No one wants to talk about head lice during the holidays, and that’s a problem.
With kids spending time together and families gathering and hugging, the holidays can be a peak time for head lice. Too many people often deal with head lice in silence and isolation because they believe the myth that head lice are a symptom of poor hygiene or a dirty home. This just isn’t true. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.”
Still, the myth persists. A OnePoll survey of 2,000 U.S. parents—conducted in conjunction with Lice Clinics of AmericaÒ—found that 52 percent of parents feel judged by other moms and dads when their child comes home with head lice.
By not talking about head lice, you increase the odds of getting head lice. Nothing can ruin your holiday spirit like head lice!
Silence among parents makes the problem of head lice worse because when other parents are not aware there are cases of lice among their circle of friends or families, the lice will continue to spread. Even if a child is treated for head lice, if no one else knows that lice are present in a classroom, daycare center, or extended family, they’ll be sending their child back to where the lice came from; therefore, the chances of contracting head lice will go up.
Lice only spread from human-to-human contact—specifically, hair-to-hair contact. Children get head lice more often than adults because they spend more time in close physical contact.
Talking and being open about head lice can help keep them out of your home and out of your family for the holidays and beyond.
Many parents fear head lice because, traditionally, the condition has been very difficult to treat. Regular lice treatments require multiple applications, and they only kill live lice, not eggs (nits). This means that tedious nitpicking is also required—critical to remove every egg, or you will have a fresh case of head lice.
All this is no longer necessary thanks to Lice Clinics of America and the AirAllé® medical device. AirAllé is an FDA-cleared Class I medical device clinically found to kill live lice and more than 99 percent of eggs using heated air to dehydrate the bugs and their eggs instantly. The complete treatment takes about an hour, and no nitpicking is required.
Treatment using the AirAllé is available exclusively at Lice Clinics of America treatment centers, and now the company has released a home version of the device called OneCureTM. With the do-it-yourself OneCure, you get the same effective results as the clinics but in the privacy of your home.
The introduction of AirAllé and OneCure have come at an opportune time as research has shown that traditional head lice treatments are no longer effective. Multiple studies have charted the rise of so-called “super lice” that have developed resistance to the pesticides used in those treatments. The AirAllé and OneCure devices are equally effective against super lice because they don’t rely on pesticides or chemicals at all.
Don’t be afraid to talk about head lice—it’s one way to make sure they don’t move in for the holidays.
For more information about OneCure or to find a clinic, visit www.liceclinicsofamerica.com.
