Frustrated parents have taken to treating their children's head lice with dangerous animal flea products.
Products used have warnings stating they can be dangerous if absorbed into the skin. One product states it has fenthion in it, a cholinesterase inhibitor which can alter DNA.
A Rotorua mother, who does not want to be identified, said she resorted to using the animal treatment on her young daughter after continous infestations and months of treatments. She is one of four spoken to who admitted using animal treatments on their children.
The mother said other parents at daycare and school were not treating their children, resulting in her child being reinfested weekly.
After first trying it on other family members and herself, she treated her daughter with "fantastic" results.