(870) 497-2980 | 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404

Staying Six Feet Apart Helps Prevent Not Just Sickness, But Head Lice Too

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently advise Americans that individuals who are not from the same household should keep a distance between each other of at least six feet. Combined with masking, this measure is highly effective in preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus. But there’s another less-known benefit that social distancing offers: a significantly reduced chance of being infested with lice.

 

The holiday season is typically the perfect time for spreading both illnesses and head lice alike. Lice Clinics of America clinics often see increased cases of head lice during and after the holidays, when asymptomatic head-lice carriers give hugs and lean heads together. Because head-to-head contact is the primary way that lice spread, staying six feet apart from people not from your household will help you avoid catching not only COVID-19, but head lice as well.

 

“Head lice cases will go up over the holidays just like they do every year, but the six-feet-apart rule might help reduce that,” says Shannon Steele, owner of Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro. “While it’s been difficult dealing with isolation over the past several months, we’re fortunate to benefit from following public health guidelines in more ways than one.”

 

Stay Safe and Lice-Free

 

Public health experts are recommending that travelers preemptively test for COVID-19 before they leave, and after they return home. Likewise, we at Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro encourage you to have all of your household members get a head check for lice before you travel. Taking proactive measures will ensure that your holidays are spent happily and healthily—and that your loved ones won’t be taking home any unpleasant surprise gifts.

 

About Lice Clinics of America

 

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 750,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Head Lice and Pop Culture

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From the staff at Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro

 

Hollywood is full of glitz and glam. Not all of the scenes in your favorite movie are accurate though. This is especially true when it comes to scenes about head lice. Many media perpetuate folklore especially when it comes to home treatment remedies to cure their lice infestation. Let’s take a look at some of these clips and debunk those Hollywood representations.

MOVIES

I Don’t Know How She Does It: https://youtu.be/jawZFND4Bfc

In this clip, the loving mother gets a message from a trusted friend that her daughter has head lice. She immediately becomes itchy and freaked out.

The mind is a powerful thing. The second the word ‘lice’ is mentioned the entire room erupts in scratching behaviors. “We’ve had many a client come in for a head check because they’re convinced their itchy scalp is because of head lice,” says Shannon, clinic owner. In fact, only half of the people who have head lice have itchy heads because the itchiness is an allergic reaction to the lice saliva—and not everyone is allergic to it.

Thankfully this mother seems like she is going to take all the proper steps and make sure her entire family is checked. This is the best way to ensure you can take care of it once and for all!

The Switch: https://youtu.be/gkEsrZpCdOo

In this clip, the mother has a set list of rules for her friend in regard to eradicating the head lice. She tells him to run to the nearest store and pick up a plethora of supplies and gives out instructions on home care.

One of the falsehoods they portray is the notion that all soft objects need to be bagged up for several weeks. In reality, head lice are parasites that require the host in order to survive. They cannot live on inanimate objects. Simply put, there is no need to put items in bags.  The minute lice leave the head, they lose their lifeline and will begin to die. The chances for a louse to navigate back on to a head are close to nil. If you are feeling anxious, you can throw the items in the dryer for 30 minutes.

Another falsehood is that prescription medication is effective. These medications are full of pesticides and harmful chemicals.  Furthermore, they are unable to penetrate the eggshell, so the nits survive the chemical treatment.  The adults also show high resistance to these pyrethroids so unless every tiny egg is combed out and every louse extracted, you are looking at an instant re-infestation.

Speaking of eggs, did you see how large they were in the child’s hair in this clip? In reality, eggs are about the size of a sesame seed.

All in all, though, it was a cute clip of a man taking care of his son’s head lice!

 

TELEVISION

The Office: https://youtu.be/k2Wxx6O3nhk

The television series The Office depicts the humorous side of head lice.  In this episode, the entire office is in a meeting deciding the best strategy to get rid of these little bugs, but they are not all on the same page!

Erin has a very calm sense about how to tackle the problem, but Dwight can be seen in a hazmat suit. Erin takes the smart approach to be calm but offers up some advice that may not be as effective as it seems.

When Dwight suggests using lye to get rid of the lice (side note: extremely bad idea), Erin chimes in that all they need is mayonnaise. Mayo is one of the more common home remedies that we hear clients tried to no avail. Lice have spiracles along their abdomen, which are openings through which the insect breathes.  It takes many hours for mayo to harden enough to clog those tiny spaces.  The mayonnaise also does not kill the eggs so without extracting every single one, you are right back to where you started and have only made egg salad.

