Q: After using an OTC lice treatment, I still saw live bugs in my daughter’s hair. Ugh! I went looking for other options.

I found Dr. Dale Pearlman’s article on a way to suffocate lice.  He has a website, nuvoforheadlice.com, with complete instructions on the “Nuvo Method.”  This tells exactly how to use Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser.  Timing is important, and three treatments at one-week intervals are required.

I wish I had found this method right away.  I have shared it with numerous friends!

A: Dermatologist Dale Pearlman conducted two open trials on this approach (not randomized, placebo-controlled or double-blind).  He published the results demonstrating  a 96 percent cure rate in Pediatrics (September 2004).

He recommends soaking the hair with Cetaphil and then using a blow-dryer to “shrink-wrap” the lice.  The dried cleanser is left on the hair and scalp for at least eight hours.

Many over-the-counter lice products have lost their effectiveness.  Researchers have noted that lice have developed resistance to ingredients such as permethrin (Clinical Microbiology and Infection, April, 2012).

We also have heard from many readers that soaking the hair in amber Listerine can kill live lice.  This treatment requires nit combing to be effective, however.  Like the Cetaphil approach, it will require regular retreatment until all lice are eliminated.

• article by Joe and Teresa Graedon
• copyright The Seattle Times