News - Combing detects head lice better than scalp inspection

Head lice and controversy have been partners in chaos even before the public was willing to say the "L" word out loud. However, the National Pediculosis Association^® (NPA), a non profit health and education agency established in 1983 with a mission to protect children, believes that the establishment of a public health standard to control head lice is essential. The ability to detect head lice as early as possible is the key to such a standard. This week’s British Medical Journal (BMJ) reinforces this plan by documenting the importance of accurate screening.

Click Here To Read The Study

The study reports that " lice infestation is a problem in local communities, probably because reservoirs remain undetected." This report comes at a time when some of the lice treatment manufacturers in the U.S. have orchestrated a national campaign to abandon policies that promote routine screening in order to keep children in school lice and nit free. The absence of a prevention plan works well if the goal is to sell more lice shampoos and keep head lice thriving among children.

The BMJ study, consistent with the NPA’s long time assessment of the matter, documents that " too many lice free children receive unnecessary treatment, and too many infestations escape detection, jeopardizing the control of an epidemic." While some infestations can be identified quickly by visual examination, which should not be discouraged, the BMJ trials demonstrate that the accuracy of scalp inspection can be greatly improved by combing.

The NPA emphasizes education and early detection as the front line defense and has developed the LiceMeister^® combing tool to accomplish this. Enabling parents to take control by routinely screening and safely combing to remove lice and nits at the earliest possible juncture is the most practical and realistic approach. Anything less works to the benefit of the lice.

NPA’s Top Ten

There’s More to Treating Head Lice Than Killing the Bug^TM.
Don’t Let Your Child Become an Egghead^TM.
Because It’s Not About Lice, It’s About Kids^TM.
If You Don’t Take Environmental Protection Personally, You Ought To Have Your Head Examined^TM!
Picky, Picky, Picky^TM
‘Cuz if you don’t get ‘em out, you’ve still got em’^TM!
If You Had Lice and Nits Would There Still be Controversy About Removing Them^TM?
Keep Your Wits, Not Your Nits^TM.
Check a Head^TM
Do it 4 the Kids!

The NPA is a 501(c)(3), federally tax-exempt, non-profit health and education agency. Proceeds from the LiceMeister^® comb and other NPA educational resources help support programs like the prevention campaign.