The National Pediculosis Association Continues its Leadership Role with New Educational Resources and the Tools to CombFirst!
NEWTON, Mass. March 26, 2019
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. Today, the NPA is announcing two new resources to empower parents, school nurses, physicians and others confronting this public health issue:
- A new “how-to” website from the NPA, LiceMeister.com, which includes user-friendly demos and information about using a quality lice comb to routinely screen and remove lice and nits (louse eggs) with an emphasis on early detection.
- A new, deeply informative article on SafeBabyHealthyChild.com, “What Do Lice Look Like & How to Do Away With Them Fast: The Ultimate Guide That Puts Kids First.” Safe Baby Healthy Child is an expert-informed blog and shop with holistic solutions for parents committed to helping their children thrive in health and wellbeing.
“The NPA and Safe Baby Healthy Child share a commitment to providing information that enables parents to make informed and sensible choices—a proactive mentality that was missing from lice treatment approaches when NPA began,” said Deborah Altschuler, NPA President. “There is a critical difference between treating lice and treating a child infested with lice,” said Altschuler. “The NPA was launched at a time when the treatment of choice for lice-infested children, shockingly by today’s standards, was the pesticide lindane. Lindane has since been banned in over 65 countries, most recently China. Regrettably, lindane remains available in the US.”
The NPA’s development of the LiceMeister® comb furthered its mission to protect children from the misuse and abuse of pesticides as a treatment for lice. As an FDA-cleared medical device, the comb set a new, safer and more effective international standard of care. Prior to the launch of NPA’s LiceMeister® comb in 1997, lice removal was a more tedious and less reliable process. The availability of a quality combing tool empowered parents to manage head lice proactively at home. It also stimulated what has become a thriving and complementary cottage industry of lice and nit detection and removal services as another option for families.
The NPA continues to take its mission to protect children from risky pesticides directly to parents and others responsible for children’s health and wellness. Every September, the NPA kicks off its CombFirst! Campaign, a national educational event in support of this mission.
Head lice remain endemic and a perpetual challenge for the unprepared. Yet every successive generation of parents can learn to deal with them safely and effectively. Fortunately, parents now have many resources to draw from, including, most recently, the NPA’s new educational website, LiceMeister.com.
About the National Pediculosis Association
The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to setting the highest public health standards for children related to the communicability and treatment of head lice. The NPA is comprised of volunteers including its Scientific Advisory Board. As part of its mission, the NPA developed the LiceMeister® comb. All proceeds from the comb allow the NPA to maintain independence from product manufacturers and protect children from the misuse and abuse of pesticides for lice. For more information, please see LiceMeister.com and headlice.org.