Pediatrician warns of drug-resistant lice

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 learned that about 7,100 people in Charlotte get lice every month, and there is a study that shows the parasitic insects are drug resistant.
 
"More and more people are walking through the doors here at this clinic because they have lice and over-the-counter options just aren't working." Sheila Fassler, with Pediatric Hair Solutions, said.

Fassler runs Pediatric Hair Solutions and has known for years that lice were becoming drug-resistant.

She said some families have used up to 25 treatments and still have lice.
 
North Carolina is one of 25 states that has the drug-resistant bug, according to the study.

"We've gotten busier and busier," Fassler said. "We're open seven days a week just trying to handle the volume of cases that come in the door."

She expects to get even busier in October because people will use over-the-counter medications for temporary relief, but the bugs will rehatch and spread.
 
Her office doesn't use drugs. They use heat from a device to treat for lice so they can't become resistant.
 
Ashley Potter's daughters are being treated for lice.

LINK: CDC information on lice
 
"My daughters have lice, and we have all gone to get our heads checked today," Potter said.
 
Potter wants parents to be vigilant.
 
"It's in your dance studios, in your schools, it's in your houses," Potter said. "No one should be embarrassed."

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