From the NY Times:
How to Get Rid of Lice
By Malia Wollan
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CreditIllustration by Radio
“There’s no reason to be ashamed,” says Barbara Frankowski, a Vermont-based pediatrician who helped shape the American Academy of Pediatrics’ head-lice treatment guidelines. The sesame-seed-size insects don’t care if you’re rich or poor, clean or dirty, rural or urban. Research does suggest that girls are more prone to lice than boys and African-Americans are far less likely to host the bugs than people of other races.
First, make sure you’re dealing with head lice and not, say, dandruff. Look for minuscule, oval-shaped eggs, called nits, firmly attached to the hair shaft close to the scalp. “Full-grown lice are fast and harder to see,” says Frankowski, who recommends checking children’s heads once a week. You’ll need an insecticide, but Frankowski believes we’re at a tipping point where enough lice in the United States have evolved resistance to certain over-the-counter drugs that patients may be better served using newer, prescription medications. Check with your doctor: Some insurance companies won’t cover the cost of the pricier drugs until the over-the-counter varieties have proved ineffective.
To prevent overexposure to chemicals, carefully follow directions. Avoid drips down the neck and shoulders by applying the treatment over a sink rather than in a bath or shower. Brush through hair with a fine-tooth comb to remove any remaining nits. Don’t apply mayonnaise, vodka, WD-40, kerosene or any of the countless other unproven or potentially dangerous home remedies. Wash items that came in direct contact with the infested person’s head in hot water and dry on high heat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are as many as 12 million infestations yearly among 3- to 11-year-olds in the United States. Frankowski has seen parents, especially wealthier ones, become irate over lice outbreaks, yelling at school nurses and even janitors. Don’t do that. You won’t get diseases from head lice (whereas body lice, which are far less common, can transmit illness, including typhus). The social stigma against lice is driven largely by squeamishness; Frankowski says the common cold is a more serious threat. Primates have been evolving together with lice for more than 60 million years; as long as there have been humans, there have been lice feeding on them. You’re not the first to confront the itch, and you won’t be the last. “Keep your sense of humor and perspective,” she says.