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Why you shouldn’t use permethrin as a head lice treatment

Permethrin is a type of pyrethroid. Pyrethroids are a type of pesticide used for lice treatments, pet, flea, mosquito, ant and tick medications, and crop treatments. These pesticides derive from the chrysanthemum flower and are the synthetic and more stable version of pyrethrin. Pyrethroids initially became a popular substitute to more harmful pesticides like Malathion (which is in some prescription head lice treatments) but are less popular now for head lice, given their ineffectiveness. Pyrethroids have some short-term side effects, which you can find on head lice product packaging. For instance, they can commonly cause itchiness and skin irritation. However, we still don’t know much about…

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Articles of Interest

Permethrin Spray for Ticks, Chiggers, Mosquitoes and more..

Permethrin is a synthetic pesticide. It’s similar to natural compounds in chrysanthemums. It can actually kill ticks. Mosquitoes don’t like it either. When a tick comes in contact with clothes (or whatever fabric) sprayed with Permethrin, it quickly becomes incapacitated, unable to bite. Typically within seconds, it will fall off. If it remains, it will die.

Permethrin – still the go to?

I am a parasitic bug magnet, so I use Rail Riders EcoMesh pants (which are great hiking pants) with BugGuard treatment. BugGuard has an extra durable factory applied 0.5% permethrin treatment that is supposedly good for 70 washes. I have never seen a tick on my pants. Ever. So I assume they work as intended. In addition, I buy Martin’s 10% permethrin (because 1L is only like $20) then dilute it down to 0.7% and apply to my hiking shirt, gaiters, shoes, sun gloves, and the ankle of my socks every 6 washes. This seems to do a good job of preventing bug bites as well.

Permethrin-Treated Clothing May Disable Ticks, Study Finds

Shirts, pants, hats, and other clothing treated with the insecticide known as permethrin have been touted for 15 years as a way to prevent the tick bites that can lead to Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and more. But research hadn't proved that permethrin-treated clothing items are actually effective tick-stoppers.

Pyrethrum vs. Permethrin: Know Which Insecticides Are Safe

A Safer Alternative: Pyrethrum Given these potential dangers, it's wise to explore alternatives. One option is pyrethrum, a natural insecticide derived from the chrysanthemum family. This safe and eco-friendly choice can help protect your pets from fleas. You can even grow pyrethrum in your garden as a natural repellent. Make an infusion from the plant to use topically on your pet's coat, helping to keep pesky fleas at bay.

What is Permethrin?

Permethrin was created by copying a natural insect repellent compound found in Chrysanthemum plants. Simply put, permethrin is a safe and effective insect repellent that’s been used for many years. By emulating the benefits of this compound, chemists were able to make a synthetic version that’s both longer-lasting and more effective. Permethrin has been proven to repel insects such as mosquitoes, ticks, ants, biting flies, fleas, chiggers, and midges (no-see-ums). This includes insects that may carry diseases such as Zika virus, Lyme disease, West Nile virus, and Malaria.

Chemical Profile: Permethrin & Pyrethrins

When most of us think of pesticides, we generally think of crops. However, pesticides can end up in our homes and bodies in ways beyond just food. Products like over-the-counter lice treatments, pet shampoos, gardening products, and bug sprays can all contain registered pesticides too. This blog contains information about two pesticides – permethrin and pyrethrins – how they can find their way into your home and ways you can minimize your exposure.

Comparison of Permethrin-Based Treatment Strategies against Scabies in Infants and Young Children

The intensified regimen of full-body permethrin plus interim applications on hands/feet, which aims at reducing the number of mites present on the frequently heavily infested palmoplantar sites in addition to the standard entire body application, appears efficacious in curing scabies in young children.

DEET and Permethrin: A Dangerous Combination

The combined use of a popular repellent and mosquito spray can lead to motor deficits and learning and memory dysfunction, according to lead researchers at Duke University. This study is timely because DEET, which is an insect repellent, and permethrin, which is a mosquito spray, are now commonly recommended throughout the U.S. to combat mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus.

If You Spray Your Clothes With Permethrin, Be Careful Around The Cat

"Permethrin is very toxic to cats," wrote Charles Fischer, who lives in Chapel Hill, N.C. "Suggesting that people spray their garments with permethrin to prevent tick bites without a cat disclaimer is very dangerous."

