article: "For about 10 minutes I didn't process what it was, and just started playing with it," says the 15-year-old from Maryland in the US. "Then I finally realised - this fell out of my head. This is in an insect, this is a head louse." The discovery prompted a ritual familiar to millions of parents around the world - John's mother and father bought an over-the-counter chemical treatment, and "bug bombed" his head. "But it didn't work," says John's mum Jerri. While exact statistics are hard to come by, getting head lice is a rite of passage for most schoolchildren. In the US alone, as many as 12 million kids per year get an infestation, according to the federal public health body, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, a 2011 survey found that one third of under-16s in the UK had caught head lice in the previous 12 months. The problem for families trying to get rid of head lice is that over the past few decades the insects have built up a resistance to many of the available pesticide treatments. So simply spraying or shampooing your child's hair with one of these products can often not work against these toughened "super lice". Thankfully for stressed-out mums and dads - and itchy children - in recent years a new industry has built up on both sides of the Atlantic as a response: professional head lice removal companies. One such business is Lice Happens, based in Annapolis, Maryland, an hour's drive east of US capital Washington DC. The firm, who came to the rescue of John and his mum, runs a 24-hour emergency "lice line". Once a time has been arranged, Lice Happens will visit a family's home. Wearing special headsets fitted with magnifying glasses, staff are armed with professional grade "nit combs", and use a pesticide-free and non-toxic spray to loosen and comb out both lice and their eggs (nits). An average session costs from $300 (£244), and all family members are screened. "It only takes one appointment," says Lice Happens' owner Nancy Fields, who set up the business in 2008. "And while we work we educate, because there is so much misinformation out there. We make sure people understand fact from fiction, and give them hands-on training. "We show parents how to accurately screen their children, and if they find they have to deal with lice again, we remind them of their training, and guide them so they don't have to throw more money at it. "Instead of looking at it as an expense, it's a one-time investment." Ms Fields decided to set up Lice Happens after helping her sister battle an infestation. "My sister was doing everything she could, but it didn't work," she says. "She was also having to take unpaid leave from a new job to look after her children because the school wouldn't admit them while they were infected. "It got me thinking that there has to be a better process, and that inspired me to think about starting a service to help people like
summary: Teenager John was doing his homework when a bug fell onto his school book.