# Over-the-counter Medicine Cannot Kill Super Lice



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Mar 3, 2016)

A strain of "super lice" that is resistant to over-the-counter treatments has been reported in 25 states. Here's what you need to know about the outbreak and how you can protect your children: 

*What are super lice?*
Super lice, like regular lice, are parasitic insects that can live in the scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes of humans and feed on blood. Due to a genetic mutation, super lice are resistant to pyrethroids, the family of insecticides contained in common over-the-counter treatments used to kill lice. 

*Where are super lice a problem?*
A national study found the treatment-resistant lice in 25 states in the U.S. 



*How do super lice spread?*
Much like regular lice, super lice are spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person, the CDC reports. Head lice move by crawling and cannot hop or fly. Lice can also spread by sharing clothing or hair accessories recently worn or used by a person with lice, although this is less common. Dogs, cats and other pets cannot spread head lice. 

*How do you know if your child has super lice?*
The symptoms of head lice include the feeling of something moving in the hair, an itchy scalp, irritability and difficulty sleeping. The only difference between regular lice and super lice infestation is the response to treatment. If your child still has lice after a complete over-the-counter treatment, they may be infested with a resistant strain. 

*How are lice and super lice treated?*
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents and caregivers use over-the-counter treatments unless resistance has been confirmed in other cases in the community. Instructions on the package should be followed exactly and all clothing, linens and toys used by the infected person should be washed in hot water or dry cleaned. If the lice are treatment-resistant, a pediatrician can prescribe another form of treatment that has been proven effective against super lice. 

*How are lice and super lice prevented?*
Because head lice spread so easily in schools, playgrounds and daycares they are difficult to prevent. The AAP recommends teaching children not to share hats, combs or other items that come in contact with hair. Children should also be checked for lice if there is an outbreak in their school – even if they aren’t complaining of itching


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## IronButterfly (Mar 3, 2016)

Keeping that head bald!


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## FlowerHair (Mar 3, 2016)

My head itches just reading this. I don't want to go through lice combing my hair again...did that last year and it took 1,5 hours each time.  DS got lice from pre school.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Mar 3, 2016)

FlowerHair said:


> My head itches just reading this. I don't want to go through lice combing my hair again...did that last year and it took 1,5 hours each time.  *DS got lice from pre school*.



Really?? Yikes. They sent a note home with DD saying that they had a few cases in her class...


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## Natty_Virgo (Mar 3, 2016)

I thought only white people get lice?


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Mar 3, 2016)

Cali2tx said:


> I thought only white people get lice?



No, though I think it's less prevalent. I remember a member here talking about how her kids had it and how she was surprised because she didn't think black people could get it.


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## LeftRightRepeat (Mar 3, 2016)

There was a whole lice thread recently in the entertainment forum i think full of black people that had gotten it.

No one is safe! hide your hair!


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## DarkJoy (Mar 3, 2016)

The reason bp dont usually get it is because we put product in our hair. Lice dont like things like leave ins, grease, or Shea butter, gel or evoo. Lol.

My dd caught it from school last year because I neglected to put extra product in her hair. Imagine the hours combing those bastards out of waist length curly hair 

And its not just the hair. You got to continuously sterilize everything : bed linens, toys, towels. Stuffed animals have to be secured away in plastic bags to starve them out for a cpl weeks. Annoying af!

I dont forget now. She gets some leave in AND gel AND oil throughout the week. Lol.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 3, 2016)

What states?


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## FlowerHair (Mar 3, 2016)

KCcurly said:


> Really?? Yikes. They sent a note home with DD saying that they had a few cases in her class...


Yep. It seems many kids here get it every fall, but DS only got it once. 



Cali2tx said:


> I thought only white people get lice?


No, I had it when I was a kid and DS had it. My hair is a 3c, but I admit that his hair is perhaps a 2a/b. 

There are also different types of lice, the lice here seem to love long straight hair. Since most of us don't have long straight hair, perhaps less of us get them? I think it may have to do with hair care products too. Neither I nor my son use anything heavy on our hair. 

On the other hand, my nephew had lice for a long time (undetected) and I used to put him to bed and read stories to him lying on his pillow regularly for months and I never got it.


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## Mai Tai (Mar 3, 2016)

LeftRightRepeat said:


> There was a whole lice thread recently in the entertainment forum i think f*ull of black people that had gotten it*.
> 
> No one is safe! hide your hair!



Wait...Black people get lice?


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## Subscribe (Mar 3, 2016)

I wonder if JBCO would kill/suffocate them?


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Mar 3, 2016)

shortdub78 said:


> What states?








