Getting rid of head lice is never an easy thing to do, but after ridding it from your head it can be a challenge to know how to remove it from the rest of your home.  Following an infestation on even one family member cleaning around the house is important. Head lice can be tough to get rid of on the scalp but it isn’t as difficult to remove after it has fallen off. Lice cannot live if it has no source to feed off of, so while it is important to thoroughly clean your house the extreme amount often expected isn’t always needed.

It’s important to wash any machine washable items. Clothing, bedding, towels, stuffed animals, etc., that came in contact with the lice up to two days before treatment needs to be washed. It’s important not to let anyone else come in contact with these items until they have been properly cleaned. Wash items on a hot water cycle and dry on high heat for at least twenty minutes. The heated wash and dry will remove and kill any lice left.

Carpets, mattresses, and flooring can simply be vacuumed and cleaned with everyday cleaning products. Be sure to vacuum your carpets thoroughly and to be safe even using some carpet cleaner may be a good idea. Other forms of flooring can simply be cleaned using any form of floor cleaner.

Hair brushes, combs, and hair accessories can also easily be cleaned after head lice. Simply bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Be sure the water is at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The accessories need to soak for at least fifteen minutes in the water to kill the head lice and nits.

Items that cannot be cleaned in any of these ways can be dry cleaned or you can seal them in an air tight bag for up to two weeks to kill any remaining lice. The heat from dry cleaning will work to kill any remaining pests and the air tight seal though the most inconvenient will suffocate the lice and nits.

Ridding your home of head lice can be an overwhelming task but follow these easy cleaning tips to make things easier. Cleaning after lice doesn’t have to be a daunting task!

If you have any questions or need a head lice removal treatment, don’t hesitate to contact us. At Lice Clinics of America – Greenville, South Carolina, which proudly serves Greenville, Anderson, Easley, Spartanburg and all surrounding communities in South Carolina, as well as Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina, we are here to help! Our heated removal process is the only guaranteed way to remove head lice in 1 quick, easy, and safe treatment, so your kids and family members can get back to the things they enjoy. Call us today to schedule an appointment at (864) 484-7087!

Did you know that head lice are the third most feared experience for parents? That’s right. Head lice rank third among parents’ ‘worst nightmares.’ More parents fear head lice than chicken pox, pink eye, strep throat and the flu, to name a few.

Only a broken bone and a broken heart scare parents more than head lice.

These are the results of a first-of-its-kind OnePoll survey of 2,000 U.S. parents conducted in conjunction with Lice Clinics of America®:

Top 10 Parenting Nightmares

1. Kid coming home with broken/sprained limb 41%
2. Kid coming home with a broken heart 40%
3. Kid coming home with lice 36%
4. Kid coming home with chicken pox 33%
5. Kid coming home with a broken/sprained finger 31%
6. Kid coming home with strep throat 29%
7. Kid coming home with an allergic reaction 29%
8. Kid coming home with the flu/cold 27%
9. Kid coming home with pink eye 26%
10. Kid coming home with broken glasses 16%

One reason parents fear head lice is it’s becoming harder to get rid of them. That’s because the most popular lice products on the market are rapidly losing their effectiveness to kill lice and eggs (nits). The most recent study (2016) published in the Journal of Medical Entomology found that 98 percent of head lice in most U.S. states are now resistant to pyrethroids, the class of pesticides used in traditional over-the-counter lice products.

If that’s not scary enough, pyrethroids have also been linked to behavior and developmental problems in children.

Yikes!

The good news is solutions are available that make head lice about as scary as getting a haircut. More than 350 Lice Clinics of America professional lice treatment centers in over 36 countries offer treatment using the FDA-cleared AirAllé® medical device. AirAllé is clinically proven to kill live lice and more than 99 percent of eggs (nits) using heated air to dehydrate the lice and eggs. Most treatments take about an hour and are guaranteed to be effective.

Developed by researchers at the University of Utah and proven over a decade of trials and tests, the AirAllé is equally matched against pyrethroid-resistant ‘super lice’ because it doesn’t rely on pesticides or chemicals. It has been used to treat more than 450,000 cases of head lice worldwide with a success rate better than 99 percent.

If you have any questions or need a head lice removal treatment, don’t hesitate to contact us. At Lice Clinics of America – Greenville, South Carolina, which proudly serves Greenville, Anderson, Easley, Spartanburg and all surrounding communities in South Carolina, as well as Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina, we are here to help! Our heated removal process is the only guaranteed way to remove head lice in 1 quick, easy, and safe treatment, so your kids and family members can get back to the things they enjoy. Call us today to schedule an appointment at (864) 484-7087!

