LiceDoctors Reports That Pennsylvania's Unusually Cold and Snowy Winter Translate to Higher of Incidence of Head Lice

Pittsburgh, PA, March 11, 2015 --(PR.com)-- LiceDoctors Head Lice Treatment and Nit Removal Service reports that it has seen an unexpectedly high number of lice cases in Pennsylvania this winter. The company treats families in their homes in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Bucks County, Lehigh Valley, and Harrisburg and surrounding areas. "We have been inundated with calls from all over Pennsylvania" reports owner Karen Sokoloff. "Usually the incidence of lice tapers off in the cold weather but not this year. The large amount of family time spent together has given head lice just what they need: heads in close contact so that they can climb from one head to another."

This unusually cold and snowy winter has meant that more people have stayed inside with their families and friends. Children have missed an exceptionally high number of days of school and children who can get out go and play with their neighbors. Parents have missed work which means that they are home more with their children. When you have all of this downtime and togetherness, it affords the opportunity for lice to be transmitted from person to person and gives parents more of an opportunity to notice that their children are scratching their heads. It is during this type of informal play and relaxation that people are in the closest contact. By far, the common way that lice are transmitted is through head-to-head contact.

During a typical school day, children are seated at their desks and as they get past preschool and kindergarten, there are not many activities in which they are in close enough contact for lice to crawl from head to head. When kids are hanging out with friends and family, they may be wrestling with each other, playing video games or watching television sitting right next to each other. These are the types of scenarios in which lice are easily transmitted from one child's head to another.

Anne, a mother in Pittsburgh, was surprised to find lice in all three of her kids in February. "We were watching a movie together as a family and enjoying a pizza and my daughter started to shriek as a bug was crawling down her arm. I thought, 'A bug in winter? This can't be good.' Sure enough I looked at her head and I saw a lot of things stuck to the hair. I don't know how I missed it but we are usually so busy that it wasn't until we were stuck in that I actually had enough time to spend with my kids so that I would notice the infestation."

According to Sokoloff, "We have been treating families with lice for 20 years and this winter the incidence of lice has been especially high. We know that there is the ongoing problem of lice becoming resistant to chemical lice shampoos, but daily activities always plays a role. For example, we expect to see a jump in the incidence of lice after school vacations as again families are in closer contact. This winter, though, it wasn't just post-vacation period, we had a steady higher incidence of lice reported to us for months."

If you are in Pennsylvania, whether in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Bucks County, Lehigh Valley, or Harrisburg, and your family has head lice, LiceDoctors makes house calls to eradicate the lice. LiceDoctors is Pennsylvania's only lice treatment service with a medical doctor on staff. The company's track record includes successful treatment of over 130,000 adults and children. LiceDoctors has an "A" rating with the Better Business Bureau and makes house calls day and night every day of the year. To contact LiceDoctors call 800-224-2537 or go online to www.licedoctors.com to find a local phone number for your area and to get further information.