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Site Map ]THE POISON RESISTANCE PROBLEM
THE POISON RESISTANCE PROBLEM - Contemporary Pediatrics, Vol. 15, No. 11 noted: in the UK, children treated for head lice four years earlier with pyrethroid compounds (permethrin and phenothrin) needed at least 16 to 20 times the usual dose to eradicate another infestation. Laboratory-bred lice in this experiment died within two hours of exposure to 0.1% permethrin but lice from the heads of children who had been exposed to pyrethroid products took as long as 72 hours to die. In Israel, clinically significant resistance to permethrin occurred within 2.5 years of its introduction, a time span corresponding to approximately 40 generations of lice...Perhaps the most striking increase in resistance to permethrin has been recorded in the Czech Republic, where the concentration of permethrin required to kill 90% of head lice increased by some 500 times between 1981 and 1992! "
Christina Beckwith, Pharm D noted in her Head Lice: New and Improved?, "The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) is conducting a US study to determine the incidence and extent of resistance and plans to publish their results. Preliminary results, released by the NPA without the investigators' permission, appear to indicate some US lice are resistant. In a preliminary in vitro study with 209 lice from 57 children, 100% survived in petri dishes containing varying permethrin doses!"
The Spring, 1996 issue of the National Pediculosis Association's (NPA) Progress noted that for the past year the NPA has been averaging 50 calls a day reporting commercial product treatment failure - in spite of this - the continued use of these toxins - dog flea and tick shampoos, lice sprays, kerosene and/or other dangerous alternatives including Lindane are (still) being used repeatedly. Lindane was the cause of at least 70% of the reported serious health reactions to lice poison shampoos. Lindane is described by its Manufacturer as a powerful contact and internal poison. Lindane has been banned in 18 countries and severely restricted in 10 others. The FDA recommends lindane only be used where other treatments are ineffective. The majority of treatment failures involved Nix® and Rid®. Children still have live lice right after the poison shampoo. In thousands of uses Lice R GoneŽ has controlled resistant lice/nits safely.
Historically, the disease typhus, with the causal agent, Rickettsia prowazekii, is transmitted by body and head lice, was common where people were confined together and could not wash or delouse their clothing. This disease became epidemic within confined populations such as cities under siege or armies limited to trenches or on the move and unable to simply wash and, thereby, delouse their clothes. Typhus is a fatal disease and was so pervasive it, more than wounds of war, determined who was victorious and who was defeated in wartime. Widespread louse epidemics actually ceased being a problem when DDT dust became available in World War II. Although body lice quickly became resistant to DDT when it was intensively and repeatedly used, other synthetic pesticide poisons were then tried. (Typhus epidemics are not known to be caused by crab louse infestations.) Even with the elimination of the large scale lice infestations, people are still puzzled and alarmed when small, persistent louse outbreaks occur. Common examples of small infestations are head louse infestations among elementary school aged children, body louse infestations on people who are unable to care for themselves, and pubic louse infestations resulting from sexual intercourse with an infested partner. Try washing with Lice R GoneŽ shampoo (and if you have stubborn nits, with your favorite hair conditioner), diluted enzyme cleaners and/or peppermint soap or neem soaps, combs and saunas, or even plain soap with some borax, before using any synthetic poison shampoos. Neem extracts will also eliminate human lice. Caution: Before you apply any synthetic pesticide poison shampoos to people, first try a sauna (if your doctor permits) and/or wash the infested area with Lice R Gone® enzyme shampoo then comb out all nits with a metal lice or flea comb; allow wet enzymes to remain on the infested area and work for 10 - 15 minutes or until you feel the nits loosen and pull away from the hair shaft; thoroughly rinse and apply a good conditioner. If any nits remain, apply baby oil to hair and let soak overnight under a shower cap, or apply your favorite hair conditioner for 15 minutes. Then comb out remaining nits with a metal nit or flea comb. Repeat treatment(s) if necessary. You can be very helpful as a consultant on louse infestations and can provide a great service by discouraging any pediculicidal (poison) use other than as a last resort. Leaving decisions on pediculicide choices with parents, school medical personnel, physicians, or the infested individual strengthens everyone's confidence in the your technical understanding and discourages the application or spraying of any dangerous, volatile, synthetic pesticide poisons. However, it is not morally wrong to try to convince people to first try Intelligent Pest Management® nontoxic (personal) controls before using dangerous/useless poisons. Especially when entire families are washing everyone's hair with these poisons "just to be sure" they do not get a head louse infestation. Would you give everyone in your family penicillin as a "preventative" so they won't get strep throat? Note: Pyrethrum- or permethrin-based pediculicides should not be used by persons with asthma or that are sensitive to ragweed, should not be inhaled or swallowed or used near the eyes or allowed to come in contact with mucous membranes, e.g., the eyes, nose or mouth . Note: Pyrethrum and pipernoyl butoxide are now considered to be carcinogenic. Lindane has been identified as both neurotoxic and carcinogenic and is already banned in 18 nations around the world. No pediculicide poison should be used on infants, pregnant women or nursing mothers or on cut or abraded scalps. No poison should ever be used to "treat" lice twice if it failed the first time, clearly indicating the lice may, at the very least, be resistant or immune to that particular product/poison. There are no poisons in the Pestisafes® Lice R GoneŽ shampoo or Safe Solutions, Inc. Enzyme Cleaners with or without Peppermint.
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