Tag Archive for: lice treatment

American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Head Lice Guidance

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American Academy of Pediatricians Updates Head Lice Guidance

 

In 2015 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated its guidance on head lice treatment as new products were introduced after the academy’s 2010 report.  The new report was published in the journal Pediatrics, and it highlights some exciting new developments in the battle against head lice.

“Head lice infestation is associated with limited morbidity but causes a high level of anxiety among parents of school-aged children,” the report says. “Since the 2010 clinical report on head lice was published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, newer medications have been approved for the treatment of head lice. This revised clinical report clarifies current diagnosis and treatment protocols and provides guidance for the management of children with head lice in the school setting.”

The AAP recognizes that head lice in the United States have developed resistance to the most popular over-the-counter lice products (pediculicides). As a by-product of this resistance, some parents have over-applied the medications, hoping that using more of the products would make them more successful. The AAP warns against this, saying, “the potential for misdiagnosis and the resulting improper use of pediculicides and the emergence of resistance to both available and newer products, many without proof of efficacy or safety, call for increased physician involvement in the diagnosis and treatment.”

“The prevalence of resistance has not been systematically studied but seems to be highly variable from community to community and country to country.” In fact, the most recent study released shows 100 percent of lice in 42 states are resistant to the active ingredients in over-the-counter lice products.

“The ideal treatment of lice should be safe, free of toxic chemicals, readily available without a prescription, easy to use, effective, and inexpensive,” the report says.  The article notes that the overall spending on lice treatment has risen to nearly $1 billion annually, with as many as 12 million children contracting head lice each year.

AAP lists the AirAllé® as effective lice treatment device

For the first time, the AAP lists the AirAllé® medical device as an effective lice treatment device. “The AirAllé® (Larada Sciences, Salt Lake City, UT) device is a custom-built machine that uses one 30-minute application of hot air in an attempt to desiccate the lice. One study showed that subjects had nearly 100% mortality of eggs and 80% mortality of hatched lice.”

The AirAllé® device is the only treatment option listed in the AAP report that uses heated air. A clinical trial showed that the FDA-cleared medical device killed live lice and 99.2 percent of eggs. It uses nothing but heated air, carefully controlled and applied, to dehydrate lice and eggs. There are no chemicals involved and no nitpicking is required.

Lice treatment using the AirAllé® medical device is available exclusively at Lice Clinics of America treatment centers, where certified staff use the device to remove live lice and eggs. The process takes from 30-90 minutes, depending on the extent of the infestation and the length of the hair. Most clinics guarantee success as long as all household members are checked for head lice prior to treatment.

Lice Clinics of America has quickly become the largest network of professional lice treatment centers in the world. Some 180 clinics have opened in the United States to date with approximately 300 clinics worldwide.

College Station

4444 Carter Creek Parkway – Suite 101, Bryan, TX 77802

Call today for an appointment!

(855) 464-8668

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Tomball

11601 Spring Cypress, Suite C, Tomball, TX 77377

Call today for an appointment!

(832) 639-2944

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To learn more or to find a clinic near you, visit www.liceclinicsofamerica.com.

treating-lice

Treating Lice: Do’s And Don’ts

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There are probably more parents in the world who don’t know anything about lice than parents who do. Lice are one of those things that you don’t need to know anything about until an infestation affects your family. You never think it’ll actually happen to you but statistics show that if you have school-aged children, then there is a pretty good chance of you dealing with it during those elementary years. If an outbreak happens at school, it’s always good to be prepared and have some knowledge of the things you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to treating lice.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts we came up with for treating lice. Let’s start with the Don’ts.

DON’T

• Freak out. It’s understandable when a parent panics at the sight of lice in their child’s hair but imagine how that will make your child feel? Children often react based on their parent’s emotions. If you stay calm, then they are more likely to stay calm. Plus, there’s no reason to panic too much because we ca treat the lice for you and all will be just fine.
• Feel too ashamed or embarrassed to call parents and teachers. When you discover your child has lice, the courteous thing to do is call anyone who may have come in direct contact with your child. This means telling friends’ parents and teachers. The social stigma given to those who contract head lice needs to be eradicated. Nobody can help it and anyone can get it.
• Use harmful chemicals to treat lice. There have been various studies proving that chemicals found in many lice treatments have detrimental and harmful side effects for children. That is not worth the risk one bit, especially since we are in the era of super lice, and over-the-counter treatments usually fail to treat super lice. We have treatment at our clinic that is chemical-free.
• Tent your house or call and exterminator. Some people thing that you need to do something serious to your house post head lice infestation. That is untrue. Head lice can’t survive off the head for more than 48 hours at most, so they will die. All you need to do it vacuum all carpet and wash all bedding and items used by infested individual.

DO

• Perform head checks on every family member to make sure the lice hasn’t spread to anyone else.
• Notify anyone who may have come in contact with your child and contracted head lice.
• Come to Lice Clinics of America – College Station, for safe and effective treatment that is chemical-free and comfortable for all ages.
• A load of laundry with all bedding and towels that the infested child may have touched. Wash and dry the hottest temperature.
• Put brushes, combs, accessories and any stuffed animals in a plastic bag and then place it in the freezer overnight.
• Make the process as fun and not scary as possible for you children. It is normal for a child to feel embarrassed when having head lice. Let them know that it is common and can happen to anyone. Let them know that head lice treatment is around the corner and that it will all be gone soon.

Treating lice can be quite a new and confusing process for some parents but we are here to help. Treating lice is our expertise and we treat each child as if they were our own. The hopes for this blog was to teach you a little bit more about treating lice than you knew before.