The states in red.


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## Ms. Tarabotti (Mar 3, 2016)

KCcurly said:


> The states in red.



That's an interesting map- doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for the states that get it-  like all the states that have it are in the south or midwest, etc. I wonder why certain states have it while the states that border them don't.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 3, 2016)

KCcurly said:


> The states in red.


Oh no! That's not good!


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## Crackers Phinn (Mar 3, 2016)

Super Lice don't want none of this work


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## PopLife (Mar 3, 2016)

Crackers Phinn said:


> Super Lice don't want none of this work


Lmao! I wonder if this works...


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## Evolving78 (Mar 3, 2016)

So I gotta keep our heads greasy? I don't put any oil in my dd's hair.


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## Rastafarai (Mar 3, 2016)

DarkJoy said:


> The reason bp dont usually get it is because we put product in our hair. Lice dont like things like leave ins, grease, or Shea butter, gel or evoo. Lol.





Crackers Phinn said:


> Super Lice don't want none of this work




Black privilege. Love it.


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## Rastafarai (Mar 3, 2016)

shortdub78 said:


> So I gotta keep our heads greasy? I don't put any oil in my dd's hair.



You gon' learn today! You better get that WGO or Doo-Gro!

I heard them lice non-resistant to essential oils.


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## Evolving78 (Mar 3, 2016)

Rastafarai said:


> You gon' learn today! You better get that WGO or Doo-Gro!
> 
> I heard them lice non-resistant to essential oils.


I will grease her scalp this evening!


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## BillsBackerz67 (Mar 3, 2016)

Where's the original link to this story. My friends daughter caught live 3 times in the past 2 years. I want to send her this.


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## BillsBackerz67 (Mar 3, 2016)

Mai Tai said:


> Wait...Black people get lice?


Yes. I had a black patient who's hair was infested with them to the point where you could see them moving in her head if you stood several feet away. She was severely mentally ill and had bad pneumonia. We had to sedate her because she refused to let us shave her hair off but we had no choice.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Mar 3, 2016)

BillsBackerz67 said:


> Where's the original link to this story. My friends daughter caught live 3 times in the past 2 years. I want to send her this.



http://www.people.com/article/super-lice-treatment-resistant-what-you-need-to-know


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## VeryBecoming (Mar 3, 2016)

Mai Tai said:


> Wait...Black people get lice?



Literally me right now! I'm not one to believe stuff like "all white people do X" or "black folks can't X" but I have believed and even relished in knowing that black people couldn't get lice. I need to call my parents and talk through this


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## kanozas (Mar 3, 2016)

Lavendar + water + a little bit of glycerin spray daily before they go to school.  For added protection, add a tiny bit of Neem oil to that.  OMG.


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## Ann0804 (Mar 3, 2016)

All the oil we put in our hair. I haven't heard of anyone with type 4 hair having lice. Must be in the homes of mixed families cause all the black folks I know never got this ish. Even in school it was never us. I don't believe this ish. Not claiming this at all.


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## beingofserenity (Mar 3, 2016)

There are species of lice that have adapted to African hair types so don't get too cocky. Lol


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## melisandre (Mar 3, 2016)

My state is red!


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## Natty_Virgo (Mar 3, 2016)

Hell nah!! I didn't know black people could get it! Okay, well extra oil for all of us.


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## PuddingPop (Mar 3, 2016)

Subscribe said:


> I wonder if JBCO would kill/suffocate them?


This is what I was wondering. I know an old school treatment is using kerosene to treat lice. They would saturate the hair with it to kill the lice so I'm assuming any heavy oil would work, even for super lice.


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## justNikki (Mar 3, 2016)

Crackers Phinn said:


> Super Lice don't want none of this work



That should solve all the problems right there.


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## Kalani (Mar 4, 2016)

BillsBackerz67 said:


> Yes. I had a black patient *who's hair was infested with them to the point where you could see them moving in her head if you stood several feet away.* She was severely mentally ill and had bad pneumonia. We had to sedate her because she refused to let us shave her hair off but we had no choice.


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## creolebombshell (Mar 4, 2016)

DarkJoy said:


> The reason bp dont usually get it is because we put product in our hair. Lice dont like things like leave ins, grease, or Shea butter, gel or evoo. Lol.
> 
> My dd caught it from school last year because I neglected to put extra product in her hair. Imagine the hours combing those bastards out of waist length curly hair
> 
> ...



