Sometimes it Pays to be Nit-Picky

Head lice. Yuck! It’s a problem that nobody wants to think about, especially if you work in the cosmetology industry and handle your clients’ hair on a regular basis. Most of the time when you think about head lice, you think about your kids getting infested. It’s a natural thought process. After all, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, upwards of 12 million children between the ages of 3 and 11 years suffer from a head lice infestation every year. But the truth is, head lice don’t care how old you are. Anyone, at any age, can get infested.

Here’s the good news: head lice are not known to carry or transmit diseases.

Here’s the bad news: head lice feed on human blood, so they bite, and scurry, and bite, and scurry. All that biting and scurrying means a whole lot of itching; which causes a whole lot of scratching; which could cause breaks in the skin; which could lead to increased irritation and even infection. And the truth is, those little bloodsuckers can be a pain to get rid of.

There are a number of over-the-counter treatments for head lice which may be quite effective if used properly, but if they don’t work you might need to visit your health care professional for prescription strength help. Treatments approved by the FDA include brand names Ulesfia, Natroba and Sklice.

Regardless of whether you choose an OTC or prescription treatment, in order to be safe and effective, the CDC recommends following these steps:

1. Rinse the treatment product from the hair and scalp, then use a fine-toothed “nit comb” to remove dead lice and nits (lice eggs).
2. Apply the product only to the scalp and the hair attached to the scalp—not to other body hair.
3. Use medication exactly as directed on the label and never more often than directed unless advised by your health care professional.
4. Before treating young children, talk with the child’s doctor or your pharmacist for recommended treatments based on a child’s age and weight. Use treatments on children only under the direct supervision of an adult.