The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) once again fails to surprise by relying on outdated and inaccurate information from a self-proclaimed expert on how to care for children with lice. It's the children and their families who pay the price. The pediatrician who authored the latest guidelines for the prestigious Red Book on infectious diseases, must have forgotten to pass her information by independent fact checkers. For starters and there are various other inaccuracies in her chapter, the FDA indeed recognizes combing as a valid and non chemical treatment for children with head lice that stands on its own. https://www.headlice.org/comb/national-pediculosis-association-petition-leads-to-fda-website-updates-on-treating-head-lice/
For anyone interested in seeing how AAP promotes chemical treatments without encouraging the safety and benefits of combing you can find it here: Red Book Webinar on Head Lice
Dawn Nolt, MD, MPH, FAAP, lead author of the clinical report "Head Lice,” which is published in the October 2022 issue of Pediatrics, provides a brief overview of the updated clinical report in a newly recorded webinar and a slide presentation. Topics include a review of available medications and the use of a new algorithm to aid with decision-making in the treatment of head lice.
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