That is the truth right there . I remember when taking my youngest to the dermatologist for her ecezma and discussing with the dr, a white man, what I could do to make sure my kids didn't get lice. He explained that the product we put in our hair tend to make our hair resistant to getting lice. He finished it off as whatever we are doing just keep on doing.......I was obsessed with not getting lice so much that when my kids were in pre k and elementary I wouldn't let them in my room or on my bed till the end of the school week when I washed their hair. It got to a point where my oldest said there was a girl in her class who had lice and she didn't tell me till years later because I was so annoying with it


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## Weezy Jefferson (Mar 4, 2016)

From what I've read about head lice, it doesn't have anything to do with cleanliness or products used, but rather that the claws of the type of louse most common in the US are more adapted to grip the shaft of straight/straighter hair  than kinkier hair.

From the CDC:
"In the United States, infestation with head lice is much less common among African-Americans than among persons of other races, possibly because the claws of the of the head louse found most frequently in the United States are better adapted for grasping the shape and width of the hair shaft of other races."

From UC Davis:
"*Head lice found in the United States prefer hair that is round in cross section. Hair that is ovoid in cross section, such as the extremely curly hair of African Americans, is not as attractive to lice that are adapted to round hair shafts. *While head lice infestations are common in Africa, as in all continents, African head lice have claws especially adapted for grasping oval hair shafts. The African variety of head lice is not common in North America and consequently *African Americans are much less susceptible to infestations, but they can get head lice*."

And a director of a medical entymology center says this about the common belief that lice prefer clean hair:
"The clean-hair myth was created in the 1970s to convince middle-class parents that it was not an issue only associated with poorer children."

Apparently in the 50s-70s, the public associated lice with poor, dirty children who were neglected by their parents. The classist aspect is pretty interesting, actually. Dirty, shameful, indicative of bad parenting and upbringing when "they" get it. But an unwelcome annoyance now that it's something for "everyone," with "everyone" being middle/upper middle-class whites. Imagine how they would frame it if the type of lice adapted to African hair were most common in the US and not the type adapted to straight hair.

Looking this up and seeing pictures is making me itch.


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## PretteePlease (Mar 4, 2016)

BillsBackerz67 said:


> Yes. I had a black patient who's hair was infested with them to the point where you could see them moving in her head if you stood several feet away. She was severely mentally ill and had bad pneumonia. We had to sedate her because she refused to let us shave her hair off but we had no choice.


WHY DID YOU GIVE ME THIS VISUAL


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## PuddingPop (Mar 4, 2016)

BillsBackerz67 said:


> Yes. I had a black patient who's hair was infested with them to the point where you could see them moving in her head if you stood several feet away. She was severely mentally ill and had bad pneumonia. We had to sedate her because she refused to let us shave her hair off but we had no choice.


No Ma'am!  . That would be the day I would consider surrendering my license. I can not even imagine.


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## brg240 (Mar 4, 2016)

How do lice fair worth relaxers bc I'd just try that tbh

Hmm but I see that would just make it attractive to lice 

Well w/e this literally no worry of mine


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## luckiestdestiny (Mar 4, 2016)

BillsBackerz67 said:


> Yes. I had a black patient who's hair was infested with them to the point where you could see them moving in her head if you stood several feet away. She was severely mentally ill and had bad pneumonia. We had to sedate her because she refused to let us shave her hair off but we had no choice.


wait a minute. You had a choice. Shave her head? Why not just treat it?


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## BillsBackerz67 (Mar 4, 2016)

luckiestdestiny said:


> wait a minute. You had a choice. Shave her head? Why not just treat it?


No there was not a choice. If you are not aggressive you expose other patients and staff taking care of her. There was no treating that. It needed to be shaved off. It's like asking why not spray Raid when ur home is infested with millions of roaches. Raid ain't cutting it. Her scalp had deep sores,  bite marks, and puss seeping out after all her hair was removed.


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## luckiestdestiny (Mar 4, 2016)

BillsBackerz67 said:


> No there was not a choice. If you are not aggressive you expose other patients and staff taking care of her. There was no treating that. It needed to be shaved off. It's like asking why not spray Raid when ur home is infested with millions of roaches. Raid ain't cutting it. Her scalp had deep sores,  bite marks, and puss seeping out after all her hair was removed.


EWWW . Okay then


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## bubbles12345 (Mar 4, 2016)

Mai Tai said:


> Wait...Black people get lice?



Let me rephrase the question.

Can black people with natural 4b/4c hair get lice?


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## LunadeMiel (Mar 4, 2016)

I'm going to buy a hotcomb for dds hair this afternoon. Her prek is all mini wypipo. I refuse


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## LeftRightRepeat (Mar 4, 2016)

bubbles12345 said:


> Let me rephrase the question.
> 
> Can black people with natural 4b/4c hair get lice?



