Help! The Super-Mutant Lice Are Coming!!!!!!

The issue of so-called “super lice” has recently been dominating the headlines. People have been writing about the critters being resistant to the over the counter products and prescriptions and only responding to certain prescriptions. Well folks…this is nothing new. This is old news. We have been saying this for years.

Things have become so out of hand now that we are just seeing more and more lice within the school systems because these products are not working and because the schools and the American Academy of Pediatrics have relaxed their lice policies therefore allowing children to come back to school still having head lice. While head lice do not pose any health risk and do not carry disease, they are indeed a nuisance to all those involved. No one should have to live with bugs in their head. Everyone suffers from it. Children have discomfort from the itching and the scratching and can develop sores in their scalp. They may even have a hard time paying attention in class and have difficulty sleeping due to the discomfort it causes. It becomes very very frustrating and when left alone, head lice will not go away. They do not die; the situation just gets worse as the life cycle of these little nasties just continue to go on.

This past year, Potomac Lice Lady has seen a dramatic increase in the number of cases of children with head lice. In fact, we are not just seeing young kids. Head lice are attracted to anyone with hair so that means children of all ages and parents too. Since January alone, we have seen over 847 FAMILIES, not individuals, and most of these people have tried to treat the head lice situation on their own and have had product failure. Simply put, they have used either OTC products and drug store combs or prescriptions and they DID NOT work. The instructions given on these products are useless, most people do not know that they need to comb for a full 7-10 days, everyday and they do not even know how much of the product to even use. They simply feel they can just use the product one time and they are done.

There is a huge disconnect of information that is out there regarding head lice and schools, and school nurses are not properly performing head checks as well. To do accurate head checks for lice, one must do a comb check with a lice comb and those are not being done at the schools, and children are not being properly confirmed with having head lice.

Super-Mutant lice have not just arrived…they have been here all along. It is just now that they are truly emerging due to an overcrowded population. With the relaxed school polices, medications that do not work, children coming to school with lice, prepare yourselves for a “lousy” school year. Unless…you as parents speak up and take action! Be proactive, rather than reactive and get your schools and nurses to make changes.