It’s the attack of the super lice — and it’s costing parents a fortune.
Parents in Australia are bugging out over “super strength” lice, which require them to spend hundreds of dollars at specialized clinics when over-the-counter remedies can’t combat this new breed.
Some experts are blaming selfies for the head-scratching situation, explaining that when kids — literally — put their heads together for that perfect photo op, the highly communicable critters pass from one kid to another. As if parents need another reason to reduce phone time, a British study reveals that kids who bring their smartphones to school are twice as likely to contract the nasty nits, which are tiny parasites that feed off human blood.
Lice affects up to 12 million Americans each year, typically children ages 3 to 11, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A spokesman from Australia’s Lice Clinics blames insecticides for the uptick and likens the lack of response to once reliable over-the-counter treatments to antibiotic resistance, the Daily Mail reports.
Common medications such as Malathion, Permethrin and Pyrethrin are no longer potent enough to fight the super-breed scalpers, Australia’s 7 News reports, adding that the more people use insecticides, the more prevalent this immunity will become.
But for the rug rats in the throes of summer camp — and 24/7 togetherness lending itself to the clingy critters — the best options are shampooing with tea tree oil and scrupulously combing through the hair with a pick to remove and destroy the lice, according to US researchers at the National Institutes of Health.
New Yorkers know all about the big bucks parents shell out to kill the feisty buggers. “Lice-removal entrepreneurs” make a small fortune tending to bug-infested tendrils, many charging $250 or more to treat lice-infected youngsters, and are not covered by insurance.
In 2016, The Post reported that Maria Botham, founder of Hair Fairies on the Upper East Side, raked in annual sales of $3.75 million in a $4 billion-a-year total market for lice-removal salons, services and related products that, ahem, is spreading fast.