Fighting super lice with a natural treatment
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - September is Lice Prevention Month. Just in time for the new school year, super lice have hit the scene.
"Super lice are lice that have become resistant to the general treatments that are available both over the counter and sometimes by prescription as well," says Dr. Doris Day of NYU Langone Medical Center.
6 million to 12 million infestations of head lice occur each year in the United States in children ages 3 to 11, according to the CDC.
"It's always a good idea to see your dermatologist because there are excellent prescription medicines that can help treat lice," Dr. Day says.
But there are also natural treatments being offered in the city.
"It's just like antibiotics. The more you use the medicine, the more it's not effective," says Dalya Harel, the owner of Lice Busters NYC in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The hair salon specializes in removing the unwanted hair squatters. Even though the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends prescription treatments, she says those remedies are ineffective.
"The lice are getting very, very resistant. So they are getting stronger and stronger. Nothing can kill them," Harel says.
The traditional method of wet combing appeals to parents who want avoid putting chemicals on their child's head. The hair is doused in conditioner and baking soda, and a special comb and combing technique is used to remove the lice.
Having your child's hair checked for lice will cost $20. A lice treatment will run $150 to $250, depending on the length and thickness of the hair.
Lice Busters isn't just for kids. Odds are if your child has lice, someone else in the family does. And it might even be you! So adults, you can get your hair checked here as well
"The schools that don't check, soon in November it's going to be such an epidemic because the kids are in school and that's what they give to one another," Harel says.
But it won't be the end of the world.
"Basically, we are teaching the mother how to work with the lice," Harel says. "That lice is not a catastrophe."
That's a head scratcher!