LiceBites.com is a free, new website designed to arm families with useful information in combating lice infestations. LiceBites.com was developed by a Philadelphia area mom out of frustration of having to deal repeatedly with lice in her family. “The first time, I tried to remedy the situation myself,” says Kim Kamens, the site’s author. “But no matter how well I researched online, I found information that was contradictory, unhelpful, or just plain incorrect.” Kamens ended up hiring a very expensive, professional, lice removal service. Over the course of several years, her family was re-infected five times, and Kamens decided to share what she learned.
LiceBites.com is a helpful, user-friendly website that helps novices and re-infested families diagnose and treat lice. It reveals over-the-counter products that are kid-friendly, non-toxic and easy to obtain, gives step-by-step delousing instructions, and a calendar to help families keep track of their treatments. “The hard part was getting people to talk about it,” says Laurie Leas, one of the site collaborators. “We realized that we first needed to de-stigmatize lice in order to get the conversation started!”
In addition to treatment options, LiceBites.com offers lice prevention tips. LiceBites.com also debunks popular myths and misconceptions about lice. So far the site has been shared with school parent groups, via email, and through social media sites. LiceBites.com has had more than 500 visitors since its launch in November, and has received positive feedback from parents, teachers, administrators and friends who praise its clear language and helpful information. “We are not trying to make money off of this site, and we’re not pretending to be lice experts,” says Kamens. “We just want to share what we’ve learned with other parents so that together, we can stop the spread of lice.”
The developers of LiceBites.com are planning a community event in late January where professional lice treatment experts will be on hand to do live demonstrations and answer questions. The entire seminar will be videotaped and added to the website.
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