There’s a new strain of head lice that are being called “Super Lice”, and an outbreak has occurred in 25 states already. What makes them “super”, is not their size, but the fact that they’re 100% resistant to any over the counter treatment that has been thrown at them. *cue the head scratching*
Check out this map to see where the lice are spreading and the severity of cases:
Red states: 100% of the lice tested were resistant
Orange states: 50 – 90% of lice tested were resistant
Yellow states: 1 – 49% of lice tested were resistant
Blue states: data has not been analyzed yet
White states: have not been tested
Parents are becoming frustrated, as typical over the counter treatments, known as pyrethroids, had a 100 percent success rate back in 2000, but now the same treatment is only working in 25 percent of cases, KSDK.com reported.
There is a new FDA-approved treatment called AirAlle, which was developed by Lice Clinics of America. It has been shown to be effective in treating Super Lice, however the price tag is much steeper, running a family upwards of $200 or more depending on how long the hair is.
This doesn’t mean over the counter doses won’t work, but you may need a higher dose, and pediatricians are recommending two doses, within a week of one another.
Pediatric dermatologist Dr. Robin Gehris says, “sometimes therapies fail because they’re rinsed out too soon . You want to leave it on overnight with a shower cap,” she added. “A common reason for failure is that the children don’t like the smell and want to wash it off soon.”
What about home remedies?
Popular home remedies like olive oil, mayonnaise and Vaseline are not highly recommended by doctors simply because of the fact that they are not full proof. They may kill some of the lice, but the likelihood of killing all of them is not high, which just leads to more treatments down the road…
And of course, there is always the easiest and last ditch cure-all that “nothing compares to”, the “Sinead O’Connor” treatment. (I couldn’t resist!)
