HeadLice.Org

2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 Classic Press Release

News items with an external source will open in a new browser window. To return to headlice.org, simply close the new window when you are finished.

The National Pediculosis Association,® Inc.

	Alert! Discontinue chemical treatment at the earliest sign of failure! The NPA advises parents to discontinue the use of any treatment at the earliest sign of failure and to avoid using other chemicals. Manual removal is the best option whenever possible, especially when treatment products have failed.
	The Human Louse and Disease Recent studies support the critical need for preparedness and lice prevention.
Dec 27	Permethrin and malathion resistance in head lice: Results of ex vivo and molecular assays "Treatment of head lice infestation relies on the application of topical insecticides. Overuse of these products has led to the emergence of resistance to pyrethroids and malathion worldwide. Permethrin resistance in head lice is mostly conferred by the knockdown resistance (kdr) trait." -- Source: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Dec 25	Girl Badly Burned While Being Treated for Lice "Merced County firefighters say family members in Atwater were putting medicine on the girl's head, but they were near a lit candle, and the vapors from the medication sparked, and caught fire." -- Source: KMPH - Fox 26
Nov 30	Moms stand up for pesticide-free air in California’s Central Valley "When a child’s health is on the line, moms will often stand up in truly courageous ways. Like the mothers in the small, rural community of Lindsay, California who were concerned about how pesticides were affecting their children." -- Source: MomsRising.org
Nov 29	FDA Rejects Request To Ban Lice Shampoo For Kids "...Lindane is a neurotoxin that can affect the liver and kidney, and infants and children may be more susceptible to potential adverse effects than adults, which was noted by the US Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry..." -- Source: Pharmalot
Nov 29	FDA says no to NRDC and yes to lindane continuing its legacy of protecting lindane over protecting children from risks of exposure to it FDA denies petition to ban lindane. -- Source: Regulations.gov
Nov 28	Health Concerns about Misuse of Pesticides for Bed Bug Control Head Lice treatment does NOT require indoor pesticides of any kind. -- Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nov 8	Why are the bugs winning? "Moths in your jumpers, ants in the fruit bowl, nits in your hair: are the pests winning – or does it just feel that way?" -- Source: The Guardian
Nov 1	Dermoscopy of Nits and Pseudonits " Hair casts, due to dandruff, can be easily confused with head lice. Dermoscopy allows the immediate and reliable diagnosis of head-louse eggs and their differentiation from pseudonits. Moreover, dermoscopy aids in the distinction between the vital nits of an active infestation and hatched, empty eggs, allowing for the monitoring of treatment success or failure." -- Source: The New England Journal of Medicine
Oct 20	Happy people dancing on planet earth. "Astronomy picture of the day." -- Source: NASA
Oct 17	Randall School Board revises lice policy. "The Randall School Board has revised its lice policy to call for students detected with live lice to be sent home from school." -- Source: West of the I
Oct 2	FTC's Updated Green Guides Hope To Limit Deceptive Marketing. "Consumer advocates hope the revisions will help reduce 'greenwashing,' in which a company promotes a single green aspect of the product but doesn't give the full picture of other ingredients." -- Source: Huffington Post
Sep 26	WSJ interview with NPA’s Deborah Altschuler on treating head lice sparks high interest. Please see the Wall Street Journal article in the following news entry. -- Source: NPA
Sep 25	How do we prevent a recurrence? "Make combing your child's hair with a lice comb part of your everyday grooming routine" -- Source: Wall Street Journal
Sep 10	FTC urges parents to carefully research products that claim to treat head lice infestations. "Cedar, Cinnamon, Lemon Grass, Peppermint, and Clove Oil ...charged with making deceptive claims that their product can stop and prevent head lice infestations." -- Source: Federal Trade Commission
Sep 5	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." -- Source: NPA
Aug 28	Big Chem, Big Harm? "NEW research is demonstrating that some common chemicals all around us may be even more harmful than previously thought." -- Source: New York Times
