Nits Are Becoming Resilient To Treatments

Uh oh...

New research shows that head lice are developing immunity to the over-the-counter products used to treat them.

Nits in general are one of the many nightmares we have to face as parents, so this new is not ideal!

Normally, head lice are treated with chemicals called insecticides and a fine tooth comb, to scrape out the dead lice and eggs.

A study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology took 140 head lice samples from people in 48 American states, and over 95 per cent of the lice had genetic markers for resistance to chemical treatments.

Chemical head lice treatments usually don't kill all of the head lice, so the survivors often develop an immunity to the insecticide.

"We've suspected for a long time that head lice are becoming resistant to these commonly used insecticides, because we continually hear about people experiencing treatment failures," medical entomologist Dr Cameron Webb, from the University of Sydney, told news.com.au.

The best way to treat head lice is by using a cheap conditioner and a fine tooth comb.

Read the full story at nzherald.co.nz