Lice love warm back-to-school weather. There are lice in every school, every day. That’s why getting your kids prepped for back to school is so important. In fact, they THRIVE in warm, humid conditions, which is why they prefer the nape of the neck and behind the ears to lay their eggs. Adding warm weather to that scenario increases the chances of bugs and eggs surviving. When more bugs survive, more eggs are laid. Since a female louse can lay up to several eggs a day, it is easy to see how things can quickly get out of control. Back to school is also a time when kids are together a lot, which increases hair-to-hair contact. Fall camps, sports, sleepovers, and vacations are all that makes this season so busy.

It is extremely important for parents to keep checking their children’s scalps as school starts back up. A weekly comb through and visual inspection is a great way to keep on top of things, as well as a weekly application of preventive products. Spraying pillows, sleeping bags, etc. with a preventive spray is a great way to keep the lice away. Spray neck and shoulders too before school, before going to the movies or sleepovers. Most parents already check for ticks and mosquito bites, so add lice to your list. If you feel you or your child have been exposed to lice at any time, do not hesitate to call us to make an appointment for a thorough head check. You will not visually be able to notice a brand new infestation, so it is important to have one of our professional technicians do a check. If lice are found, we can recommend one of our many treatment options. We have treatments for all budgets and infestation levels. Also, inform other parents if your child has come in contact with lice so that they can also have a chance at stopping it from becoming a full-blown infestation.

If you have any questions or need a head lice removal treatment, don’t hesitate to contact us. At Lice Clinics of America – Greenville, South Carolina, which proudly serves Greenville, Anderson, Easley, Spartanburg and all surrounding communities in South Carolina, as well as Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina, we are here to help! Our heated removal process is the only guaranteed way to remove head lice in 1 quick, easy, and safe treatment, so your kids and family members can get back to the things they enjoy. Call us today to schedule an appointment at (864) 484-7087!

We typically hear, people have an infestation at school, summer camps, or daycare and think that their kids can get lice just by passing other students, athletes, or peers who have it. The fact is that head lice don’t jump, swim or fly. Simply put, without actual strands of hair to grab onto with their claws that are on their legs, they have a very hard time moving around. They can crawl quickly through hair strands, so coming into direct hair contact with someone else that has lice is how a scratchy problem can start. It doesn’t take much for a louse to hitch a ride on one single strand of your hair and make its way home to your scalp. But there are some common myths that still have some people scratching their heads:

• Only those with bad hygiene get head lice
  • Myth: Lice aren’t choosey. They only care that you are part human. The lice spread through head-to-head contact, and even that it doesn’t guarantee infestation, but chances are most likely then. That’s why we suggest not to share hats, combs, scarves, or other items like that.
• Pets can carry head lice
  • Myth: Sorry, you can’t blame a head lice infestation on poor Rufus! The specific lice strain that affects us, humans are actually host-specific. This means that they prefer the taste of humans, and Rufus’ blood just doesn’t satisfy what they are looking for.
• If someone is scratching their head non-stop, they must have lice
  • Myth: Though scratching can be a first sign indicator someone may have head lice; it is not the only reason someone may be itching. They may have a case of dry skin or seborrheic dermatitis could be the reason for scratching the scalp excessively.

We know, we have been there ourselves! Dealing with head lice can make anyone go into a panic, but there is no need to worry. If lice infestations do occur, make sure to disinfect everything that can be cleaned, and do thorough head checks often. If you have any questions or need a head lice removal treatment, don’t hesitate to contact us. At Lice Clinics of America – Greenville, South Carolina, which proudly serves Greenville, Anderson, Easley, Spartanburg and all surrounding communities in South Carolina, as well as Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina, we are here to help! Our heated removal process is the only guaranteed way to remove head lice in 1 quick, easy, and safe treatment, so your kids and family members can get back to the things they enjoy. Call us today to schedule an appointment at (864) 484-7087!

During the past few weeks, we’ve had a jump in middle school and high school clients… and their moms. Many of them are surprised or embarrassed that they have lice, thinking it’s just something “younger kids get.” But the truth is… today’s Super Lice like all ages!

While we always treat pediatric hair, our spring trends have highlighted a little older crowd of kids with a few things in common. Many of them have had advanced cases. (Parents aren’t “in charge” of their teen’s hair, so lice often progress rapidly without someone seeing the situation.) Many of the teens are members of some type of sports team. And many of them are reluctant to warn their friends. (As a lice educator, this last fact pains me to the core!)

Lice are out there. While there aren’t great studies documenting teens and lice, we know 1 in 20 children has lice at all times. We also know teenagers are getting lice at a higher and higher rate, thanks in part to selfies, shared technology, and pesticide- resistant lice.

If you find yourself in a lice situation, don’t hesitate to give us a call. A professional, head lice screening can start you toward a solution. And whether you choose an in-clinic treatment or do it yourself products, we can give you the latest science on how to end your infestation!