lice

flickr: Photo by Manish Bansal

Ugh, head lice. If the thought of sticking your fingers in your kid's louse-ridden hair gives you the heebie jeebies, I'm right there with you sister. But we may not even have to think about it anymore!

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine says lathering up the kids' head with a lice-fighting shampoo could be replaced with a simple pill.

Don't throw out that shampoo yet. The ivermectin pill has not yet been approved by the FDA, and the experts told NPR that even when it is available it should be a last resort.

The biggest problem - and reason for this research - is the de-lousing products we're using have been around so long the little buggers are becoming resistant to treatment. If we were all to turn immediately to a pill, the experts worry the bugs would then build up a resistance to it.

Other experts worry there could be damaging effects on the nervous system for kids who use ivermectin because it's designed to attack the nervous systems of the lice.

So we're stuck with sticking our fingers in there for now or using some of the great CafeMom recommendations.

Does the news of a possible lice cure pill around the corner make the process less icky?