Bug busting more effective than insecticides
Head lice infestation was eliminated less often with aqueous insecticides |
Use of the Bug Buster kit is four times more effective at eliminating head lice than use of two over-the-counter insecticides, a study has found (BMJ
Online First,
5 August).
The single-blind, randomised trial recruited 133 children with head lice
infestation, aged two to 15 years, from four counties in England and
one in Scotland: 62 were assigned to the Bug Buster method, using a fine-toothed
comb on wet conditioned hair, and 71 to insecticide treatment. The cure
rate using the Bug Buster kit was 57 per cent, compared with 13 per cent
for insecticide treatment.
Two different insecticide treatments (aqueous malathion and aqueous permethrin)
were used, since accessibility to these treatments varies. The cure rate
was 17 per cent for malathion and 10 per cent for permethrin. The only
previous randomised controlled trial of the Bug Buster kit found that
it was half as effective as malathion treatment. The authors suggest
that the difference in results is likely to be because of design improvements
to the fine-toothed comb. |
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