Keep the mayo for the kid’s lunches. Here at Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro, we have a safe and effective treatment that not only kills all of the live activity but the eggs as well.  This will also save you from ending up with a shaved head like Meredith!

Schitt’s Creek: https://youtu.be/5UZ5fbln0mE

The scene opens with Johnny Rose approaching his adult daughter and telling her that he got an email from her school about a lice outbreak in her class. What ensues is back and forth accusations from her dramatic brother after she’s shown scratching and denying why she’s scratching. Johnny asks her to go to the store to “get something and take care of that! I need to change the sheets!” It’s a furiously fast 90-second scene that ends with Alexis emphatically saying, “ugh that’s the last time I take a pity selfie with Kelsey!”

Remember to be careful with your selfie picture taking! Lice spread through head-to-head contact.

Teachers: https://youtu.be/sIOaE0kV46g

Our last clip is just a silly scene of teachers overreacting to their school’s head lice infestation. It is extremely humorous and shows how many people feel when they hear the word lice! Don’t let your child become one of the zombies!

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 675,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

 

The Case for Heated Air over Lice Shampoo

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Recently, an article was published as a “What are they up to now?” piece on a teenage girl in England who was severely burned four years ago after using a local brand of lice shampoo. The shampoo contained a highly flammable ingredient and her hair caught fire as she walked past the stovetop, resulting in severe burns all over her body. While this tragic outcome is rare, it does underscore that lice shampoos are not always as safe or effective as consumers might assume.

 

“At our clinic, we often have clients say they tried home remedies, sometimes mildly dangerous home remedies, in their attempt to treat head lice on their own,” says Shannon Steele, owner of Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro. “Traditional over-the-counter treatments are also proving to be less and less effective as lice continue to develop resistance to the chemicals used in them.”

 

“As head lice professionals at Lice Clinics of America, we have an effective and safe head lice treatment at our fingertips,” says Dr. Krista Lauer, National Medical Director of Lice Clinics of America. “Sometimes, something that seems safe turns out to be dangerous.”

 

Lice Clinics of America doesn’t use chemicals in its treatment – instead, we use the AirAllé device, an FDA-cleared medical device that uses precision-controlled heated-air that desiccates head lice and their nits (also known as lice eggs). The heated air kills lice and nits in about 30 seconds and it takes, on average, an hour for a whole head of hair to be treated in one of the franchise’s 265 clinics.

 

“The stigma associated with an infestation may lead people to desperate measures. Despite our best efforts, misinformation continues to abound. Recently, when looking at educational materials available to teachers, we found an article on an official site suggesting the use of mayonnaise. We know this doesn’t work – mayonnaise doesn’t kill nits, and because it is left on the head in a plastic bag for hours it creates a real suffocation hazard.” says Shannon.

 

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 675,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

 

 

 

Post-Halloween Head Lice

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Now that Halloween has passed, be careful—your child may have taken home more than just candy.

 

As the year-end holiday season begins and friends and family gather together more frequently, the chance for catching head lice increases. Halloween is no exception: young children spending time together dressing up, trick-or-treating, and sharing candy creates the perfect opportunity for lice to find new hosts. Get to know the potential ways your child may have been exposed to head lice, and what actions you can take to ensure that they’re lice-free.

 

(Don’t) Put Your Heads Together

 

The primary method of head lice transmission is direct head-to-head contact between someone who’s infested and someone who isn’t. This most often takes place when people sit side by side, exchange hugs, and take photos. And for a night full of posed pictures with everyone in costume, that’s a big risk! Squishing into frame together for a selfie may result in a cute photo, but the consequence of catching head lice may turn it into a not-so-cute memory.

“Photos are one of the most common ways we see our clients get infested,” says Shannon Steele, owner of Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro. “They’ll come in saying ‘I have no idea how we got lice’, and we’ll ask ‘have you been visiting friends or family, taking photos where you’re leaning heads together?’ And that’s when a light dawns on them and they realize they have been, and that’s how they got infested.”

Sharing Isn’t Always Caring

 

While head-to-head contact is the most common way that head lice spread, there is also a risk of infestation from sharing hats and head coverings. Halloween festivities amplify this risk due to the many hats, wigs, headpieces, and costume masks that kids wear and take turns trying on. If a louse happens to take an unexpected ride on a hat or a wig that’s passed from one child to another, it can easily start a new case of head lice. The same is true for hairbrushes and combs that are used on more than one child as parents help kids style their hair for their costumes.