In the War Against Ticks, This Spray Is My Secret Weapon

Permethrin is like the wall around the castle: It’s always there offering protection and doesn’t need much maintenance at all. Permethrin is completely different from regular repellents, like those that contain picaridin and DEET. For one thing, you apply permethrin to your clothing and gear (such as backpacks and tents), not to your skin. Once you’ve properly sprayed an item, it holds repellency for about six weeks or through roughly six washings. Unlike picaridin- and DEET-based sprays, permethrin is actually an insecticide, so it can kill ticks instead of just shooing them away.

Is Permethrin-Treated Clothing Safe and Effective?

The pesticide can be useful in preventing tick bites, but it has potential risks, too.

Permethrin. What it will and won’t do?

Some good information here and to emphasize yes, it's extremely toxic to aquatic life. The way we outdoorsy types use it–applied to clothing–it's bound to the fabric and isn't going anywhere. This is why the treatments are "good for 70 washings."

Picaridin vs. Permethrin vs. DEET: What’s the Best Insect Repellent?

Permethrin can come in the form of a number of types of products, including sprays, powders and liquids. Permethrin is different from the other chemicals discussed because it’s not made to be sprayed directly on human skin - just clothing and gear. If you’re going camping, for example, you might spray your tent with permethrin. Also unlike DEET and picaridin, permethrin can kill insects that come into contact with it, as it interferes with their nervous systems. Permethrin is not believed to affect the nervous systems of humans or dogs (in fact, it is the substance used on many flea collars), but it can be toxic to cats.

Topical Permethrin Demonstrates Lack of Efficacy Compared to Benzyl Benzoate in Most Scabies Cases

In a recent comparative study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, researchers found that benzyl benzoate 25% (BB) demonstrated superior efficacy and cure rates in cases of scabies, while topical permethrin 5% exhibited a lack of efficacy in most patient cases.1\

Treating scabies with permethrin cream

After 12 hours, take a shower and dry off using a clean towel. This towel must have been washed at 60 °C or must have been in a sealed rubbish bag for three days.

We Hate Ticks, Too. Here’s How to Protect Yourself and Prevent Bites.

Wear permethrin-treated clothing. It’s best to cover up when you’re hiking—put on long pants, sleeves, and a hat, if possible. If you want to treat your own shoes and clothes, we recommend Sawyer Products Premium Insect Repellent Clothing & Gear in our guide to the best bug repellents; you need to reapply it after about six washings, or every six weeks. (Note that permethrin is very dangerous to cats when wet, so keep your furry friends away from it until it dries.)

Resources

Permethrin

Permethrin is in a class of compounds known as synthetic pyrethroids. Synthetic pyrethroids are synthesized derivatives of naturally occurring pyrethrins, which are taken from extracts of dried chrysanthemum flowers.1 Synthetic pyrethroids are more stable than natural pyrethroids, and therefore longer lasting in the field.

Permethrin (Rx, OTC) Brand and Other Names: Nix, Elimite, Acticin

Scabies Cream: Apply from head to toe, leave on for 8-14 hr, rinse; may reapply in 7 days if live mites reappear. Single application usually curative. Head Lice & Nits (Eggs) Lotion/cream rinse/liquid: apply to washed hair, leave on 10 min, rinse and comb out nits and eggs; may repeat in 7 days if lice or nits still present. Single application usually curative.

National Pesticide Information Center

Permethrin is an insecticide in the pyrethroid family. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower. Permethrin is used in a number of ways to control insects. Products containing permethrin may be used in public health mosquito control programs. They may be used on food and feed crops, on ornamental lawns, on livestock and pets, in structures and buildings, and on clothing. Permethrin may also be used in places where food is handled, such as restaurants.

PubChem

Pyrethrins are naturally-occurring coµmpounds with insecticidal properties that are found in pyrethruµm extract froµm certain chrysantheµmuµm flowers. The pyrethrins are often used in household insecticides and products to control insects on pets or livestock. Pyrethroids are manufactured cheµmicals that are very siµmilar in structure to the pyrethrins, but are often µmore toxic to insects as well as to µmaµmµmals, and last longer in the environµment than the pyrethrins

StatPearls

Permethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid categorized as a synthetic neurotoxic pyrethroid, is approved for treating scabies and pediculosis capitis. This medication operates within the arthropod nervous system, specifically targeting eggs, lice, and mites. Permethrin exerts its therapeutic effect by disrupting sodium transport across neuronal membranes in arthropods, inducing depolarization.