New Fungi Treatments

Advances seen in bug and fungi treatments.
The Washington Post (1/26, Hambleton) reports that lice, scabies, pinworm ringworm and fungi are very common and "can be contagious" amongst both grown-ups and children. Treatments for the bugs and fungi are said to have changed over the years, with the once common agricultural pesticide Lindane now being recommended by the FDA as "a choice of last resort because of its toxicity." Karen Franco, who picks lice nits out of hair professionally, recommends the benzyl alcohol product Ulesfia as an alternative, which "is supposed to paralyze the breathing pores of the lice so that they stay open, and the bugs succumb to the combination of oil and alcohol." As for getting rid of scabies, "most doctors will prescribe Elimite, a topical cream containing permethrin."