October is National Bullying Prevention month, and a recent survey shows that parents can feel bullied, too, especially when it comes to having head lice in the family.

Nick and Erin Hawn, owners of Lice Clinics of America Vernon Hills and Spring Grove, IL want to help take the pressure off parents struggling with the stress and embarrassment of head lice.

“Parents are nervous about head lice because they think they will be shamed, there is such a stigma.” said Erin Hawn. “A OnePoll survey of 2,000 U.S. parents—conducted in conjunction with Lice Clinics of America—found that 52 percent of parents feel judged by other moms and dads when their child comes home with head lice.”

“There is a long-held and long-debunked idea that head lice are associated with poor hygiene,” Erin said.  “The medical world has busted this myth, but the perception persists. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states, ‘Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.’”

“Children get head lice from other children, plain and simple,” Erin said. “The primary way lice spread is through head-to-head contact. ‘Head-to-head contact with an already infested person is the most common way to get head lice.’”

There’s also some evidence to suggest that head lice are actually a sign of cleanliness. Lisa Lewis, a pediatrician in Fort Worth, Texas, told Readers Digest, “lice don’t adhere easily to oily, greasy, or dirty hair. They love to infest nice, clean, dark, thick hair.” Ultimately however, clean or dirty, thick or thin, dark or light just doesn’t matter, anybody with any hair is at risk.

One reason that parents dread head lice when lice enter their lives is that the bugs have become very difficult to treat. Traditional lice treatment products, when they work, require weeks of application and hours of tedious nitpicking.

Unfortunately, those traditional products rarely work. Many parents try and fail to treat head lice with those products because head lice have become immune to the chemical pesticides in them. “The most recent study in the Journal of Medical Entomology found that so-called ‘super lice’ comprise 98 percent of head lice in most U.S. states.” Erin said.  “Also, the pesticides used in lice products have been linked to developmental and behavioral problems in children.”

The good news is that Lice Clinics of America – Northern IL can help, with convenient locations in both Vernon Hills and Spring Grove, IL. The clinic is part of a network of more than 350 lice treatment centers in over 36 countries offering head lice treatment using the FDA-cleared AirAllé^® medical device. The AirAllé has been clinically shown to kill live lice and more than 99 percent of eggs (nits) using heated air to dehydrate the lice and eggs.

“Our treatments take about an hour and are guaranteed to be effective,” Nick Hawn said. “This means you will leave our clinic lice-free.”

“Lice don’t cause or carry diseases, so they are not a health concern—more of a medical nuisance,” Nick said. “You can now be done with head lice in about an hour. A simple problem has finally met a simple solution—no more blaming or feeling shame about a mere inconvenience.”

To learn more or to schedule an appointment, visit www.LiceClinicsNorthernIL.com, email info@LiceClinicsNorthernIL.com, or call (224)433-6087 or (815)581-0075.