Social: #Lice
Twitter: @TheLiceMeister
Website: https://www.headlice.org/comb/
September is National Head Lice Prevention Month!
Annual reminder to parents about the importance of routine screening and sending their children to school free of lice and nits.
The organization has launched mobile-friendly redesigns of HeadLice.org and LiceMeister.com in conjunction with its annual educational campaign to help families prevent, manage and treat children with head lice, safely and effectively. The campaign emphasizes the importance of routine screening, early detection and the most important public health measure of sending children to school without lice and nits (eggs).
“The NPA’s message is especially timely, as the FDA recently reissued its own outdated instructions for back-to-school, and a set of guidelines that ignores the advances made in combing tools for families to use at home as well as the availability of nit-removal services for those who choose to seek assistance. Parents simply can’t rely on government agencies for proper guidance on lice prevention and treatment and must be prepared for pediculosis (lice infestation) regardless of school policy, FDA dogma or product marketing information,” said Deborah Altschuler, President of the NPA.
“Parents who have a quality lice comb can identify and successfully end an infestation early and safely, when there are fewer lice and nits present. Everyone wins when everyone combs! Each child protected from a pesticide shampoo is a victory for that child.” she added. The NPA encourages parents and school nurses to include children in the conversation about head lice. Otherwise their imaginations can run wild. https://www.headlice.org/comb/include-children-in-head-lice-conversations/
Concerned about the risks of pesticide and chemical-based treatments the NPA has been promoting this safer approach since it was incorporated as a nonprofit education and research association in 1983. They’ve kept up the drumbeat reaching out to inform and prepare each new generation of parents, who armed with accurate information, will not feel desperate or panicked about head lice.
Combs such as the NPA’s LiceMeister® comb, accepted by the FDA as a 510(k) medical device, have changed best practices, making it realistic and practical for parents to screen, detect and remove head lice and nits successfully at home. The NPA suggests after bath time and before bed as a good time for parents to regularly check their children’s hair. The health and wellness benefits of combing are immeasurable. The NPA is confident that parents can and will CombFirst!
Parents can find more educational resources at https://www.HeadLice.Org and videos to help them with combing at https://www.LiceMeister.com, including a tutorial on How Mary protected her kids from lice and risky chemicals: https://bit.ly/2Z04tt9.
Source: 2019 National Health Observances, National Health Information Center, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.