 

Checking for Head Lice

 

Even if you feel confident that their friends or family members haven’t passed it on to them, it’s always worthwhile to check your kids for lice. Before you head-check, make sure you know what to look for. An adult louse is only as big as a sesame seed, and their much-smaller eggs blend in very easily to the hair shafts they’re attached to. A magnifying glass may help you more accurately identify what you see. Check the hair at the back of the neck, behind the ears, and around the hairline for nits; check random areas of the scalp to try and spot hatched lice. A lice comb will remove any nits in the hair that you may find.

 

“Head lice is very often misdiagnosed,” says Shannon. “Especially because people don’t really know the facts. They’ll schedule a treatment when they don’t have anything other than itchiness, or they’re convinced they’ve seen lice eggs in their child’s hair when it’s actually just dandruff. And that’s where we come in, to head check and treat but also to help educate.”

 

Whether there’s a new case of head lice in your family or you just want everyone in your household checked for peace of mind, Lice Clinics of America is here to help. Our professionally trained staff are equipped to diagnose active infestations of lice during head checks, as well as perform thorough treatments using the patented AirAllé device. The AirAllé uses concentrated heated air to kill over 99% of bugs and eggs in just one hour. No matter your family’s situation, we are determined to help you remain lice-free.

 

About Lice Clinics of America

 

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 750,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

 

I’ve Been in Lockdown – How did I get Lice?

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many around the world have stayed indoors to help prevent the disease’s spread. College students are participating in lectures online, adults are telecommuting from home, and their kids are in Zoom meetings and Google Hangouts for school. Yet in this unprecedented era of social distancing, lice are an epidemic that parents are still battling. With schools across the country operating either partially or completely online, how are families still catching head lice?

 

The Frustrating Reality of Lice

 

What most people don’t know is that a case of head lice often begins without any noticeable symptoms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an infestation can even take up to six weeks to notice. And in roughly half the cases, infested individuals are asymptomatic. That means some individuals may not realize they’ve been infested for several months.

 

So, if you or your child have come down with a case of head lice while social distancing, it’s very possible that your infestation began before stay-at-home policies were in effect.

 

“It’s a confusing experience people are having,” says Shannon Steele, owner of Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro. “People are coming into our clinic saying they’ve been at home, they’re not visiting friends or family, and they have no idea how they caught lice. They’re in shock when we explain that they likely caught it before lockdown even began.”

 

Quarantining with an Infested Family Member

 

A lack of symptoms isn’t the only hurdle that families and individuals with head lice face. The primary way that head lice spread is by direct head-to-head contact. This means that one infested member of the household often unknowingly infests others in the family. If just that one person gets checked and treated for lice, members of the same household may be passing lice around to each other for months without realizing that the infestations are coming from each other!

 

What to Do

 

Home remedies and over-the-counter treatment products may seem like the ideal first line of defense. However, these methods are ineffective at best and potentially dangerous at worst.

 

The difficulties of social distancing don’t have to be made worse by suffering from head lice—save yourself the hassle and extra money and contact Lice Clinics of America. Our exclusive, FDA-approved lice treatment device, the AirAllé, uses controlled heated air to kill more than 99 percent of lice and eggs (nits) in just one hour. Our clinics are also taking extra safety and sanitary precautions to ensure that our customers and our staff are comfortable and safe. We are committed to making sure that you will walk out our doors healthy, happy, and lice-free.

 

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 675,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

 

Can Chicken Lice Infest Humans?

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In recent years, the practice of adopting and raising backyard chickens has risen dramatically in popularity. Hatcheries nationwide have seen sharp increases in sales of baby chicks in 2020, to the tune of 500% of their previous year’s sales, as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps families home and motivates them to become more self-reliant.

 

But while new chicken caretakers typically anticipate the need for supplies like fencing or coops, some do not anticipate the high likelihood of their chickens becoming infested with chicken lice. That’s right—chickens can get lice! The seemingly sudden appearance of these parasites often has chicken owners worried that as they treat their flock, they may become infested by chicken lice themselves. Fortunately, there is no risk of humans or pets becoming infested by chicken lice. Read on to find out why.

