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Safely screen, detect, and remove head lice and nits.

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Resistant Head Lice?

You are here: Home / What Are Head Lice and Nits? / Chemical Concerns / Resistant Head Lice?

The NPA receives calls everyday from parents and health professionals reporting product treatment failure … reports of folks using “everything on the drug store shelf,” only to continue finding adult-sized crawling lice.

Unfortunately, frustrated parents have responded to persistent infestations by repeatedly using treatment products, or by resorting to dangerous alternatives. There are many elements that can play a role in treatment failure. While there is more than sufficient reason to seriously consider insect resistance, we must also acknowledge other possible contributing factors such as failure to follow product treatment instructions, failure to remove all nits, and false hope generated by product marketing promises.

Until the treatment failure crisis is fully addressed by the scientific and medical community as well as the product manufacturers, the NPA is offering the following suggestions for those who use a lice treatment product and experience treatment failure:

  • If you continue to be infested with live lice after treatment, discontinue use of the products and don’t use other products in the hope of killing the lice. Remember, these products are not mere shampoos, cremes or lotions, they are pesticides.
  • Never resort to dangerous remedies such as lindane, kerosene, or pet shampoos.
  • Manual removal is crucial. Beyond snipping or pulling out the nits, you should also be screening for and removing live lice. Having at least two people check an infested person is important as one person cannot see the entire scalp. Lice move quickly and shy away from light when you are checking.
  • Don’t spend hours on end cleaning your environment. Head lice need human blood to survive. Vacuum surface areas only. Save your time and energy for what will benefit you most, delousing the individual. NEVER USE A LICE SPRAY!
  • When screening for lice with a nit-removal comb, it may be helpful to dip it into water and clean it before going to the next section of hair.
  • Equip yourself and your helpers with a magnifying glass, tweezers, safety scissors, and a nit-removal comb.

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National Pediculosis Association,® Inc.

National Pediculosis Association Mission Statement

The NPA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated since 1983 to protecting children, their families and their environment from the misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter pesticide treatments for lice and scabies.

Pediculosis (the medical term for an infestation of lice) provides a public health opportunity to teach important lessons about communicable disease preparedness, responsible personal behaviors, environmental health, and the importance of learning about pharmaceutical remedies before using them on our children and ourselves.

NPA is committed to setting the highest possible public health standards for children as they relate to the communicability and treatment of head lice. NPA has been the leader in raising pediculosis as a public health priority and a pioneer in public health education and research on pediculosis.

The National Pediculosis Association,® Inc. (NPA)
1005 Boylston Street / STE 343
Newton, MA 02461
617-905-0176 / npa@headlice.org

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About LiceMeister® Comb

The NPA developed the LiceMeister® comb in 1997 to accomplish its mission by providing a higher standard for lice combing tools and a safe, cost-effective treatment alternative to pesticides. All proceeds from sales of the LiceMeister comb allow the NPA to be self-sustaining and independent from product manufacturers while accomplishing its mission of protecting children from the misuse and abuse of pesticide treatments for lice.

Since 1997, the LiceMeister comb has been the preferred choice of many health professionals and the gold standard in combing tools for lice and nits (lice eggs). It is an FDA cleared medical device (510K) for the purposes of routine screening, early detection and removal of lice and nits, and it is the only comb to carry the name of the National Pediculosis Association.

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