The NPA Urges the US Food and Drug Administration to Recognize Safer Head Lice Treatment Choices
NEWTON, Mass. (PRWEB) May 22, 2018 -- Let your voice be heard!
The National Pediculosis Association® (NPA) has submitted a petition to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting that it update its website and other educational materials so that combing with well-designed nit-removal combs like the LiceMeister® is presented as a safe and effective option for the treatment of children with head lice. Doing so would give more parents access to the critical information and guidance necessary to make informed decisions. There are many children for whom a non-chemical treatment for lice is required. http://www.headlice.org/downloads/whynonchem.pdf
Parents need to know that lice shampoos are risky, do not kill all of the lice eggs (nits) and require combing to be considered effective. Combing stops the vicious re-treatment cycle and provides the critical measures of screening, early detection and manual removal when fewer lice and nits are present..
The NPA is requesting help in advancing this effort on behalf of child health and safety and is asking parents, school administrators and health professionals to assist in reaching more parents by going to the FDA’s website and adding support in the comments section for the petition. https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FDA-2018-P-0599
NPA President Deborah Altschuler emphasizes that each child combed instead of shampooed with a pesticide is a victory for that child. The Center for Public Integrity reports that parents often aren’t aware that some of the most prescribed and over-the-counter treatments for lice can be harmful to children. https://www.publicintegrity.org/2011/09/06/6123/crawling-issue-head-lice-treatments-worse-pest-itself
JR Roberts, et al, in a study on the effects of pesticides on children concluded that: "Children's exposures to pesticides should be limited as much as possible." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23184105
The NPA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization dedicated since 1983 to protecting children and their environment from the misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter pesticide treatments for lice and scabies. The LiceMeister comb® was developed by the NPA in 1997 to provide a higher standard for lice combing tools and a safe, cost-effective treatment alternative to pesticides. Proceeds from sales of the LiceMeister comb allow the NPA to be self-sustaining while accomplishing its mission.
Deborah Altschuler, NATIONAL PEDICULOSIS ASSOCIATION, http://headlice.org, +1 (617) 905-0176, [email protected]
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