if you’re a parent of a school age child, chances are good you’ve had a brush with lice. the anxiety-inducing parasites are more popular than ever, says shawnda walker, chief nit wit at nit wits in toronto. “seventy-five per cent of kids now have lice in senior kindergarten,” she says. “lice are more mainstream.”
worse, they’re now often drug-resistant — known as super lice. according to the mayo clinic, they’re increasingly becoming immune to the drugs used to treat them, a function of drug misuse or overuse. or maybe the nits are getting more creative.
that means that many of the over-the counter treatments, which mayo clinic still recommends as a first-line treatment – the medications containing one per cent permethrin that you can buy at your local pharmacy – are less effective. you’ll likely have to re-treat the hair multiple times.
“we started seeing this a number of years ago, the [anti-lice] products weren’t as effective,” says walker. “seventy per cent of our clients have tried the products three times at home before they come to us.”
for any parent who has laboured through cringe-inducing weeks of lice treatment, which involves laundering bedding, clothing and extensive cleaning — as well as daily hair combing — this is decidedly bad news.