Know You’re Lice-Free Before Holiday Gatherings

Winter break is a peak time for head lice, according to George Macoubray, owner of Lice Clinics of America^Ò – Portland, Clackamas, Vancouver, Salem, and Bend. Families gather, kids are home from school and having sleepovers and parties, and head lice spread.

“Every year, we see people getting head lice during the holidays, disrupting their peace of mind,” George said. “The best way to keep head lice out of your home for the holidays is to know how to identify them in the first place. It’s not as easy as you might think.”

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Institutes for Health, one of the challenges of dealing with head lice is correctly identifying the problem. “Because head lice can move quickly, their detection requires expertise and experience,” the NCBI said. “Expertise is key to diagnosis.” Even health care providers frequently misdiagnose head lice infestations.

“There is only one way to diagnose a case of head lice accurately,” George said. “That’s finding a live louse. That’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, and it’s been our experience, too.”

“We offer professional screenings at our clinics and highly recommend them before and after school breaks,” George said. “It’s the best way to have peace of mind that your household is lice free.”

“You can’t rely on a child scratching his or her head because many children have no symptoms for several weeks,” George said. “Head lice are fast—they can travel eight inches per second and will go deep into a child’s hair when frightened, which can make them really hard to find on children with long hair.”

Sometimes, people think they have head lice but a professional screening reveals it’s just dandruff or dry skin. Parents shouldn’t have to pay to be treated for something they don’t have.

“If we do find head lice, you can be treated on the spot and leave our clinic lice-free in about an hour,” George said. “We use the AirAllé® device, the only FDA-cleared medical device that provides fast and effective head lice treatment.”

Lice Clinics of America – Portland, Clackamas, Vancouver, Salem ,and Bend  are the exclusive providers of head lice treatment using the AirAllé device, clinically shown to kill live lice and more than 99 percent of eggs (nits) using heated air to dehydrate the bugs in a single treatment. Most treatments take about an hour and we provide a 30 day guaranteed.

“AirAllé has been used to treat more than 400,000 cases of head lice throughout the world with a success rate better than 99 percent,” George said. “That’s why we can guarantee that if we do find head lice during a screening, you’ll leave our clinic lice-free.”

Lice Clinics of America – Portland, Clackamas, Vancouver, Salem and Bend are several of more than 350 Lice Clinics of America treatment centers in more than 36 countries. Lice Clinics of America is the largest and fastest growing network of professional head lice treatment centers in the world.

To learn more or to schedule an appointment, visit liceclinicsnorthwest.com , email info@nwliceclinics.com , or call 503-404-0475 .