Salt Lake City, UT, Jan. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For decades, head lice have been associated with poor hygiene and treated in secret due to the high “yuck” factor, though the hygiene connection was disproven long ago by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Salt Lake City-based Lice Clinics of America®is leading the effort to bring the latest science and medicine to the forefront of the battle against head lice with its FDA-cleared AirAllé® medical device that provides a fast, safe, and complete remedy in just one hour.
The CDC estimates that 6-12 million head lice infestations occur each year in the United States, among school-age children. Millions of parents, teachers and school nurses can tell you that head lice don’t discriminate, and that children and adults from all walks of life can become infested.
Lice treatment products were developed using pesticides to kill lice and for a time, they worked. However, now these pesticides¾neurotoxins¾have been used so much that lice in 48 U.S. states (dubbed “super lice”) are now immune, according to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology. The same pesticides have been linked to developmental and behavioral problems in children.
An internet search also reveals many other home remedies for treating head lice, ranging from mayonnaise to kerosene. However, there is no scientific evidence that any of these remedies are effective at killing the lice or their eggs. Regardless of the substance being recommended, it likely relies on difficult and tedious combing and nit picking in order to successfully end the infestation.
For generations, the standard of care for head lice has focused on reactive treatment, and parents have had to choose between using pesticide-based products or mayo, neither of which are proven effective today.
Thankfully, that’s all changing as the medical and educational communities have taken steps to bring head lice out of the darkness of fear and ignorance. The focus is now on fact-based education, prevention and safe, pesticide-free solutions when head lice are found.
If you visit a Lice Clinics of America treatment center, you’ll find a bright, clean, child-friendly environment with a high-tech head lice solution: the FDA-cleared AirAllé® medical device. The AirAllé device uses carefully controlled heated air to dehydrate lice and eggs (nits). It’s been clinically shown to kill live lice and 99.2 percent of lice eggs on the spot in a single hour-long treatment. The process is about as simple as getting a haircut.
The AirAllé device was developed after nearly a decade of research by scientists and researchers at the University of Utah.
Lice Clinics of America also offers a home version of the device, called OneCureTM, which delivers similar results as the AirAllé device, for people who prefer to tackle head lice on their own. Both are safe, non-toxic and pesticide-free.
There are hundreds of Lice Clinics of America treatment centers in dozens of countries, making it the largest network of professional head lice treatment centers in the world. The AirAllé device has been used to perform nearly half a million head lice treatments with an industry-leading success rate better than 99 percent.
In addition to the AirAllé and OneCureTM devices, Lice Clinics of America also offers a complete line of pesticide-free lice prevention and treatment products, including educational materials for parents and schools.
Preventive products act as a lice repellent and include: shampoos, conditioners and leave-in sprays that can be used daily at bath time and throughout the day, and a multi-purpose preventative spray for hair, hair accessories, and other personal items that can come in contact with hair. All of these products use a proprietary blend of safe, non-toxic and plant-based essential oils proven to help keep lice away.
Treatment and products are available at clinics and online. For more information visit liceclinicsofamerica.com.