The conventional treatments for head lice, shampooing and picking out nits, has always been a pain. Especially picking out the nits. Luckily, a new head lice treatment has been made available that promises to make this process easier for parents.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new prescription head lice treatment for children aged 4 and older. The medication, called Natroba (spinosad), kills the lice eggs as well as the lice themselves. This makes the nit-picking a less troublesome task.
There is already one prescription medication on the market to kill lice, as well as several over-the-counter shampoos. Ovide (malathion), the previous prescription medication is said to kill eggs as well, however many parents have had concerns about the medication. Mostly because it is flammable, making the removal process even more dangerous than having lice. Ovide is applied to the head for 8 to 12 hours, during which time children have to be kept away from heat sources such as hair dryers and radiators.
Natroba offers a safer option. The lotion is applied for only 10 minutes, and has been proven to kill more lice than traditional shampoos such as Nix. A study of 522 volunteers found that Natroba kept 86 percent of people lice free for two weeks. The over-the-counter shampoo only had a success rate of 44 percent. This is because many lice breads have grown immune to the effects of these shampoos.
Natroba uses benzyl alcohol to suffocate the lice and their eggs on the scalp. It also contains a soil fermentation agent that kills lice within contact. The result is a higher rate of lice death, along with their eggs. Only 3 percent of the volunteers experienced skin redness after using Natroba, making it safer on the skin than other options.
The new product should be available within the next few months, to the glee of parents everywhere. Head lice is a common condition that many children in daycares, preschools, and schools are exposed to. Having a safe and effective way to kill lice and their eggs is something many parents cannot wait to get their hands on. – Summer, staff writer
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Parents should stop and think that if this drug is potentially lethal to an infant do we think it won’t harm a child who meets the age suggested by the drug manfacturer?
I would never use this drug on my child, especially when there is a safer way to get rid of lice. I don’t understand why parents just don’t look into other products out there and settle for the first treatment they find.
i am sorry to say that i strongly disagree with the statements made in this posting, first of all you cannot suffocate a louse egg, it is in a protective shell, and that is why the ovide does not work, as per their own study, since lice eggs, or nits as they are commonly referred to, can have an incubation period between 8 and 12 days, if within these first four days there is no oval or cell separation then, the products are not going to work because there is no louse inside. The standards for lice eradication have been set by The Center for Disease Control, The FDA and The AAP, the only true way to kill lice is with heat in excess of 130°F. Current there are several options available that use this method. I would recommend that you find a local Head Lead Lice Hero (http://headlicehero.com) or use the tools they use from Lice Safe (http://licesafe.com).