You might not believe what the FDA allows in children’s shampoo

Trouble bubbles

If I told you there were a kids’ shampoo that contained an insecticide, you might not be entirely shocked. It IS shocking. But we’ve seen worse than that.

Unfortunately, I’m not done. The insecticide is a known neurotoxin.

Okay. Now it just got serious. But wait — there’s more.

This insecticide is so toxic, 160 countries have banned it.

And I haven’t even gotten to the kicker…

Just a few days ago, the FDA rejected a petition to take shampoos that contains the insecticide off the market.

There. Now are you shocked? I know I am. Because — let me repeat — this is a shampoo for kids.

Three strikes

The toxic insecticide is lindane. And the shampoo kills head lice. So it’s not an everyday shampoo. But still, at some point, someone had this train of thought…

“Hmmm. This stuff kills bugs in the field. So it will probably kill bugs in kids’ hair!”

In response, nobody said, “No. No no no. Absolutely not. No way.”

No. Just the opposite. Somebody said, “Let’s make a ton of shampoo with this stuff and sell it.”

And that’s what they did. It’s just stupefying.

What’s even more shocking is that products with lindane are sitting on store shelves right now. Like toxic time bombs.

You see, research links lindane with seizures and death. It can also affect liver and kidney function. And several research groups recognize it as a possible carcinogen.

These dangers are not new revelations. California banned this ingredient a decade ago. And yet, the FDA allows lindane to go on.

Last year, a congressman called on the agency to ban lindane in head lice shampoo. But as he pointed out, the danger to kids is strike one.

Strike two: Lindane gets into water supplies. (Lindane content in California water has dropped dramatically since 2002.)

And strike three is just a cruel irony… Lindane shampoos are not very effective. And that increases the likelihood that some will use the products more than once. And, of course, that just escalates neurological risks.

In rejecting the recent petition for a ban, the FDA notes that lindane shampoo is not used as much as it once was. But that’s just another way of saying that consumers are still using it. And it still exposes kids to potentially lethal neurotoxins.

Even by low FDA standards, this is mystifying. I mean, how dangerous does an ineffective shampoo have to be to get a ban?

If you know a parent whose child has head lice, do what the FDA won’t do. Urge them to ban lindane shampoo in their home.

Apparently that’s the only way this toxin is going to make an exit… One household at a time.

Sources:
“FDA Rejects NRDC Petition to Ban Lindane” Miriam E. Tucker, Medscape, 12/5/12, medscape.com

“FDA Asked To Ban Lice Shampoo For Kids” Ed Silverman, Pharmalot, 6/1/12, pharmalot.com

“FDA Asked to Ban Use of Pesticide for Head Lice” Kristina Fiore, MedPage Today, 6/1/12, medpagetoday.com