Preparedness and Peace of Mind"
NPA?s National Head Lice Prevention Month 2009

09/04/08

National Pediculosis Association Marks 25 Years of Advocating Important Message: 'It's Not About Lice, It's About Kids
01/04/07 Chemical Remedies Threaten Children with Head Lice, According to the National Pediculosis Association
08/27/06 September Is National Head Lice Prevention Month!
08/10/06 ABC broadcast on mysterious diseases included descriptions of people believing they had bugs in their skin.
05/02/06 Headlice Win Again!
Los Angeles County School District SaysYes to Lice Eggs (Nits)
09/01/05 NPA Sponsors 21st Annual Back-to-School Head Lice Prevention Campaign: The All Out Comb Out
08/19/05 Tiny Bugs Wreak Havoc; Report of Collembola as Human Parasites Supports Recent Research Findings
A 1955 report to the medical literature, apparently overlooked or ignored, sheds new light on the National Pediculosis Association's efforts to alert the medical community and health officials to the ability of Collembola to infest humans.
05/19/05 An Emerging Health Crisis -- Where's Dr. House When You Need Him?
The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) is contacted by individuals describing the torment and horror of oozing skin lesions, sensations of bugs biting and crawling under their skin and doctors who diagnose it as nothing more than a delusion.
02/01/05 It?s 2005! Why Are We Still Shampooing Children With Pesticides?
Shampooing with pesticides has the potential to damage children in the same manner as these chemicals are designed to damage pests, but pharmaceutical companies invest millions of dollars to convince consumers and health professionals that this is what they should do.
10/13/04 Boss Louse? Goes to School!
Revising guidelines to allow children to attend school with an infestation of head lice means more children will now be in school with actively infested classmates, increasing the risk that they too will become infested.
08/27/04 NPA Sponsors 20th Annual Back-to-School Head Lice Prevention Campaign
Watch Out for Boss Louse! Kids aren't the only ones heading back to school this fall. Boss Louse and his Head Lice Gang are sure to be making an appearance.
07/12/04 Collembola found in scrapings from individuals diagnosed with delusory parasitosis
New clinical study published in the Journal of the New York Entomological Society.
04/13/04 The National Pediculosis Association Says "Keep Your Wits Not Your Nits"?
Those who support a no nit policy see it as a pro-active approach to protect children from unnecessary exposure to head lice and potentially harmful head lice treatments.
02/09/04 New York Follows California to Ban Prescription Pesticide Lindane for Lice & Scabies
Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg introduces bill that would prohibit any lice or scabies treatment product from containing the pesticide Lindane.
10/01/03 Lice Sprays for Children's Bedding... an Unnecessary Evil
Lice sprays are an easily avoided, unnecessary risk to family health and safety
09/08/03 Parents Say No to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
American Journal of Nursing reports confusion among health professionals, while parents refuse to accept American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines that allow children in school with lice and nits.
05/01/03 Ohio School Nurse Challenges Guidelines For Resistant Lice
Treatment recommendations not necessarily based on scientific and medical evidence
04/01/03 When Chemical Warfare Against Lice Becomes Chemical Warfare Against Kids
The National Pediculosis Association says FDA's latest warnings fail to protect the public from Lindane
02/03/03 Parents Unite and Say "Give us Back Our No Nit Policy!"
Communities are mobilizing against guidelines to allow children in school with lice and nits
01/03/03 Did Your Family Have a Lousy Holiday Vacation?
Sometimes parents get more than they bargained for when they travel over the holidays
07/16/02 Non-profit Offers Alternative to Protect Children from Pesticides
Reaching out to families with "Jesse's Project" and a non-chemical choice for head lice
11/01/01 The NPA's efforts to eliminate lindane get a huge boost
The goal is not just to eliminate Lindane, but also to ensure it is not replaced with yet another poison
10/04/01 EPA to Assess The Risks of Lindane EPA Docket Control #0PP-34239
We Can't Wait Another 15 Years!
09/06/01 We Are Bigger Than Head Lice
Debate Favors "No Nit Policy"
04/19/01 NPA's LiceMeister Comb Makes Prime Time on CSI!
20 million viewers get a lesson on lice
03/13/00 Medical Device Keeps Lice Out of Everyone's Hair
The chemical approach to head lice has failed
08/04/99 Thorough Combing Emerging as Treatment of Choice
Resistance and toxicity are non-issues with mechanical removal
 

-- send this page to a friend --

Hi there! We just wanted to let you know that you're currently visiting one of our older pages. We've been at this a long time, since back when html tables were all the rage! Please see our updated, mobile-friendly, new look. It's modernized and will work better on your phone and tablet.


The National Pediculosis Association,® Inc.
A Non-Profit Organization
Serving The Public Since 1983.

2019 marks 36 years of Service.

The NPA is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit volunteer organization, including scientific advisors, dedicated since 1983 to protecting children and their environment from the misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter pesticide treatments for lice and scabies.
The LiceMeister comb® was developed by the NPA in 1997 to provide a higher standard for lice combing tools and a safe, cost-effective treatment alternative to pesticides. Proceeds from sales of the LiceMeister comb allow the NPA to be self-sustaining while accomplishing its mission.

©1997-2019 The National Pediculosis Association®, Inc.
All images ©1997-2019 The National Pediculosis Association®, Inc.

The LiceMeister Comb for liceremoval