Yup.   They prefer straighter hair but they're opportunistic and can adapt to climbing up that curly hair if they have to.


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## bubbles12345 (Mar 4, 2016)

LeftRightRepeat said:


> Yup.   They prefer straighter hair but they're opportunistic and can adapt to climbing up that curly hair.



You sure this applies to tightly coiled hair too? I can barely get a comb through my hair on a good day and I have like 100% shrinkage. I don't see how lice can climb it.


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## LeftRightRepeat (Mar 4, 2016)

bubbles12345 said:


> You sure this applies to tightly coiled hair too? I can barely get a comb through my hair on a good day and I have like 100% shrinkage. I don't see how lice can climb it.



I grew up in a majority black country and from time to time there would be lice outbreaks. Maybe the lice had no choice as there's not a whole lot of  straight hair to choose from...but i guarantee that the majority of the kids were type 4 of some sort.

Maybe in the US because they have more type 1,2 and 3 hair to choose from,   the type 4s won't get it as easily.


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## BillsBackerz67 (Mar 4, 2016)

bubbles12345 said:


> You sure this applies to tightly coiled hair too? I can barely get a comb through my hair on a good day and I have like 100% shrinkage. I don't see how lice can climb it.


They have claws girl ur not immune. The black patient I took care had 4z hair.


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## Crackers Phinn (Mar 4, 2016)

Between a hot comb and relaxer, you would think that lice ain't got a chance.   It seems like natural hair would put you more at risk.

I knew from a previous thread that white folks lice couldn't hold on to type 4 hair.   I get a mental picture of  some random lice bug getting lost in type 4 hair looking around like this:


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## Sosa (Apr 28, 2016)

My y-boss just got called to her daughter's school to pick her up cuz she has lice. 
I have a meeting with my boss tomorrow. Can these things jump? Am I good as long as I don't come in close contact with boss?


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## meka72 (Apr 28, 2016)

I usually like when you provide real world examples. Not this time though. Lol. 



BillsBackerz67 said:


> No there was not a choice. If you are not aggressive you expose other patients and staff taking care of her. There was no treating that. It needed to be shaved off. It's like asking why not spray Raid when ur home is infested with millions of roaches. Raid ain't cutting it. Her scalp had deep sores,  bite marks, and puss seeping out after all her hair was removed.


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## nyeredzi (Apr 28, 2016)

PretteePlease said:


> WHY DID YOU GIVE ME THIS VISUAL


I read that and wanted to shave all of *my* hair off.


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## BillsBackerz67 (Apr 29, 2016)

meka72 said:


> I usually like when you provide real world examples. Not this time though. Lol.



It was disgusting....and the real F'ed up part is that's nothing compared to some of the other nasty things I've witnessed. That lice situation is about a 3 out of 10 on "the most disgusting things I've ever saw at my job" scale. Smh


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## BillsBackerz67 (Apr 29, 2016)

nyeredzi said:


> I read that and wanted to shave all of *my* hair off.


I broke out in flaming hives from looking at her. I had to call and beg the pharmacy to send me  Claritin to make my skin calm down.


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## VimiJn (Apr 29, 2016)

Mai Tai said:


> Wait...Black peopleget lice?


Yes. They do.


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## Autumn~Tint~Of~Gold (Apr 29, 2016)

I got lice in elementary school and I had dirty hair. It wasn't washed much because I feared the water getting on my face. It sent me into hysterics when it happened.
I recall this girl  named Julieth lol who sat near  of me had a lot of white bits in her hair. I always though I got it from her and  that maybe those white bits were nits .  I remember being paranoid that she somehow deliberately gave me lice. She was kind of disturbed as I recall. She was overweight and I was underweight and she called me fat lol.
Anyway, the itching was so bad I remember crying about it one day 
And even after thorough combing with RIT you'll never get every last nit out.  They're attached to the hair shafts with some kind of glue :shudders:
My brother got the lice from me and he has much curlier hair than I do.


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## Femmefatal1981 (Apr 29, 2016)

Ms. Tarabotti said:


> That's an interesting map- doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for the states that get it-  like all the states that have it are in the south or midwest, etc. I wonder why certain states have it while the states that border them don't.


The more populated states


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Oct 11, 2016)

*Mutant 'Super Lice' Outbreak Has Now Spread to Nearly Every State*



*Mutant 'Super Lice' Outbreak Has Now Spread to Nearly Every State*




Country LivingAugust 4, 2016






From Country Living

Back to school season is upon us, which means it’s time for new school supplies, first day of school pictures, and that dreaded four-letter word: lice. But this year, it’s not just exposure to regular lice that parents have to worry about: There’s now a treatment resistant “super lice” that’s spreading across the United States.

