CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The chairs are full at Pediatric Hair Solutions as family after family comes in to be treated for head lice.
What You Need To Know
- Head lice cases went down when people were isolating during the pandemic, now professionals say cases are on the rise
- Pediatrics Hair Solutions says parents should be checking their kids weekly for lice
- The nape, around the ears, and the crown of the head are where professionals say head lice typically lay their eggs
Nurse and founder, Sheila Fassler, has been treating head lice in Charlotte for over 15 years. She said there are about 6,000 new head lice cases a month in Charlotte.
“Once the pandemic hit, when you mitigate one communicable disease you mitigate all of them, so head lice incidents went way low,” Fassler said. “Now in 2024, we’re finding that the incidents are rising back to pre-pandemic numbers, so we’re expecting a very busy summer.”
Fassler added kids’ summer camps and sleep-overs over the summer typically make for a busy season at her office.
“Summer is really when lice spreads very quickly,” Fassler said.
Pediatric Hair Solutions had offices in Charlotte, Lake Norman, Cary, and Winston-Salem before COVID-19.
Fassler said she had to close two offices and furlough workers during the pandemic due to low demand.
Now, she said she’s is reopening a couple of practices between North and South Carolina to keep up with the growing cases.
Fassler recommends all parents check their kids weekly for head lice.
“Check the nape of their hair, around their ears, or the crown of their hair and that is where you will find the eggs. You’re not looking for bugs because they move very quickly and they do not like light, so they are going to scurry away, and they have the ability to camouflage. But the eggs are glued on the hair shaft. They’re not going anywhere,” Fassler said.