Today's Wall Street Journal article on Lice ("A Head Scratcher: How To Get Rid of a Pesky Parasite" page D1), reminded me of a bunch of websites and services our school nurse told us about during lice "episodes" this spring at school. Keep these resources handy if your kids will be in elementary school in the fall. See website above for basic information.

Services:

• The Nit Picker Inc : in home service: Boston area: manually removea head lice and nits, offering a safe & effective alternative to chemical treatments. Highly Recommended. Featured in a Boston Globe article in January 2007.
• Hair Fairies : LA & NY: full service salon in Los Angeles and Manhattan dedicated to removing head lice safely, effectively and in a kid-friendly environment.
• Lousey Nitpickers: in home service: currently serving Southern California's Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties.
• Lice Fighters: in home service: cover New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, & Connecticut.

Other ideas & resources:

• Keep Lice Shampoo on hand just in case
• Both Real Simple and Redbook recently published tips on using Cetaphil to help get rid of lice. See Redbook's article "How to Get Rid of Lice" here.
• Many news reports have discussed a new device in development called the LouseBuster. The LouseBuster uses a cool air hairdryer type device to dry out the lice. Word has it that it may be available to doctors and schools soon.
• More fact sheets on lice are available at the CDC here.