 

Chicken Lice vs. Human Head Lice

While both humans and chickens can get lice, the physiological features, preferred diet and habitat of these insects differ vastly. Chicken lice reside solely on chickens, as well as wild birds, which can transfer the parasite to domestic flocks. Chicken lice may live specifically in the feathers, around the feet, or on the head. Depending on the species (there are more than one species of chicken lice) their diet may consist of their avian host’s feathers or dead skin. By comparison, human head lice (one of three species that can infest humans) live exclusively on the scalp and feed on human blood. These differences between chicken lice and head lice mean that humans are not at risk of chicken lice infestation.

 

“We have had several customers over the years contact us, worried about catching chicken lice,” says Shannon Steele, owner of Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro. “They’re taking care of their own chickens, or they have a friend or a relative with chickens, and they start feeling itchy after petting or handling them. Sometimes they coincidentally have head lice and that’s what’s bothering them, but in every instance, they do not have chicken lice.”

 

If you feel itchy after handling chickens, it may actually come from bird mites. Bird mites are a parasite that commonly infests chickens, and unlike chicken lice, they do feed on humans as well. If their bird host leaves its nest or coop, the mites may migrate into homes via cracks and crevices in the building’s structure. They seek out human hosts to feed on once they move in. While mites can’t live on humans or inside homes for long, they can absolutely be a nuisance while they are alive.

 

If you or your family members have itchy scalps or sensations of crawling on the head, pay a visit to Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro for a professional head check. Our trained experts will be able to confidently identify if what you are experiencing is a case of head lice. If your head check is found to be positive for lice, we’ll be ready to help you with a range of treatment options. Lice Clinics of America clinics exclusively use AirAllé, an FDA-cleared heated-air medical device to safely and effectively treat head lice. In just one hour at our clinic, you and your loved ones can be lice-free.

 

“We always feel that it’s better to get a head screening with us at the clinic than to wait around and see, and later discover that you’ve had head lice for a while,” says Shannon. “If we discover head lice during your screening, we can take care of it all in one go!”

 

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 750,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

 

 

Chemicals in Lice-Treatment Products Linked to Health Problems in Children

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A study in Occupational and Environmental Medicine reports what many have feared for decades—that “exposure to certain pyrethroids, at environmental levels, may negatively affect neurobehavioral development by six years of age.” Pyrethroids are a class of chemicals used in insecticides, including the most popular head-lice medications.

For the study, the researchers measured levels of five pyrethroid metabolites in the urine of women in the early stages of pregnancy and, later, in their 6-year-olds to see if there was a link between being exposed to the chemical in utero and childhood, and behavior that could suggest neurodevelopmental damage.

“Pyrethroids are neurotoxins, says clinic owner Shannon Steele, owner of Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro. “They work by disrupting the nervous systems of insects, killing them in the process. Health advocates have for years questioned the medical wisdom of putting neurotoxins on children’s scalps.”

Pyrethroid Chemicals in Lice Products: Study Results

There were three pyrethroid metabolites chemicals in lice products that showed up most often in the urine of mothers and their children: trans-DCCA, cis-DBCA, and cis-DCCA. The conclusion of the study was that “Overall, children with the highest levels of metabolites in their urine were three times more likely to have abnormal behavior than those with lower levels. As a result, the researchers concluded that pyrethroids might alter neurochemical signaling in the brain.”

This follows a 2015 study in Environmental Health that found that “Pyrethroid pesticides cause abnormalities in the dopamine system and produce an ADHD phenotype in animal models, with effects accentuated in males versus females. However, data regarding the behavioral effects of pyrethroid exposure in children is limited.”

While neither study proves a medical link between pyrethroids and behavioral change in children, there is certainly reason for concern. Pyrethroids remain the first line of defense against head lice recommended by many doctors. This is changing, but not necessarily due to health concerns. Multiple studies performed in recent years have found that most head lice in the United States and other countries are developing resistance to pyrethroids, so these neurotoxins that parents are putting on their children’s heads are losing effectiveness.

New Recommended Treatments for Head Lice

The medical world is starting to shift gears. In 2015 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated its guidance on head lice treatment as new products were introduced after the AAP’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, including the revolutionary AirAllé medical device.

“The ideal treatment of lice should be safe, free of toxic chemicals, readily available without a prescription, easy to use, effective, and inexpensive,” the AAP said.  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.

