Olive Oil Hair Treatment For Lice

Head lice, tiny insects that live on an affected person's scalp, lay their eggs--called nits--on shafts of hair near the scalp. Children ages 3 to 12 are most likely to have lice, which spread easily in close quarters such as school classrooms, according to Kids Health. Though they carry no diseases, lice can cause itching and inflammation, and they can be difficult to eradicate.

Identification

The olive oil treatment for lice consists of applying the oil generously, soaking the entire scalp and the hair. Advocates of the method suggest doing this at bedtime, then covering the oil-soaked hair with a shower cap and sending the "patient" to bed. The oil interferes with the bugs' respiration and causes suffocation overnight, advocates say. The next morning, the hair is washed and combed with a very fine-toothed comb made especially to remove nits.

Time Frame

The website Our Good Health recommends repeating the olive oil procedure for three nights in a row to produce the best results. Lice can live for as many as three days away from the host, notes a 2004 article in the journal "Paediatrics & Child Health." Kids Health recommends washing the affected person's bedding and clothing in hot water and then placing it in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes. Items that aren't washable should be dry-cleaned or kept in an airtight plastic bag for a couple of weeks.

Benefits

Olive oil is a natural and safe alternative to medicated shampoo, cream rinse or lotion intended to treat lice infestations. Those products contain insecticides, usually permethrin or malathion, which causes concern among some parents contemplating using such treatments on their children. Unless the recipient is allergic to olives, an olive oil treatment will not cause harm. The insecticidal treatments do have risks, particularly if applied too heavily or too often, says Kids Health.

Considerations

Medical studies have not proved the efficacy of olive oil in killing lice. A 2004 study in the "Journal of Pediatric Nursing" found that none of the home remedies it tested--petroleum jelly, olive oil, mayonnaise, melted butter, isopropyl alcohol and vinegar--were viable for controlling lice. A particular weakness was the remedies' inability to kill eggs, thereby guaranteeing that the lice problem would continue. Our Good Health, an advocate of the olive oil treatment, emphasizes that nits should be removed manually after each treatment because some will survive the oil.

Solution

A study released in February 2010 supports the effectiveness of a recent non-insecticidal alternative. According to research published in the journal "Pediatric Dermatology," a lotion containing benzyl alcohol was able to smother the lice, with a 91 percent success rate after one week and a 76 percent rate after two weeks. Researchers say the lotion "stuns" the lice, hampering their ability to resist asphyxiation. The lotion, called Ulesfia, is available only by prescription.