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The National Pediculosis Association,® Inc.
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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. |
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The Human Louse and Disease
Recent studies support the critical need for preparedness and lice prevention. |
| Dec 29 |
Pyrethroid Pesticide Exposure and Parental Report of Learning Disability and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in U.S. Children
Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, Suril Mehta, Brenda Eskenazi.
-- Source:
Environmental Health Perspectives. 2014;122(12) |
| Dec 28 |
Greater Vancouver Lice Clinic owner makes clients feel at home
"She has dealt with all kinds of cases of head lice in her more than 15 years on the job – ranging from extreme cases with 'hundreds of thousands of them'"
-- Source: The Globe and Mail Inc. |
| Dec 21 |
A ghost covered in lice: a case of severe blood loss with long-standing heavy pediculosis capitis infestation
"This case highlights the link between head lice (pediculosis capitis) infestation and iron-deficiency anaemia."
-- Source: US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health |
| Dec 10 |
How can FDA be Improved? Patient Groups Offer Ideas
Offered as a suggestion to FDA on behalf of the National Pediculosis Association: "FDA approves pediculicide products for use on children with head lice but does not require routine surveillance on the development of lice resistance to the products -- even though it acknowledges and accepts NDAs for treatment products claiming to be replacements for those scientifically documented with lice resistance. Unfortunately the products with resistance remain on the market without labeling to provide possible resistance warning or caution to the parent consumer. Surveillance on resistance and improved labeling can provide realistic and practical ways in which the FDA can inform and better protect the public from the misuse and abuse of pesticide treatments for people with lice. Included with this, the FDA can better emphasize the availability of combing as an alternative to those who are chemically sensitive, at higher risk of adverse effects because of other health issues, or over treated with chemicals because they had unfair expectations of pediculicide safety and effectiveness."
-- Source: Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society |
| Dec 10 |
Sharing that crowded holiday flight with countless hitchhiking dust mites
"As if holiday travel isn't stressful enough. Now University of Michigan researchers say we're likely sharing that already overcrowded airline cabin with countless tiny creatures including house dust mites."
-- Source: Michigan News |
| Nov 14 |
Best Methods for Getting Rid of Lice
"As the weather gets cold and kids are wearing hats and coats, we tend to see more cases of head lice. So Consumer Reports reviewed the science on treatments and what is the best, safest way to get rid of lice.
Frantic families often turn to popular over-the-counter treatments, like RID, which contains pyrethrum, or Nix, which contains permethrin.
But Consumer Reports says mounting evidence shows these chemicals aren't the best choices."
-- Source: ABC Inc., WPVI-TV Philadelphia |
| Oct 13 |
Consumer Reports: Head lice shampoos not the best option
"Head lice are most common among preschool and elementary aged children, ages 3 to 11 years old. With as many as 12 million cases a year, Consumer Reports decided to test lice shampoos and found that they might not be the best option for treatment."
-- Source: Consumer Reports |
| Oct 11 |
Pesticide Regulation amid the Influence of Industry
"Pesticide use results in the widespread distribution of chemical contaminants, which necessites regulatory agencies to assess the risks to environmental and human health. However, risk assessment is compromised when relatively few studies are used to determine impacts, particularly if most of the data used in an assessment are produced by a pesticide's manufacturer, which constitutes a conflict of interest."
-- Source: Oxford Journals |
| Sep 16 |
Treatment of Pediculosis Capitis: A Critical Appraisal of the Current Literature
"Pediculosis capitis is the most common ectoparasitic disease in children in industrialized countries and extremely common in resource-poor communities of the developing world. The extensive use of pediculicides with a neurotoxic mode of action has led to the development and spread of resistant head lice populations all over the world. This triggered the development of compounds with other modes of action. The current literature on treatment approaches of head lice infestation was searched, and published randomized controlled trials were critically analyzed.”
-- Source: American Journal of Clinical Dermatology |
| Sep 16 |
Head lice. They’re back!
And while parents may be rushing out to buy Nix or Rid, the most widely sold lice-control products, Consumer Reports has other advice:
“There’s no reason for parents to douse their children’s heads in chemicals,” says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., director of consumer safety and sustainability for Consumer Reports. “Physically removing lice, while it seems daunting, is safest for your child’s head.”
-- Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
| Sep 12 |
Lausanne hospital plans baby-tagging project
Stehpan Luethi fears that residues of lindane – an internationally banned pesticide – have contaminated various local foods and as a result may have passed into mother’s milk.