A whopping 42 out of 48 states tested are overrun by this so-called super lice, according to a study published in the _Journal of Medical Entomology_. In these 42 states, according to NBC’s _Today _show, 100 percent of the lice tested were resistant to over-the-counter treatments.

In six other states - New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon, New Mexico, and North Dakota - some, but not all, the lice tested were resistant to over-the-counter treatments.

Alaska and West Virginia were not part of the study.





The problem, according to the _Today_ show, is that lice have mutated, making it more difficult for the chemicals in over-the-counter treatments to lock on to the lice and eliminate it.

Last August, a study made waves when it found that at least 25 states had developed treatment resistant lice. Kyong Sup Yoon, Ph.D., who worked on that study and this latest one, suggests that the only way to effectively treat these lice are with different chemicals, ones that are typically available through a prescription.

“If you use a chemical over and over, these little creatures will eventually develop resistance,” Yoon said last year. “So we have to think before we use a treatment. The good news is head lice don’t carry disease. They’re more a nuisance than anything else.”

Dr. Robin Gehris, the chief of pediatric dermatology at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg, told_ Today _that if your child has head lice, it is more likely resistance lice than not. Gheris recommends that parents try to get rid of the infection by using over-the-counter treatment _twice_.

“Treat the entire head and leave it on for a few hours and then repeat a week later,” she told _Today_. “If you still see things moving after the second treatment it’s time to call the doctor.”

There are countless home remedies to treat lice, including putting mayonnaise, olive oil, and lotion on the scalp, but Dr. Gehris cannot guarantee their effectiveness.

To parents gearing up to send their kids back to school, keep the suggested plan of action in mind: use over the counter treatment twice, and if the problem persists, pay a visit to your doctor for a prescription treatment.


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## aviddiva77 (Oct 11, 2016)

I hate yall sometimes. Just couldn't let me live with the whole, "Black people don't get lice because of the oils we use" could you?


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## Makenzie (Oct 11, 2016)

Bed bug infestation and now super lice.


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## sharifeh (Oct 11, 2016)

Yeah I thought it was our hair texture that made us less likely to get lice not products 

Maybe the lice in the US is more adapted to straight hair 
I wonder if lice in a Black Country would be adapted to our hair ? Hmm


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## PrissiSippi (Oct 12, 2016)

Heck yeah something Mississippi is. It particularly susceptible too!! #FistBump


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## aquajoyice (Oct 12, 2016)

Crackers Phinn said:


> Super Lice don't want none of this work



Yep, they can't hang with the old school treatment.


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## SoopremeBeing (Oct 12, 2016)

*throws Tea Tree oil on thread*


Can it be spread in the fitting room while you're trying on clothes?


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## kanozas (Oct 12, 2016)

.


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## Alta Angel (Oct 15, 2016)

My coworkers daughter is in high school and git live from a cheer competition 4 months ago.  My coworker said she has been combing through her hair every night with the lice medicine to no avail.  She finally took her to the dr and was told it was one of the worse cases they had seen in a while because they were untreated so long.  The dr checked my coworker and husband andthey had them too!


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## PretteePlease (Nov 13, 2018)

Alta Angel said:


> My coworkers daughter is in high school and git live from a cheer competition 4 months ago.  My coworker said she has been combing through her hair every night with the lice medicine to no avail.  She finally took her to the dr and was told it was one of the worse cases they had seen in a while because they were untreated so long.  The dr checked my coworker and husband andthey had them too!



i saw a doc and it was about a place in the uk that treats lice. they use a vac on the hair tiny combs etc you have to actually
come to the office to get treated. the girl had it for months and the mom said it was untreatable. her daughter was responsible
for several outbreaks. just shave her head and go.


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## momi (Nov 13, 2018)

Alta Angel said:


> My coworkers daughter is in high school and git live from a cheer competition 4 months ago.  My coworker said she has been combing through her hair every night with the lice medicine to no avail.  She finally took her to the dr and was told it was one of the worse cases they had seen in a while because they were untreated so long.  The dr checked my coworker and husband andthey had them too!



TAKE ME TO THE KING!!!


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## PretteePlease (Nov 14, 2018)

Alta Angel said:


> My coworkers daughter is in high school and git live from a cheer competition 4 months ago.  My coworker said she has been combing through her hair every night with the lice medicine to no avail.  She finally took her to the dr and was told it was one of the worse cases they had seen in a while because they were untreated so long.  The dr checked my coworker and husband andthey had them too!



But did you get checked?


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