Head-Lice Lotion Scam

Status: Medical Scam
Dr. Dale Pearlman has admitted that the head-lice treatment he was selling for $285 is really a commercial skin cleanser, Cetaphil, that could be bought over-the-counter for $10:

Dr. Dale Pearlman got widespread media attention and skepticism from some head-lice specialists last year when the journal Pediatrics published his study detailing results with a product he called Nuvo lotion. He described it as a "dry-on suffocation-based pediculicide" and the first in a new class of nontoxic lotions for head lice. And as of yesterday, his Web site still said the costly treatment was available only at his Menlo Park, Calif., office. But now, in a letter to the editor for release today in the December issue of Pediatrics, Dr. Pearlman says the treatment "was actually Cetaphil cleanser," available over the counter nationwide and abroad, and made by a company with which he has nothing to do.

So he was reselling $10 soap for $285. But does his treatment, which involves "having patients apply the lotion and dry it with a hair dryer to suffocate head lice" really work? He seems to think it does, though he doesn't have a lot of credibility left.

Health/Medicine

Posted on Tue Dec 06, 2005


Comments

ooh cetaphil, i had that sold to me by someone i also think is ripping me off... still it does the job
Posted by joeodd  on  Wed Dec 07, 2005  at  12:43 AM
From what I've read, you need a good insecticide to kill lice. Just using a hairdryer won't do the job.
Posted by Big Gary in Cut and Shoot, Texas  on  Wed Dec 07, 2005  at  04:44 PM
welcome to america, the seat of western medicine. and our doctors say that eastern medicine is a bunch of superstitious crap. and all the while they arent even original enough to make their own $10 soap to resell for hundreds. Ridiculous!
Posted by FoxPhyre  on  Thu Jan 05, 2006  at  01:55 AM
I read this in the womans world magazine its worth a try
Posted by lisawaltz  on  Fri Feb 10, 2006  at  04:59 AM
To be fair, the $285 was for the doctor's office visit, evaluation, and treatment, not just the bottle of cleanser. When I first read the news, I thought it was pretty ingenious discovery to find a non-toxic treatment for head lice. There are plenty of overpriced items we all deal with everyday, but may have no better alternatives.
Posted by Dan Shen  on  Thu Feb 23, 2006  at  01:04 PM
I tried the Nuvo treatment on my three children and it did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to rid my family of lice. In fact, I have tried just about everything available including, mayo, olive oil, Nix, R & C, and the best thing I have found is wet combing with conditioner although I still don't seem to have an end in sight.
Posted by Martha  on  Mon May 08, 2006  at  04:41 PM
I am in a hopeless situation here. I have tried so many different products to rid my family of head lice and nothing works. I have been doing battle with lice for many many months. I have spent a fortune on false promises. Does any one out there have any sound, intelligent advice. In Canada there are no prescription products available so we're left with nothing. The pharmacists are completely incompetent. They tell you to see a doctor who in turn tells you to ask a pharmacist. What is left for us to do?
Posted by Angela  on  Sat Jul 08, 2006  at  10:23 PM
Yes!! It works like a charm. Nothing else worked for my daughter except Cetaphil, plus it's non toxic.
Posted by Dottie  on  Wed Dec 03, 2008  at  09:00 PM
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