Aug 26	Head lice and how to manage it at home "Tips for parents, from local experts" -- Source: Dayton Daily News
Aug 15	95 cents of every health care dollar is spent after a disease has appeared. "Because the campaign to get people to practice prevention isn't being followed up with compliance, American health is at risk." -- Source: Huffington Post
May 31	Congressman Ed Markey’s Letter to FDA Demanding Answers on lindane. "'In the case of lindane, the cure is worse than disease,' said Rep. Markey. 'There is not a nit of scientific evidence to support the FDA’s decision to continue to allow the use of this toxic chemical for treatment used predominantly on children.'" -- Source: Ed Markey (D-Mass)
May 24	Chemsec launches Subsport guidance on safer alternatives to some of the most hazardous chemicals in use worldwide. "The LiceMeister® comb is offered as a safe alternative to lindane for lice." -- Source: Chemsec - Press Release
Apr 22	If you don't take environmental protection personally, you ought to have your head examined! "An Earth Day message from the National Pediculosis Association 2012"
Apr 9	Lindane one of hazardous contaminants listed in recent EPA meeting "The EPA says the site has soil contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP), lindane, dioxin, arsenic, lead and dibenzofuran compounds." -- Source: The Republic
Apr 7	Human louse-transmitted infectious diseases "Therefore, a strict survey of louse-borne diseases and the implementation of efficient delousing strategies in these populations should be public health priorities." -- Source: Badiaga S, Brouqui P.
Apr 6	Parasite Insights: Using Lice To Map Socialization "For as long as there have been mammals, there have been lice. Though it’s hard to find lice in the fossil record, scientists have estimated that the group originated at least 130 million years ago, feeding off feathered dinosaurs, though they now live on just about all species of birds and mammals. Lice tend to be very host-specific, meaning they only live and feed on one species or a set of closely related species. Furthermore, lice can only survive a limited time without their hosts, and must quickly find a new one if they leave or are forcibly removed. This means that for lice to reproduce and spread, their hosts have to be in fairly close contact (like, as many parents know, kids in a kindergarden classroom). In wild species, lice rarely switch hosts unless the animals interact physically, whether through wrestling, nesting together or mating." -- Source: Discover
Apr 5	Comparison of the transcriptional profiles of head and body lice "Overall, few differences exist, which supports the hypothesis that these two organisms are ecotypes of the same species." -- Source: Olds BP, Coates BS, Steele LD, Sun W, Agunbiade TA, Yoon KS, Strycharz JP, Lee SH, Paige KN, Clark JM, Pittendrigh BR.
Mar 27	Critics say Martinez Council should scratch lice ruling "Some downtown business owners want the City Council to scratch a recent ruling on lice-removal salons." -- Source: Mercury News
Mar 16	Permethrin and malathion resistance in head lice: Results of ex vivo and molecular assays "Treatment of head lice infestation relies on the application of topical insecticides. Overuse of these products has led to the emergence of resistance to pyrethroids and malathion worldwide. Permethrin resistance in head lice is mostly conferred by the knockdown resistance (kdr) trait." -- Source: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Mar 15	School District Implements New Protocol In Notifying Parents "The school district said it heard the parents' concerns, and a team created new protocols for middle schools for alerting parents." -- Source: KOCO
Mar 9	Sri Lanka bans lindane product for lice and scabies "Health Ministry sources said that Lindane contained chemicals that resulted in dangerous side effects to users." -- Source: The Nation
Mar 8	Pediculosis capitis: new insights into epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment. "Head lice are vectors of important bacterial pathogens." -- Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine
Feb 1	Pesticides linked to Vitamin D Deficiency "Pesticides could be suppressing people's vitamin D levels, leading to deficiency and disease, say scientists." -- Source: Royal Society of Chemistry
Jan 24	Report on Collembola in patient’s hair "Dermatology Grand Rounds, Icahn Building – 1st floor, Madison and 98th Street, 8:00 a.m., January 26, 2012." Collembola images of note in relation to article. -- Source: Dr. Mark G. Lebwohl - Chairman of Dermatology Department