Head lice — yuck — have developed a creeping resistance to common insecticides. Maybe it’s time for a new tack.
By Regina Nuzzo
Special to The Times
Los Angeles Times — Health Section
November 13, 2006
IN the war against head lice, we face an enemy that is fast and plentiful, with nimble armies that can evolve and outwit standard weaponry. Will we ever take the lead in this scalp-biting, nit-picking arms race?
Last month, experts from around the world gathered in Buenos Aires to swap battle tactics at the Third International Congress on Phthiraptera, the group of 3,000 species of wingless parasitic insects that includes Pediculus capitis, bane of parents and school nurses across the land.
Researchers reported needed progress in the fight. Some are turning to new classes of insecticides for which head lice have yet to develop resistance. Others are eschewing the poison and getting creative: tricking lice into thinking they’re drowning; moisturizing the blighters until they leak water; or blasting hot air until the insects are desiccated hulls.
