You Are Not The Only One With Head Lice!

Believe us when we tell you that you are not alone when it comes to getting head lice. Millions of children and their families get lice each year. Children are in close enough contact to their friends that lice can be transmitted easily.

Head lice are found worldwide. In the United States, head lice infestations are most common among pre-school children who are attending daycare programs, elementary aged children, and household members of the infested child/children.

It is estimated that six to twelve million head lice infestations occur each year in the United States among children ranging from 3 to 11 years of age.

It is also not uncommon for close family members, teachers, and other staff to find that they have a lice infestation. This is due to their being in close contact with the children.

Lice Are Easy to Transmit and to Get

Not only is head lice common, it is fairly easy to catch, if you are not careful. This is especially true if you are unaware that your own child has an infestation. Head to head contact with your children, family, and friends just does not seem like a huge deal, until you find out that they have an active head lice infestation. Then it turns into a pretty big deal. With that being said, I can assure you of one thing: your child picked up head lice from someone. Lice do not just magically appear in your child’s head. There is not a nit fairy that carries the nits (lice eggs) from someone’s head to your child’s head. Lice transmissions happen every day across the country, especially among young children. This fact alone is enough to prove that you are not the only one who is suffering with these annoying little critters!

Most people are so embarrassed by the thought of someone seeing them buying lice products to treat their family. They are too embarrassed to call and tell people, even when their children were playing together. However, many families have gone through this, or know someone who has at some point. Even celebrities battle the problem. Courtney Cox, Jennifer Garner, and Susannah Constantine admitted to battling head lice. Gordon Ramsey (chef) admitted that he once caught head lice.

Alternative Lice Treatments Usually Do Not Work

It is becoming fairly well known that chemical head lice treatments don’t work. Word of mouth and Internet searches show that “super lice” are becoming more prevalent. What are “super lice”? These are lice that have mutated to become resistant to lice shampoos. Prescription lice shampoos containing malathion, ivermectin, and lindane do not penetrate or kill nits and you cannot count on them to kill “super lice”. The cost of prescription lice treatment is high so keep that in mind. Over-the-counter lice shampoos such as those with permethrin and pyrethrin that are found in lice treatment kits and shampoos also often fail to accomplish their lice killing goals. Why apply these chemicals to your child’s head when you can find that lice are alive after treatment?

With that as a backdrop, people may try alternative treatments when they get frustrated. Examples include kerosene, hair dye, or mayonnaise. These are not the best treatment for lice and nits.

Kerosine as Lice Treatment

When I was a child, I went to a public school and I had head lice that we could not get rid of. It got to the point that my dad put kerosene in my hair. I do not recommend doing this because it is very dangerous! The Mayo Clinic warns, “These techniques can lead to severe burns. Do not use them.” 

Mayonnaise as Lice Treatment

Mayonnaise is very difficult to work with. It dries quickly and becomes nearly impossible to comb through the hair to get out the nits and lice. Dr. Ellie Brownstein from the University of Utah warns, “Home remedies like mayonnaise may suffocate the bugs but do not kill the eggs”. The bottom line is that mayo treatment for head lice cannot be counted on.

In 2015 a young child, who was being treated for lice with mayonnaise, died because she was left unattended with a plastic shower cap over her head. The shower cap had slipped over her face.  No matter what treatment you use, do not use plastic shower caps with young children.

Hair Dye as Lice Treatment

The total eradication of lice necessitates eliminating not only the baby and adult bugs but their eggs (nits). This means that there needs to be something in the dye that can penetrate the shell of the nit before it hatches. The active ingredient in hair dye, ammonia, does not pierce the shell of the nits so hair dye is also ineffective at getting rid of head lice. As with the aforementioned alternative lice treatments, hair dye does not even get rid of all of the bugs. Hair dye is not an effective lice treatment.

Don’t Panic. LiceDoctors Has The Solution!

It may seem unbearable and embarrassing but the fact is that most people have already been through it, and understand. Please don’t be ashamed; you are not the only one. Lice can affect anyone who has hair. The more social you are, the more opportunity you have to contract a case. Lice are just very prevalent today. In addition, keep in mind that personal hygiene has nothing to do with whether or not you get lice. Whether you get lice is determined by whether or not you are in close proximity to someone who has an active case.

Do not stress out. Call the professionals to treat your scalp with care, instead of harsh chemicals. So what does LiceDoctors do to eliminate head lice and nits? Your lice specialist comes to your house. That’s right, you do not need to drive to a lice treatment center, stay there for hours, and pay higher prices. LiceDoctors provides the most private and convenient lice removal service at the most affordable prices in the West Allis and Wauwatosa area. Your technician will apply oil and conduct hair lice removal that includes combing to remove lice and nits. Then when the hair is dry, she will nitpick all remaining nits. This is essential and total head lice removal and extraction of nits is the only way that you will stay lice-free.

Treatments are covered by HSAs and FSAs and by some health insurance plans.  Lice treatment is so effective that we have a track record that can’t be equaled: over 500,000 clients treated safely and effectively with no side effects. In addition, LiceDoctors is rated “A”by the Better Business Bureau.

If you are looking for professional lice treatment near you,  LiceDoctors can be reached near you at 800-224-2537 seven days and nights a week. An experienced lice specialist will make a house call and leave you lice-free. For the best lice treatment — guaranteed and safe, call LiceDoctors today. Our mobile lice treatments service is available 365 days a year.