LICE TREATMENTS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL
Head lice is a worldwide problem. In the United States, there is an estimated 6 million to 12 million infestations reported each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of course, there are many more not reported. In years past Lice Lifters saw most cases of lice in children 3 to 12 years old. Most recently Lice Lifters has seen a huge change in the demographics. Due to hand held electronics we have seen a shift in age to teenagers and even adults. Everyone gets lice! Lice have adapted the grasp of their claws for all hair types not to discriminate against anyone.
Head lice do not jump or fly they transfer from head to head by crawling. In order to get head lice you must have direct hair to hair contact with an infested person. Head lice like everyone; clean and dirty hair. Anyone that has head-to-head contact with an infested person has a chance to get lice. While most cases of lice are caused by hair to hair touching a small percentage are by other sources like hats, helmets, brushes and combs. Lice only come off the head for a few reasons. A louse will leave the head to die, if it is knocked off on a strand of hair (brush, hat, combs or towels etc.) or to transfer to another head. They may transfer due to sense of smell and blood type.
+++ Lice go by their sense of smell, they search for the smell of the blood they wish to feed upon and they travel around the head or to a new head if they like the smell. The only 2 scientifically proven preventative smells are citronella and peppermint. Any additive that masks one of those smells renders the preventative properties of the product, ineffective. And who wants to smell like citronella? Yuck!
Lice Lifters Treatment
Lice Lifters agrees that we should use the safest most natural approach to treat head lice. We found a treatment that works all of the time 12 years ago. We comb the whole head with our micro-grooved comb and plant based nit removal mousse. Lice and nits don’t stand a chance with the Lice Lifters Comb. We then saturate the hair with Lice Lifters Treatment Solution which is all natural, chemical/pesticide free and no toxins. Lice Lifters Solution kills all bugs that may have hidden during the combing process. Our solution suffocates the louse by filling their breathing mechanisms. They can’t clear to breath and they die immediately.
Pesticide based products like Nix and Rid DON’T work
A frequent complaint from parents is “we treated our child and they still have lice”. The most popular treatments are the Over-The-Counter (OTC) products that we have been using for years because they have the premium shelf space in all of our drugs stores, supermarkets and big box stores. Most of our clients use the OTC products, Nix and Rid as well as store brands and they are all pesticide based and no longer work. Lice have grown resistant to the pesticides over the years.
UMass Amherst Study John Clark, University of Massachusetts Amherst toxicologist, says lice are becoming increasingly resistant to the special shampoos used to treat them.
“I get phone calls from parents and school nurses who are very stressed out, saying that the over-the-counter treatments just aren’t working,” said Clark. Since most schools will not allow children back in the classroom until all of the lice and their eggs, or nits, are eradicated, kids are missing out on school, and parents often must stay home from work to care for them until the infestations cleared up. According to Clark, who points to studies finding that 50 to 98 percent of the parasites remain after being exposed to these insecticides. The treatments do nothing to the nits so once they hatch the cycle of lice starts all over again.
Consumer Reports product safety team and their senior scientist, Michael Hansen, Ph.D., wanted to provide advise on how to safely treat lice. After reviewing lice treatment options for several years they suggested combing out lice from wet hair. This can be effective if done correctly.
At Lice Lifters we know that all combs are not created equal. A mom can comb and comb and still miss nits. Lice also are very quick and move away from the combing section therefore staying on the head. We all have over 150,000 strands of hair on our heads, thus making it very easy to miss small nits on the head.
Over-the-Counter Pesticides and Prescription Treatments
As noted in the UMASS study, over-the-counter products like Nix, Rid and prescriptions that contain pyrethrins or pyrethroids are unlikely to offer much relief because most lice are now resistant to those chemicals. In the 2016 Journal of Medical Entomology Study, researchers collected lice from 138 different sites in 48 states. They found that 98 percent of those lice had genetic mutations that would make them resistant to permethrin and pyrethrin, the active ingredients in Nix and Rid.
In addition to these products not working there are side effects and sometimes there are dangerous side effects. They pesticides can cause burning or skin irritation, seizures, cancer and sometimes death. Given that they’re highly unlikely to do any good, they’re just not worth the risk. They are also very expensive because multiple treatments are necessary. Many of Lice Lifters clients use these products ineffectively before they find us. We always tell them to return to the store and get their money back.
Home Remedies — Old Wives Tales
Finding lice for most people is a 911 google search on how to treat the little buggers. We are all health conscious so home remedies are attempted with failure. You might have heard of home remedies for getting rid of lice, such as mayonnaise, olive oil, coconut oil, tea tree oil, Cetaphyl or petroleum jelly. These treatments rely on suffocating or drowning lice. Unfortunately lice can hold their breath for 4–8hours. In addition, when the oils get to the bodies core temperature the lice can clear their breathing mechanisms and live another day to spread lice.
The belief is to suffocate or smother the lice by coating the hair and leaving it on overnight with a plastic cap/bag. This was proven to be ineffective in a 2018 study, researchers subjected lice in a lab to suffocation and submersion in water. The scientists found that 100 percent of tested lice survived 8 hours in a sealed container without oxygen and 6 hours immersed in water. Many were able to survive under those conditions for much longer.
Along with the treatment of different household products not working and wearing a plastic bag on your head is dangerous. In Boston 2015 a child suffocated while undergoing a treatment for head lice. Specifically, the child’s scalp was covered in mayonnaise and then a plastic shopping bag was placed over her head. The bag suffocated her. These types of treatments are often left on hair overnight, covered with a shower cap or plastic bag to keep the mayo or oil from getting everywhere.
Hot Air Treatment
There is no evidence that all of the nits are dehydrated (beyond the studies that the device’s inventors published). If any section of the head is missed by the heat or if customer moves their head that section is not treated. The machine has a limited amount of time to treat so areas are not gone over a second time. There is a stream of 120 degree heat at all times which is not tolerated by most children or adults. The hair still needs a thorough comb out or bugs and nit are left in the hair. The guarantee is only valid with the follow up comb-out and shampoo. We know this because we stop using this treatment due to all of the flaws as well as treating their customers that still have lice.
Ivermectin — Oral pill
Oral ivermectin is another ineffective treatment of head lice infestations. It claims 2 doses of the pill 8 days apart gets rid of lice, but it does nothing for the nits. There are serious side effects taking ivermectin such as: overdose on ivermectin, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death.
Ivermectin Lotion (Sklice) for Head Lice
The biggest problem is that these products do not kill the nits (lice eggs), additional treatments are usually necessary to get rid of any newly hatched lice. They also do not provide enough products to treat the whole head. You need to make multiple purchases which is very expensive. You are doing all the work and not guaranteed it will work. Side effect — Ivermectin can cause a severe allergic reaction. Symptoms can include: trouble breathing. swelling of your throat or tongue.
Seek Professional Help-Lice Lifters
Some parents turn to home remedies for head lice, such as tea tree oil, mayonnaise, neem oil, vinegar, saline spray and many others. These treatments are messy, time consuming and not supported by scientific evidence. If you tried an OTC head lice treatment that didn’t work and you are certain that your child didn’t get re-infested, seek professional help
Lice Lifters has been treating head lice for over 12 years naturally. Our treatment works and is guaranteed. We have a treatment plan for the whole family. We also offer our natural products to be used at home for those that want to treat themselves. We know that no one plans for the expense of lice treatment so we offer a payment plan to make it easier.
Look for the closest Lice Lifters today! We perform head checks to ease your mind as well as lice treatments. www.LiceLifters.com 484–368–3383 Our products can be purchased from each of our locations as well as Amazon.
