First Things First,

If you are like every other parent that has experienced head lice for the first time, you’ve probably gone to the pharmacy to purchase Rid or Nix to apply the product and get rid of these horrible little parasites that you can’t really see that are crawling in your child’s hair. Here are some things you need to know if this is your first experience with lice:

  • You should NEVER be one and done with head lice
  • Recent studies show that most lice (recently labeled super lice) have become resistant to the pesticides.

What does that mean? It means that you can expect to see live bugs still crawling in your child’s hair after an OTC treatment. We know, that’s disappointing and scary. If you choose to go it alone, be sure to check all family members and extended family members and follow the instructions on the product you choose. Take a peek once a week as follow up maintenance, these bugs are tricky!

BIGGEST MYTHS ABOUT HEAD LICE

I Have to Clean & Fumigate My Whole House
Have you started bagging everything yet? PLEASE DON’T! Lice live on our heads and not in our homes. Lice expert Richard Pollack, Senior Environmental Public Health Officer at Harvard University & President & Chief Scientific Officer, IdentifyUS LLC says “The commonly held belief, which is folklore, is that lice are shared through things like combs and brushes and hats and helmets,”

Some authorities believe these personal items can help transmit head lice from one person to another. But Pollack explains the bugs cannot fly or jump. And studies show that once the lice are off the scalp, they die within hours. It’s best to stick with the science of the matter and not folklore.

You read it right. I know your friends “in the know” who have experienced head lice are coaching you to bag everything & wash everything in hot water and throw away your combs, bomb the house or move out for a couple of days, but you really do not need to.

Common Lice Myths

  • Pets Spread Lice
    Human head lice only like human blood. They are not on your pet.
  • Lice like a certain type of hair
    Lice like any hair they can get into (this includes clean or dirty) and eat, mate, lay eggs and be happy.
  • Brushes Spread Lice
    Are your children social? Well, that’s what will do it. It’s all the hugging, wrestling & playing that does it. It’s rare (possible, but rare) that you will contract head lice form brushes, helmets, headphones. The vast majority of head lice cases are spread by direct head to head or hair to hair contact. Occasionally you will find a louse out of the head on a pillow or comb, it’s most likely that they are dying or injured. The bugs themselves only live for 30 days.  It won’t hurt to put the brushes in 130 degree water for 10 minutes or longer, run them through the dishwasher or freeze them.
  • African Americans Can’t Get Lice
    Oh contrar’, anyone with hair and human blood can get head lice.

If you are experiencing continued recurrences of head lice it’s most likely the same infestation that you just haven’t been able to get rid of or your child is in direct contact with another child or family member with an active infestation and they keep sharing their lice.

Are you over it and just want some help? PALS now offers complete home lice inspection & cleaning along with our in home or treatment center treatments.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

Concentrate on the Head NOT the Home. Save your energy for the head.