
Overexposure to insecticides has bred resistance in lice - artsandsci
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/revenge-of-the-super-lice/
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janwillemb
"Overexposure to insecticides has bred resistance in the parasites" is the
title, but the article only speaks about "exposure", not "overexposure".

That said, as a parent in the Netherlands, we nowadays use the simplest and
most effective method: fine-combing the hair every morning and night for two
weeks. Use hair conditioner before combing to make the beasts sticky for
easier combing. Guaranteed success.

~~~
savanaly
Not a parent, as the following suggestion will probably make obvious, but why
don't people just shave their kids' head when it happens? It's what I would do
if it happened to me rather than do that nonsense every morning for weeks on
end.

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aerique
When my kids have lice I shave my own head, but I haven't been able to
convince my daughter to do the same.

She's got pretty long and thick hair so washing and combing it is a b#tch!

~~~
savanaly
Alright, I can see how it would be unacceptably cruel to ask a girl to do it.
I still think I'd make a boy do it though...

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neffy
Right, because boys never get mocked at school...

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undersuit
It's a tossup. If you can't get rid of your son's lice in a timely fashion
without shaving your son's head, he's probably going to give the lice to his
peers... and the mocking will be even worse.

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mr_spothawk
as a person with _alopecia universalis_... aaahhhhHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

sorry, I don't get to do that very often :P

~~~
Ensorceled
There are not too many jokes that are still funny enough to make you laugh out
loud after you have taken the time to go look up "alopecia universalis" on
wikipedia

~~~
mr_spothawk
every once in a while i think that i might like to have my hair back... but
then i remember how nice it is to rarely shower, never shave, and the reduced
risk of Gattaca-style discovery when i finally decide to leave for space ;)

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Steuard
As the parent of a five year old, this isn't news to me! From all I read when
she was dealing with lice, the over the counter pesticide shampoos in the US
hardly work for anyone anymore (we tried anyway, at the firm insistence of our
daycare), and the prescription options aren't that much better (we didn't
bother, despite the insistence of our daycare).

The good news is that only adult lice actually spread between heads (the eggs
won't even hatch away from body temperature: that's why they're attached right
next to the scalp). And if you comb carefully for a day or two you'll get rid
of essentially all of them. It may take longer to catch all of the immature
ones (especially since they'll keep on hatching for a while), so you've got to
be vigilant. But a good comb and some effective distraction for the kid while
you use it will do the job, and there's no reason to isolate them after those
first couple of days. (Sadly, daycare didn't agree.)

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chromaton
There was a scientific study done in 2004 that showed coating the hair with
Cetaphil cleanser and blow drying it was very effective in getting rid of
lice. It's called the "Nuvo" method. No insecticide necessary and probably
more pleasant than mayonnaise. We've used this treatment successfully.

More info:
[http://nuvoforheadlice.com/test/](http://nuvoforheadlice.com/test/)

[https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/the-alternative-
me...](https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/the-alternative-medicine-
cabinet-cetaphil-for-lice/)

The original study:
[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/3/e275.ful...](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/3/e275.full)

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bigjimmyk3
We had the best luck with an electric comb -- that is, a comb designed so that
the louse completes a circuit and receives a small (but lethal) dose of
current. It is difficult to build up a resistance to that.

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tssva
I take my daughter to a lice removal specialist. She does a thorough combing
to remove the lice. 2 weeks later you return for a follow up to check for any
lice that might have hatched from missed nits. If there are any lice they are
removed for no additional cost and another follow up scheduled. I have had to
use the service twice over the years and neither time were there an lice at
the follow up. For me well worth the $100 fee. I don't have the patience to
perform the type of thorough combing required and certainly would not get them
all in one combing.

~~~
hanoz
You pay someone $100 to comb your child's hair?

~~~
pacaro
Another advantage of these services is that the daycares trust them, so it
limits the time you have to keep your kid out of daycare. This can save way
more than $100 (depending on what your childcare backup solution is)

~~~
hanoz
Sorry, I'm completely lost. Daycares? i.e. schools do you mean? And what do
you mean that they trust these services? I must be getting this completely
wrong, but surely you're not saying there are schools which exclude children
who've had nits unless they've got a receipt from a $100 hair comber?

~~~
linkregister
The commenter's child is under 5 years old, so they attend day care.

Day care facilities (private businesses) rightly don't permit sick children to
attend until they are not infectious.

Paying $100 to avoid the loss of work (more than $100) is rational.

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aidenn0
There is a heat-treatment device that is successful in killing lice, but it's
patented (earliest patent I could find expires 2029) and only provided to
clinics that sign up with the owner (Larada), and they charge ~200 per person.

~~~
rrauenza
We did that treatment with our daughter after not doing the Nuvo treatment
quite right the first time (didn't get the Cetaphil down to the roots.)

I would do it again.

I do wonder if Nuvo partly works by the heat method as well since you have to
blow dry the Cetaphil.

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CodeWriter23
My wife's research revealed an important fact, lice cannot survive for more
than 48 hours without a human host. So we let DD sleep on a cot in a different
room for two days to clear her bed.

As for DD (and DW, I get a free pass thanks to baldness) she makes some kind
of solution with tea tree oil and uses a comb. The lice can't stand tea tree
oil and abandon ship.

My wife says mayonnaise didn't work, but I've heard testimonial from other
parents this is very effective. Mayo plus a shower cap plus keep it in
overnight suffocates the little varmints to death.

~~~
socalnate1
This is sort of an aside, but when I first became a parent 6 years ago and I
started reading "DD," "DS," "LO" etc all over the internet in parenting
forums, it was my first indication that all parents (myself included) have
lost their minds.

What an odd shorthand convention.

~~~
scott_s
Dear Daughter, Dear Son, Dear Wife? I don't know what LO might be.

~~~
rrauenza
Little One.

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pge
As a parent of elementary schoolers, I am painfully familiar with this. But
after having no success with the insecticides, I found a product called
licefree (NFI) that is basically saltwater. It works great and has none of the
potential health risks of insecticides so you can apply it liberally (to the
whole family!) anytime there is the slightest hint that a kid might have lice.
I can't recommend it enough.

~~~
mistermann
Does this kill them with one application? How can it possibly work, dry them
out or something?

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pcunite
Look for products that work with "super lice", the Vamousse brand for example.

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bykovich2
Shocker, eh?

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singularity2001
too bad that it would take humans several generations before they'd stop
developing allergic reactions and cancer from insecticide.

