Study shows lice resistant to some treatments found in Virginia

Get ready to say “ewww”.

But a new study suggests another reason for the uptick: Researchers say Washington is one of at least 25 states where head lice have become highly resistant to the most common pesticides used to treat them.

News 9 checked in with several school districts Thursday, who reported no issue so far with the mutant strain of lice. “I asked him in what country and was surprised when he said the U.S”.

This is a big problem for a child who gets head lice as simply picking up a treatment at a local pharmacy won’t necessarily do the trick, and there may be few other options.

He recommended using different chemicals, such as treatments that can be obtained by prescription. But experts from school nurses to pediatricians say the most important thing to remember is to not overreact. Let’s start with discussing what lice is and how it can be treated. One treatment is permethrin where an active ingredient is added to the anti lice treatments but sooner or later, lice can develop mutations making them resistant to pyrethroids.

Intrigued, Yoon followed up on the lead and contacted schools near the university to collect samples. That entire population had genes that would resist over-the-counter treatments, he said.

“That’s kind of alarming”, he said. You can also use typical lice-killing treatments, but if they don’t work, you’ll have to reach out to your doctor.

Mutant lice sounds like something straight out of a parent’s worst back to school nightmare, but according to a recent study released from the American Chemical Society, it’s a reality in Maryland and Virginia. Yoon found that numerous lice did as a matter of fact have those kdr mutations, which affect a bug’s nervous system, desensitizing them to pyrethroids.

As the Chicago Tribune reports, ongoing studies by Yoon and Clark also show that out of 48 states tested, only five do not have the “super lice”. Through the years, Advice on Lice has acquired a great deal of knowledge on the subject and how best to treat it to accomplish eradication. Rather, it’s because in American culture, girls are more likely to touch head-to-head than boys are.

Yoon, who is with Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, explains that the momentum toward widespread pyrethroid-resistant lice has been building for years.