METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) – School buses are on the streets, kids are in the classrooms, and something else is back: head lice.
Pharmacist in Charge, Al Spitale, at Majoria Drugs in Metairie has this message for parents who discover lice on their kids, “Don’t push the panic button. You don’t have to burn your house down and move.”
That’s the good news. A case of lice is not life-threatening, but the bad news is the treatments for it can be costly. Some anti-lice prescriptions run more than $200, and Spitale points out those treatments are made to kill bugs—and anything that’s created to kill something is likely to have side effects.
Pediatrician Paul Remedios says combing the tiny critters out with a $10 lice comb is an effective and budget-friendly option, and he shared this reminder:
“Lice don’t jump from person to person. They crawl. They’re very slow. There’s no need to exclude kids from school. You’re causing them to miss multiple days of school and there’s a social stigma associated with it.”
A new study says lice resistance to over the counter drugs is building.
“With this emerging resistance there may need to be increased treatment options and increased treatment times as well,” says Dr. Remedios.
Meanwhile, the president of the National Pediculosis Association, a non-profit agency dedicated to lice issues, says the FDA should do more.
Deborah Altschuler, says “At the very least it should be a label that says ‘Lice resistance has been reported for this product,’ instead of letting the parents figure it out after using products four and five times.”
Dr. Remedios also says make sure what you’re treating actually is lice, as some parents and even school nurses sometimes misdiagnose things such as dandruff or dried hair gel as lice.
And once you’re sure, you’ll want to treat it, and retreat about a week later. That’s something that the medicine boxes, the doctor, and the pharmacist all agree on.