Lice Treatment Using Olive Oil

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children between the ages of 3 and 11 get infected by head lice 6 to 12 million times yearly in the United States. Although chemical treatments are available, in certain situations you may wish to consider using olive oil--an inexpensive, readily available kitchen staple--alone or as part of a multipronged attack on lice infestations.

The Facts

Head lice feed on human blood. Although they can also be found on the eyebrows and eyelashes of infected individuals, head lice generally develop and proliferate on the scalp. Infestations spread through direct skin-to-skin contact, since the lice are unable to hop or fly. According to the CDC, head lice infestations develop most commonly among children in organized classroom settings, such as elementary school children and preschoolers who go to childcare, often spreading quickly to their families. According to Cal Orey, author of "The Healing Power of Olive Oil," proponents of using olive oil as a lice treatment state that it works by suffocating the insect.

Efficacy

The jury's still out on whether olive oil is truly an effective standalone remedy for treating lice. Many individuals swear by it, but few organized studies examine its overall effectiveness. According to the CDC, there is no clear scientific evidence to indicate whether olive oil does or does not work as a lice treatment. If you would prefer to avoid using chemical treatments for lice, olive oil may be a treatment option, depending upon the severity of the infestation, but check with your primary care doctor before using it, especially on young children.

Treatment

Joan Sawyer, cofounder of the American Head Lice Information and Resource Center and coauthor of "Head Lice to Dead Lice," suggests that you use olive oil as the first treatment for head lice or as a follow-up for chemical treatment. Coat the infested head liberally with olive oil, following up the original treatment session with five or six additional treatments in three- to four-day intervals to maximize your chances of getting rid of the lice completely.

Warnings

Olive oil stains. Minimize oil stains on bed linens and clothing by wrapping your child's oil-coated hair in a plastic shower cap when providing treatment for lice. Cover your child's pillow with a bath towel to provide further insurance against oil stains.
Talk to your doctor about using an olive oil lice head treatment in babies and young children; according to Sawyer, the oil must remain on the infested head for minimally eight hours each treatment session to be effective, which could potentially lead to head chills, especially during cold weather.

Considerations

Comb the lice from the infested head following an olive oil treatment. Use a metal nit comb and comb the hair thoroughly before removing the olive oil with shampoo, as recommended by Sawyer. According to the CDC, washing or drying clothing and other items at a temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit kills lice; as an added precaution against re-infestation, clean items such as bed linens, bath towels and hair accessories that have been in direct contact with the infected person.