The AAP lists the AirAllé medical device as an effective lice treatment device: “The AirAllé (Larada Sciences, Salt Lake City, UT) is a custom-built machine that uses one 30-minute application of hot air in an attempt to desiccate the lice.” It uses no chemicals and instead dehydrates lice and eggs. Clinical studies found that the AirAllé kills live lice and more than 99 percent of eggs in a single session. In addition to being chemical-free, the treatment eliminates the need for weeks of nitpicking to make sure all eggs are removed.

The AirAllé medical device is available exclusively at Lice Clinics of America treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America is the world’s largest and fastest-growing network of professional lice clinics, with hundreds of clinics in some 20 countries.

About Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 750,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404, and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Why You Need A Lice Comb

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When it comes to tackling a case of head lice, one recommendation you’ll find over and over by lice experts is to do combing. Combing can serve as both a confirmation of whether someone has head lice, as well as a way to treat an infestation by physically removing the bugs and nits.

 

“If you are going to treat lice at home, you will definitely need to comb out the lice and nits, even if you are using some sort of topical solution,” says Shannon Steele, owner of Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro.

 

Many tools known as lice combs are available on the market today to aid in the combing process. But is a dedicated comb for head lice truly necessary? What differentiates a lice comb from regular hair combs?

 

Hair Combs vs. Lice Combs

Typically, an adult louse grows to the size of a sesame seed. The eggs (also called nits) that they lay are, of course, even smaller. Because the size of head lice and their eggs is so small, the gaps between an average hair comb’s teeth are just too big to effectively catch them. The plastic material that most hair combs are made of is also too smooth to “grip” any nits and bugs enough to remove them from the hair.

 

By comparison, lice combs have teeth that are precisely spaced so lice and eggs of all sizes are unable to pass through. Most lice combs have durable metal teeth that often have grooves specifically designed to help the comb “grip” and remove any lice and eggs that are found. This is especially important in the removal of lice eggs, which are fixated so strongly to the hair shafts that the only way to remove them is by forcefully sliding them for the full length of the hair strand. Without the features of a dedicated lice comb, a hair comb will have little to no effect on an infestation of lice.

 

Even with a dedicated lice comb, effectively removing all lice and nits can be a challenge for someone who has never done it before.

 

“People come in all the time to our clinics saying, ‘I’ve been combing every day for weeks, but we still have lice,’” Steele says. “There is certainly a technique to using a lice comb effectively. While most clients prefer us to do the treatments for them, we are happy to instruct them on how to properly use a lice comb if they decide to self-treat at home.”

 

The Lice Clinics of America lice comb adheres to the standards required of a lice comb to be effective. Our professional technicians use the comb in all of our lice treatment clinics worldwide. You can purchase a Lice Clinics of America lice comb for home use from Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro.

 

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 675,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

 

The Head Lice Life Cycle

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If you have an infestation of head lice in your household, it can feel impossible to get rid of it. Most “natural” home remedies, prescription treatments, and over-the-counter products are ineffective and will simply prolong your frustration. In order to learn how lice spread and how to get rid of them, you’ll need to understand the lice life cycle. Read on to learn more.

 

From Egg to Nymph

A head louse’s life begins as an egg, also called a nit. The adult female louse lays the egg and attaches it to a human hair strand using an exceptionally strong glue-like substance. Thanks to this “glue,” the nit will remain on the hair throughout all kinds of bathing, swimming, and hairstyling. Lice attach nits ¼ of an inch or less from the scalp so that it can be kept at an ideal temperature before hatching; that means nits farther than ¼ inch from the scalp most likely have already hatched or are not viable.

 

After approximately eight days, the egg hatches into a nymph. The nymph louse is not yet mature enough to reproduce. The nymph will feed on the host’s blood on a daily basis as it grows and undergoes three molts. Each molt—or shedding of the outer skin—takes approximately three days. This means that it only takes about nine days for a baby louse to become an adult louse!

 

At Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro, we professionally train our technicians to spot lice and nits in the hair and determine whether an active infestation is present. While it’s helpful to periodically check the hair for lice at home, distinguishing nits from dandruff and viable nits from empty or dead nits can be challenging. To save yourself the hassle, schedule a professional head check with us by calling 870-322-6056.

 

Continuing the Cycle

Once the louse finishes its third and final molt, it is then ready to mate and lay eggs. Female lice are capable of laying up to eight eggs per day for about three days, up until they die. That’s as many as 24 eggs per female louse. No wonder a case of head lice can be so hard to get rid of!

