Head lice resistant to over-the-counter treatments in 25 states

In the most recent study, he cast the widest net yet, gathering lice from 30 states with the help of a broad network of public health workers.

“We have families that have come in here and have used 10-15 over the counter treatments, 5, 7 prescription strength treatments before they get to us”, Fassler said. Permethrin, which also belongs to pyrethroids, is an active ingredient in some of the most common lice treatments, such as lotions and sprays, sold at drug stores. Those bugs, dubbed “super lice” in some early news reports, drew dire predictions that it would soon be impossible to kill the insects with existing treatments. And now with news that it’s only getting worse, parents are panicked. The first pyrethroid-resistant lice cases presented during the late 1990s in Israel.

For this study, Yoon and his fellow researchers developed molecular diagnostic tools to track American lice.

The report on Today said most home remedies for lice are merely myths, and sometimes over-the-counter treatments don’t work simply because parents are not using them as directed or rinse them out of their child’s hair too soon after application.

“There’s no treatment that can get rid of lice 100 percent”, said salon owner Nancy Gordon. Out of the 109 populations of lice obtained from the samples, 104 were found to have high amounts of gene mutations, which are associated with immunity to pyrethroids.

New research warns head lice in the deep South and other parts of the country are becoming harder to kill.

It’s back-to-school season, which might be one reason that business is so brisk, said Nancy Gordon, 49, whose firm, Lice Knowing You, started in Seattle eight years ago and has since expanded to four states.

“They itch, but they do not transmit disease”, said Yoon. “If you use a chemical over and over, these little creatures will eventually develop resistance”, Yoon says.

“It may become more of a problem and we may need to rethink how we’re going to handle it, based on how big of a problem it actually becomes”, Shaw said.