San Diego Lice Experts Caution of Risks of Lice Transmission in Certain Venues

SAN DIEGO - Oct. 4, 2014 - PRLog -- San Diego is a city of exercise and healthy lifestyles. Everyone knows about the benefits of exercise for body, mind, and spirit. You would have to live under a rock to think that living a sedentary lifestyle is good for your health. While participating in a regular exercise regimen has so many positive qualities, the growing popularity of yoga and Pilates and other mat related exercise classes carries some potential risks when it comes to transmitting certain contagions.

LiceDoctors Head Lice Treatment and Nit Removal Service owner, Karen Sokoloff, reports that the widespread use of shared mats is contributing to the increase in the incidence of head lice. Sokoloff, an experienced lice professional who is also  certified yoga instructor, warns people to avoid sharing mats in this age of prevalent incidences of head lice. "It is definitely possible to pick up a case of head lice when using a mat that someone else used an hour before. Head lice die when off of the head for a day as they need blood to survive. If, however, someone has an active case of head lice and leaves a bug or two on a mat, that bug will seek the head of the first available human to use that mat.  Recently we have been seeing more clients who have not had direct exposure to someone with head lice but report being regulars at yoga or Pilates classes.  Some says they go after work and do not want to carry around a mat so they use the mats at the studio.  This is not a good idea as you have no idea who used that mat before you. Not everyone is aware that they have lice as some people have no symptoms. It is far wiser to use your own mats, even if it is an inconvenience."

Cathy D., a 35 year old single executive in Encinitas, admits that she picked up a case of head lice last month after becoming a regular at a yoga studio. "I have no kids and haven't been around any of my friends' kids. About 2 weeks after joining this local lice studio, I started to feel itchy. At first I ignored it thinking that the hot yoga was making me sweat and therefore making my head itch. After a week more I saw a louse crawl out of my head during a yoga class right onto the studio's mat. I was mortified but I think I  must have contracted the case there as I see no other way I could have gotten it."

While Sokoloff says that most people are unable to be sure of the origin of their head lice case, it is far safer to avoid sharing mats. Her own daughter picked up a case at day camp several years prior when on tumbling and gymnastics team. The entire team got it from doing repeated head stands and rolls on the mats.

Sokoloff cautions that head to head contact is by far the most likely way to transmit head lice. In some cases, the spread of lice is almost inevitable, but in cases like exercise classes, the solution is a simple one: just bring your own mat.

Should you find that you have an active case of head lice, LiceDoctors in San Diego will come to your home and treat you in privacy at your convenience. Their professionals are highly trained and the company has treated nearly 120,000 clients. LiceDoctors is the nation's largest lice treatment company but treats families with a local and personal touch. The company uses the all-natural protocol developed nearly 20 years ago by its on-staff medical director, Dr. Stephen Beck.

For same day lice treatment care, call 858-939-9202 or visit www.licedoctors.com. The company also makes house calls to families in California in San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County, and the Inland Empire. LiceDoctors can also be reached at 800-224-2537. LiceDoctors has an "A" rating with the Better Business Bureau and offers a full guarantee.