Lindane is an insecticide, also known as gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and benzene hexachloride (BHC). It has an LD50 of 88 mg/kg, is suspected of being a carcinogen and is banned in the U.S. state of California and in 52 countries. There is also a bill in the NY assembly and senate to ban the use of lindane for headlice and limit its use on scabies. An insecticide is a pesticide whose purpose is to kill or to prevent the multiplication of insects. ... An LD50 test being administered In toxicology, the LD50 or colloquially semilethal dose of a particular substance is a measure of how much constitutes a lethal dose. ... In pathology, a carcinogen is any substance or agent that promotes cancer. ... A U.S. state is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia and Palmyra Atoll (an uninhabited incorporated unorganized territory), form the United States of America. ... State nickname: The Golden State Official languages English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 4. ...

Its method of action is via interfering with the GABAa receptor/Cl- channel. It is volatile with roughly 90% entering the atmosphere and ultimately being deposited in rain. In 1992 5.5 mg/L of lindane was detected in rain in Oxfordshire. It is still widely used in most of Europe and nearly all developing countries. Mexico is the next of many nations who is banning lindane.

Like other agricultural pesticides, lindane is very easily introduced into the water & food supply of an area through rainfall; this can lead to low-level lindane poisoning amongst the local community. A chief symptom of this is a tic causing occasional flickering of the eyelid; other than this minor discomfort, such levels of poisoning are not harmful. Lindae has caused seizures, blood disorders, brain cancer in children, and is linked to both breast cancer and parkinson's disease. Lindane is no longer manufactured in the US, but is sold as a pharmacutical by Alliant. An airplane spreading pesticide. ... The skull and crossbones symbol traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ... A tic is a repeated, impulsive action, almost reflexive in nature, which the actor feels powerless to control or avoid. ...

It is sold in a one-percent formulation as Kwell shampoo and lotion (among other brand names, also generically), used to treat human scabies infection, head lice and other ectoparasites. It has recently been banned for the treatment of head lice in California. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration requires these products be labeled with prominent warnings about possible neurotoxicity, particularly in young patients. Even though the FDA has blackboxed lindane, it is still being prescribed for children and the elderly, who's skin is more permeable and vulnerable to it's toxic effects. Medicaid, medicare and many state funded health care systems still have lindane on their formularies, when there are many more safer and more effective treatments available. The head louse Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) are one of the many varieties of sucking lice (singular louse) specialized to live on different areas of various animals. ... A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of that host. ... The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the government agency responsible for regulating food (human and animal), dietary supplements, drugs (human and animal), cosmetics, medical devices (human and animal), biologics and blood products in the United States. ...

External links

• Lindane for human use