National Pediculosis Association Petition Leads to FDA Website Updates on Treating Head Lice – Business Wire

NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) of Newton, Mass. today announced a milestone in its mission to educate parents on chemical-free ways to screen and treat children with head lice.

Following review of a citizen petition from the NPA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated its website, Treating and Preventing Head Lice, noting that lice removal kits, which are comb or comb-like devices, are a treatment option, and stating that combing may be used alone.

We appreciate the FDAs careful consideration. While combs have been mentioned passively through the years, the FDA is now recognizing combing as a treatment strategy on its own, said Deborah Altschuler, President of the NPA.

Reaching this day is a capstone achievement for the NPA, which Ms. Altschuler co-founded in 1983 as the first national organization to focus specifically on pediculosis (lice) as a public health challenge for children, families and communities.

Ms. Altschuler was inspired by her own familys experience with head lice, at a time when standard lice treatments were potentially toxic pesticides.

Since then, the NPA has worked to empower parents and their communities to prevent outbreaks and handle infestations safely with a quality lice comb.

The NPAs initiatives range from Septembers National Head Lice Prevention Month to educational videos to the LiceMeister comb, which was featured as a non-chemical alternative to the pesticide lindane by the international Stockholm Convention, a treaty dedicated to the elimination or restricted use of persistent organic pollutants.

More information about pediculosis and combing is available at HeadLice.org and LiceMeister.com.

About the National Pediculosis Association

The National Pediculosis Association (NPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to setting the highest public health standards for children related to the communicability and treatment of head lice. The NPA is comprised of volunteers including its Scientific Advisory Board. As part of its mission, the NPA developed the LiceMeister comb. All proceeds from the comb allow the NPA to maintain independence from product manufacturers and protect children from the misuse and abuse of pesticide treatments for lice.

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National Pediculosis Association Petition Leads to FDA Website Updates on Treating Head Lice - Business Wire