 

When it comes to transferring to a new host, head lice move quickly. They primarily spread to new hosts when there is direct head-to-head or hair-to-hair contact. As this contact occurs, usually during photos, hugs, or sitting and leaning against another person, lice can crawl from head to head in a matter of seconds. It’s easy to see how lice can spread rapidly between kids at school, at summer camp, and even at home.

 

Treating Head Lice

If you or your loved one has come down with a case of head lice, don’t panic—there are safe, quick, and effective treatments available. At Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro, you can be completely lice-free in an hour after a professional treatment with the AirAllé device. FDA-cleared and safe for young children, the AirAllé device uses controlled heated air delivered to the scalp to kill over 99% of lice and eggs. With no involvement of harmful pesticides or toxic chemicals, the AirAllé device is a safe and effective method for treating a lice infestation.

 

About Lice Clinics of America

Lice Clinics of America is the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers, with more than 750,000 successful treatments performed in 265 clinics across 20 countries. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.

 

Why Over-the-Counter Head Lice Products Won’t Work

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When a child has head lice, many parents go into panic mode and will do almost anything to get rid of the lice as quickly as possible. After grabbing the first lice treatment they see at the drugstore, they race home to put a stop to the head lice infesting their child. Sadly, weeks later they are often still combing out lice eggs.

There are three problems with this treatment approach. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro owner Shannon Steele explains why:

“For starters, a majority of over the counter (OTC) products don’t work anymore, at least not in the United States,” says Steele. “According to the website ‘Beyond Pesticides,’ virtually all lice in the United States have developed resistance to the OTC and prescription shampoos containing the toxic chemical Permethrin. Several recent studies have confirmed the widespread resistance of head lice to retail products.”

“This isn’t really controversial,” said John Clark in a 2014 article titled “Head Lice Growing Resistant to Standard Meds.” Clark is a professor of environmental toxicology and chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and co-author of one of the studies of resistant head lice. “This is a problem we’ve been showing in development over a period of about 20 years. But our new work now shows that head lice are now almost 100 percent [resistant]. That means there’s an awful lot of resistant insects out there in the U.S. and elsewhere.”

“The second reason to avoid commercial lice-removal products is that they may not be safe. Permethrin is a neurotoxin that kills lice by shutting down the insect’s central nervous system,” Steele says. “Lice-removal products have been deemed safe when used as directed, but overuse is common. Panicked parents often over-apply the product, and it may cause serious health problems.”

Richard Clapp, an environmental health expert and professor emeritus at Boston University, has said that Permethrin, especially when combined with other problematic chemicals, can cause seizures and, down the road, behavioral problems. In a 2009 memo, the EPA classified Permethrin as “likely to be carcinogenic to humans” in some conditions.

Environmentally relevant levels of pyrethroids—the class of pesticide that includes Permethrin—are also common in some household insecticide products. This means that adding lice shampoo, even the amount directed, to the level of pyrethroids already in a home can overexpose children to the pesticide.

“Finally, the third reason for thinking twice before using OTC lice-removal products is that they are not ovicidal, meaning, they don’t kill lice eggs, or nits, which is a real problem in the battle against head lice,” says Steele.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pyrethrins (another type of pyrethroids) can only kill live lice, not unhatched eggs (nits). Nits are affixed to hair shafts with a very strong glue-like substance and must be manually removed.

“If every nit is not removed, you’ll simply get a new case of head lice when the eggs hatch a week or so after the treatment is applied,” continues Steele.

Fortunately, there’s a pesticide-free alternative to lice-removal medications. It’s a medical device (rather than a shampoo), known as the AirAllé device, that uses heated air to dehydrate and kill head lice and 99.2 percent of lice eggs. It’s been clinically proven to be safe and effective and has been cleared for use by the FDA. Treatments using this device are available exclusively at Lice Clinics of America treatment centers throughout the United States and around the world. In most cases, head lice are removed in a single 60- to 90-minute treatment, and the treatment is guaranteed to be effective by the clinic.

About Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro

Lice Clinics of America has successfully treated more than 750,000 cases of head lice. The company has more than 265 clinics in 20 countries, making it the world’s largest network of professional lice treatment centers. Lice Clinics of America – Jonesboro is located at 3114 Fox Road, Suite D, Jonesboro, AR 72404 and is open 7 days a week by appointment. Call 870-322-6056 or visit www.LiceClinicsJonesboro.com for more information or to schedule an appointment.