When our eldest offspring came home from Kindy a few decades past, I vividly remember her announcing that her teacher had told the class to tell their parents that their precious infants "may have visitors" with them! After a bit of head scratching ourselves, we "twigged" that she was talking about nits!
Head lice infestations are a common event in the lives of every parent of school aged children. I have always found it amazing that within minutes of hearing of the possibility of head lice being present, my own head starts to itch too!Not that Nits actually cause any harm, and are merely extremely efficient at moving from one young child to another. Once found, then a suitable unguent or lotion is applied, followed by days of fine combing and picking eggs from the roots of hairs!
Well, I was interested in reading the other day about a "new" product that has been cleared by the FDA in the US and was discussed at a large Meeting of Paediatricians on October 17th. This "new" product is derived from a naturally occurring soil bacterium, and is effective after just one 10 minute application. It's official name is Spinosad, and according to the experts, it will consign fine combing to the annals of history, which is a most welcome event!
With all things "new" in the medical profession, I am always amazed by the fact that Veterinarians have usually been using these products for years, prior to the pharmaceutical company concerned releasing these "brand new" treatments onto the general public. For your information, Spinosad was released in 2007, for use on Sheep that were infected with a lice called Bovicola ovis!
It has also been used for the control of leaf-miner, lesser mealworm and is the active ingredient the spray Success that I use to spray on my caterpillar affected lettuces!
What's good for the greens is great for the "grandies"
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