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Your Good Health: Woman can’t shake persistent head lice

Dear Dr. Roach: I am an adult woman who somehow has gotten head lice. This has been a traumatic adventure, since I have been unsuccessful in ridding myself of it — and it has been a little over a month of diligent trying.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am an adult woman who somehow has gotten head lice. This has been a traumatic adventure, since I have been unsuccessful in ridding myself of it — and it has been a little over a month of diligent trying.

I used a natural remedy made from chrysanthemums; it didn’t work. Now I am using kosher salt dissolved in water, with a vinegar rinse. I then wash, condition and comb out nits.

I am vacuuming my furniture and floors daily. I am washing my clothes in hot water, and I change my sheets and towels every other day after treatment.

I feel like I am making headway, but I am afraid that I will never be lice-free. I do not want to use RID or Nix, as they are pesticides. I read that today’s lice strains are resistant anyway. What works?

K.D.

Head lice (Pediculosis capitis) is a problem with many different possible solutions, only a few of which have been proven to work. Pyrethrin, the chrysanthemum-based medicine you tried, is effective in many people. There is a synthetic version available, permethrin (Elemite or Nix), but you are correct that there is resistance to it in many areas. To be effective, mechanical removal requires time and patience — 15 to 30 minutes a day of wet combing is the minimum recommended, and people with longer or thicker hair may need much more. You need to have a specially made, fine-tooth comb used specifically for lice removal. Unfortunately, mechanical removal is not 100 per cent effective in the real world: Studies in the U.K. showed 38 to 57 per cent effectiveness. This probably reflects poor technique and lack of patience.

Given the failure of the chrysanthemum extract treatment you tried, I probably would recommend the pesticide malathion (Ovide is the brand name), but benzyl alcohol in mineral oil (Ulesfia or Zilactin) would be an alternative for those who want to avoid pesticides; it works by asphyxiating the lice. Both of these treatments are about 80 per cent effective. Both can be irritating to the scalp and eyes, and malathion is potentially flammable. Resistant cases may require oral medication (but I’ve never had to prescribe that).
I prefer mechanical removal, as there are possible side-effects of any chemical treatment for lice. These are more likely in children (and especially infants), as their scalp can absorb chemicals more readily than an adult scalp.

Dear Dr. Roach: In a recent column about frequent urinary infections, you said this can be caused by low estrogen levels and the lining of the urethra weakening. A friend suffered with frequency and urgency for years. A doctor gave her antibiotics over and over.
She finally went to a urogynecologist, and he discovered the “infections” were not really infections at all. He treated her with estrogen cream, but also tested her and determined she had an overactive bladder, which he treated with medication and Kegel exercises. He gave her a list of foods and beverages to avoid. He told her overactive bladder is very common in older women, but they rarely know that there is a treatment and think it is just a normal part of aging.

F.M.

There are several important lessons here. The first is that symptoms of infection may not be infection, so it’s important to be sure. The second is that there is effective treatment for urinary symptoms, but sometimes an expert is needed. I appreciate your writing.

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.