Methods and kits for removing, treating or preventing head lice infestations in patients in need of such treatment are disclosed and include topically applying to the lice-infested area an effective amount of a driable pediculostatic agent for a time sufficient to immobilize the lice, drying the agent onto the application site and removing the dried agent, thereby removing the lice and nits.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/842,762, filed Apr. 25, 2001, now allowed, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/491,114, filed Jan. 25, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,265,384 B1, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/117,318, filed Jan. 26, 1999, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Compositions and methods for killing ectoparasites on a subject. Compositions containing a fatty acid ester, e.g., isopropyl myristate, effective for killing ectoparasites is described. Also described are compositions containing a fatty acid ester and a siloxane (e.g. decacyclomethicone). The compositions can also contain a mectin and/or a mycin, and S-methoprene. The compositions are useful against a variety of ectoparasites that afflict humans, animals, and plants, e.g., head lice, fleas, body lice, crab lice, scabies, ticks, and plant parasites.