The contamination derives from an old water treatment plant in Huningue, near Basel, which was originally constructed over a lindane waste depot.
Basel-based pharmaceutical giant Novartis attempted to decontaminate the site in 2013, but was unable to prevent the dispersion of lindane particles in the air.
-- Source: The Local |
| Sep 11 |
Household Microbes Could Provide Forensic Information
A recent study investigated the complex interplay between the teeming communities of microbes that are unique to each person and the bacteria found in their homes.
-- Source: Forensic Magazine |
| Sep 9 |
Getting rid of lice safely
Americans spent $130 million on treatments for head lice last year -- a problem that affects as many as 12 million school children annually. Frantic families often turn to popular over-the-counter treatments like RID, that contains pyrethrum or Nix, which contains permethrin. But Consumer Reports says that based on mounting evidence, including a recently published study, these chemicals are not the best choices.
-- Source: Komo News |
| Sep 8 |
To get rid of head lice, comb them out instead of using Nix, Rid, or other chemicals
Consumer Reports’ experts say the safest method of getting rid of lice is to physically remove the insects and their eggs by combing with a lubricant such as a hair conditioner. “The chemicals on the market don’t kill 100 percent of the eggs, most pose some level of risk, like itchy eyes or chemical burns or seizures, and they are unnecessary in most cases compared with physical removal,” Hansen says. The key, he says, is to continue to comb out your child’s hair every day until no live lice are seen and then every few days for about a month.
-- Source: Consumer Reports |
| Aug 28 |
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.”
-- Source: National Pediculosis Association |
| Aug 27 |
Functional Test In Vitro of a fine-tooth comb
Plastic comb showed no ability to retain and remove nits.
-- Source: Dr. Gaetano Scanni |
| June 3 |
"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.”
-- Source: National Pediculosis Association |
| May 28 |
Company Settles FTC Charges that Head Lice Prevention Claims Were Deceptive
“The Federal Trade Commission has charged personal care company Lornamead, Inc. with deceiving consumers with exaggerated claims that its “Lice Shield” shampoo, stick, and spray products will prevent or reduce the risk of getting head lice. Under an agreed-upon settlement, Lornamead will pay $500,000, and is prohibited from making further deceptive lice-prevention claims.”
-- Source: Federal Trade Commission |
| May 28 |
Another louse-y product not living up to its claim
“The FTC recently negotiated a settlement with Lornamead, a company that makes a head lice repellent called Lice Shield. The FTC alleged that the company misled consumers by exaggerating claims that its scientifically proven shampoo, stick and spray products infused with essential oils would prevent or reduce the risk of getting head lice, especially in children. But the people who bought it got stuck with an expensive product that had not been scientifically proven to shield anyone from infestations – and left them literally scratching their heads.”
-- Source: Federal Trade Commission |
| May 28 |
Lice, Lice, Baby
“Dare us to describe the legal ramifications of a recent advertising settlement involving health claims in the style of a cringeworthy rap from 1990? Cue up the bass line ‘cause here we go.”
-- Source: Federal Trade Commission |
| May 22 |
Parent says Norway school not doing enough about lice
“A local couple said parents are not being notified of lice outbreaks in SAD 17. 'This is crazy. As a parent, I want to know if there is a problem,' said Angela Bonville, whose 11-year-old daughter came home from the Guy E. Rowe School in Norway this week with nits, or lice eggs, in her hair.”
-- Source: Sun Journal |
| May 21 |
Lice Emergency: Consumer like & dislike experiences with head lice, professional nitpickers, machinery & costs
“There are six to 12 million cases of head lice in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our family recently added to that number. The school nurse called to tell me that my daughter had lice and needed to be picked up. There had been a lice outbreak, and in her kindergarten class alone, half of the children were affected.”
-- Source: Wall Street Journal |
| May 14 |
No Nits or Lice, No Chemicals, No Excuses
“The American Academy of Pediatrics’s stance on lice, which suggests that children with lice should stay in school and be treated with risky, ineffective and lice-resistant treatments, contradicts its statements on the dangers of pesticides and children.”
-- Source: New York Times |
| May 14 |
Nitpicking a Lousy Policy
“If there’s a bug mascot for elementary school, it’s the louse. The critters, which are partial to young human heads, don’t discriminate between the rich and poor, or clean and dirty. They’ve even made recent appearances on Broadway and prime-time television.”
