Cronkite Header

Group of Arizona women works to fight lice infestations in local schools

Email this story
Print this story
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014

By Michael Gordon

PHOENIX-

SYDNEY SCHUMAN/CRONKITE NEWS: For many parents, a new school year means the return of an old problem, head lice. Michael Gordon joins us with details.

MICHAEL GORDON/CRONKITE NEWS: Lice becomes common during school months as children cluster together in classrooms, making them easy targets for infestation. But a group of Arizona women has taken up the charge against this issue.

ANGEL KRONZ/LICE LADY: I love my job and I love what I do.

MICHAEL GORDON/CRONKITE NEWS: Angel Kronz always wanted a job that kept life interesting. So when lice outbreaks occur around the Valley, she’s more than happy to take the call.

ANGEL KRONZ/LICE LADY: I’m extremely passionate about it because I’ve been through it and I know what it’s like to not be able to get rid of lice.

MICHAEL GORDON/CRONKITE NEWS: Today Angel finds herself helping a young girl whose hair has become home to about 100 adult lice and 1,000 eggs.

MICHAEL GORDON/CRONKITE NEWS: Lice infestations are more than just a nuisance, especially in schools where one child’s lice can spread rapidly amongst classmates. And for children who do develop lice, they are quarantined, kept out of school, and made to miss classes until the issues is resolved.

And as Angel has learned, it can be picked up by anyone.

ANGEL KRONZ/LICE LADY: People think of lice as being dirty and that it definitely 100 percent is not the case

MICHAEL GORDON/CRONKITE NEWS: School infestations keep her and her co-workers busy. Michele Earl was the first lice lady, starting the business in 1997 after dealing with lice that her daughter had brought home. The traditional remedies didn’t work.

MICHELE EARL/OWNER OF TLC SHAMPOO AND COMBOUT SERVICES: I was like, there’s got to be something better that I can make myself. And that’s when I made the TLC shampoo and was able to get rid of the lice in my daughter’s hair.

MICHAEL GORDON/CRONKITE NEWS: She drew upon her previous experience as nurse, making her own lice shampoo using natural ingredients. The lice ladies treat not just the child, but the family and the home to get rid of the blood-sucking bugs.

ANGEL KRONZ/LICE LADY: I was not able to sleep when my daughter had it, so I know that, I’ve heard so many moms say that, now I can sleep. Now I feel like I can sleep.

MICHAEL GORDON/CRONKITE NEWS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that anywhere from 6 million to 12 million children ages 3 to 11 become infested with lice each year.