School can leave students scratching their heads

With the start of a new school year, parents have more to worry about than their children getting enough sleep and getting good grades — they also have to worry about their kiddos getting head lice. So it’s no wonder that September has been named as “National Head Lice Awareness Month.” But there’s a new option for parents seeking to combat this common problem. Lice Clinics of America (LCA) held its formal grand opening on September 14, for a facility at 2182 West Street in Germantown. The clinic is co-owned by Marty Brown and her mother, Jeannie Massey. This is their second LCA clinic, their first one opened in Tupelo last January.
 
“At LCA, our goal is to empower parents and caregivers with the safest, fastest, most effective lice-treatment options available,” said Summer Godman, marketing representative for LCA in the Greater Memphis area. “When a child comes home with head lice, there’s no time to waste. Lice are contagious and easily spread. Our ‘Once and For All’ treatments work every time — guaranteed.”
 
Unlike the traditional methods formerly used by most parents, the Once and For All treatments use heated air, not toxic chemicals (pesticides), to get rid of head lice. Another significant difference is that the LCA method is effective within one hour. However, the commonality is that the environmental treatment for lice, washing potentially infected clothing and bedding, is still necessary. The good news is that lice are unable to live for more than 24 hours without a human host. All patients treated by LCA are advised to return to the clinic for a one-time check-up, which is included in the initial treatment price, to ensure that there has not been a re-infestation.
 
“The concept of treating head lice with just heated air originated in the laboratory of Dr. Dale Clayton at the University of Utah, where he is a professor in the Department of Biology,” said Brown. “In 2014 Larada Sciences created the Lice Clinics of America brand.”
 
Brown continued, “Head lice affect us all — they are shared by head-to-head contact. The majority of our patients are teenagers, who often unknowingly spread head lice by putting their heads together to take selfie photographs. Or they may spread head lice through shared clothing, like hats and scarves. When an infestation occurs, it disrupts your entire community. When your child comes home with head lice, life for classmates, friends, siblings, and parents is turned on its ear. That’s why it’s so important to get rid of them quickly.”
 
According to the Lice Clinics of America website, “LCA was created to enable patients to make a swift return to normal life. They want to empower parents, school personnel, medical professionals and any other person caring for a child by giving them the safest, fastest and most effective treatment.”
 
“You can make an appointment at our clinic quickly, often on the same day,” explained Parker Kennedy, clinic manager for the Germantown-based facility. “Alternatively, we can send you home with our home lice kit, if that is what you prefer. We want to help you take care of the scourge of head lice quickly and painlessly, and we want to restore happiness and security to infected children and their families. We have solutions for every budget and we provide them quickly.”
 
“At LCA, we are committed to our promise of safely removing head lice so your child can return to his or her normal life as quickly as possible,” said Massey, a former school nurse. “We promise to do that without the use of chemicals. We want parents and caregivers to be heroes in their children’s life, and in their community, by stopping lice in their tracks.” 
 
For more information, call (901) 512-5780 or go online to www.liceremovaltn.com.