-- Source: New York Times |
| May 6 |
Lice outbreak latches on to child stars of ‘Matilda’
“Several of the children have lice,” said our source. “The production is in chaos because they’re trying to keep it a secret from other actors and even some of the other children.”
-- Source: New York Post |
| May 1 |
Dr. Barb Frankowski Memo
Dr. Barb Frankowski memo circulated in May 2014. We do not have a copy of the mentioned draft of the survey. It may however indicate that a thorough assessment of school nursing behavior, front-line experience, product knowledge and parental values for wellness were not a part of developing the AAP guidelines or 2010 update.
-- Source: National Pediculosis Association |
| Apr 24 |
Beverly Hills News – Beverly Hills School Board Adopts ‘No-Nit’ Policy
The Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a “No Nit” policy on Tuesday, marking a return to its previous stance on limiting the spread of head lice.
-- Source: Beverly Hills Courier |
| Apr 10 |
Broward School District Reverses Controversial Lice Decision
Now, students with head lice or nits in their hair will not be allowed in school as the policy was prior to the change...
-- Source: CBS Miami |
| Mar 29 |
St. Mary’s fined for hazardous waste
According to an order of consent from the DEC, an inspection of St. Mary's Healthcare at 427 Guy Park Ave. revealed the hospital had not made a hazardous waste determination for lindane soap, nicotine patches that had been used, and packing material for nicotine and warfarin.
-- Source: The Leader-Herald |
| Mar 18 |
Lindane: Pharmaceutical and Environmental Persistance
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the pharmaceutical Lindane presents a health hazard to children. Lindane is grouped in same vein as DDT, the infamous insecticide of several generations ago.
-- Source: Decoded Science |
| Mar 5 |
Expert panel reaffirms the ability of head lice to spread disease
The mystery deaths of hundreds of children in eastern Uttar Pradesh last year was likely caused by a bacterial infection that is transmitted through head lice, an expert group has concluded.
-- Source: The Indian Express |
| Mar 4 |
Norwegian children hit by head lice
More than half of all Oslo children have been infected with head lice before the age of 12, according to a new study by the public health institute Folkehelseinstituttet, and cases are rising nationwide.
-- Source: Views and News from Norway |
| Mar |
UP kids’ killer disease spread through lice, expert panel finds
The mystery deaths of hundreds of children in eastern Uttar Pradesh last year was likely caused by a bacterial infection that is transmitted through head lice, an expert group has concluded.
-- Source: The Indian Express |
| Feb 25 |
Ordinary conditioner removes head lice eggs as effectively as special products
Some shampoos and conditioners that contain chemicals or special oils are marketed as nit-removal products. However, new research just published in the Journal of Medical Entomology shows that ordinary hair conditioner is just as effective.
-- Source: Science Codex |
| Feb 18 |
'Beatle juice' head lice treatment can harm children
Wonderboompoort police in Pretoria yesterday issued an urgent appeal to South Africans to discontinue use of an oral head lice treatment sold under the name "Beatle Juice", as it contained an ingredient used in agricultural pesticide.
-- Source: The Citizen |
| Feb 17 |
'Putting the next generation of brains in danger'
The number of chemicals known to be toxic to children's developing brains has doubled over the last seven years, researchers said.
-- Source: CNN |
| Feb 4 |
‘No-nit' policy adopted to battle lice in schools
The shift back to a no-nit, or egg, policy similar to what the district used before 2009, was made following a discussion and a 4-1 vote at the board's monthly public meeting in Bolivia. The policy change comes as the board has sought to address recent teacher and parent complaints about cases of repeated head lice infestations at some area schools.
-- Source: Star News |
| Jan 28 |
Divided Flemington-Raritan school board tables vote on controversial head lice policy
The board voted 5:4 to delay a vote on a proposed policy which, as presented, would have required nurses to check for head lice among classmates of students found to be infected and notify parents of students in the class that lice had been found among the students.
-- Source: Hunterdon County Democrat |
| Jan 21 |
Parents, teachers itching to change lice policy in Brunswick Co.
Parents and teachers say the problems are starting with the eggs, or nits, and the policy needs to be addressed to encompass that.
-- Source: WECT |
| Jan 19 |
Mother questions Volusia County’s lice policy
“It’s a policy that needs to get changed,” Coleman said of Volusia’s policy. “If you don’t get rid of everything, it keeps recurring.” She plans to circulate a petition soon seeking a return to a stricter rule in Volusia schools.
-- Source: The Daytona Beach News-Journal |
