aSLACK Incorporated newspaper
April 1998
WESTON, Mass. - A solution for head lice could be as close as the kitchen cabinet.
Laboratory findings out of Hebrew University and the American Head Lice Institute indicate that when olive oil is applied to active head lice, the lice are literally drowned by the oil after several hours of submersion.
The olive oil can be used alone or as a supplement to pediculicidal products. To be fully effective, the researchers warned, the oil must be correctly applied and the treatments carefully timed to disrupt the life cycle of the louse. Various doctors as well as the media have reported on the increase of resistance to over-the-counter lice treatments. Head lice infestation has become a public health epidemic affecting some 12 million Americans, mostly children.
"Products that have been working are not working anymore," said John Erdman, MD, an entomologist at the University of Massachusetts. "You start getting enough treatment failures and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to speculate that there is resistance ... the product has not changed, so it must be the lice who have changed."
The head louse is back in alarming numbers from New York to Los Angeles. The epidemic was nearly stemmed decades ago by pediculicides, but the parasite appears to be back by a force more powerful than any treatment shampoo: evolution.
To illustrate the point, a farmer in Oklahoma attempted to remove lice from the head of his 6-year-old daughter by washing her hair with an agricultural pesticide after previous attempts at ridding the little girl of the resistant lice failed. The pesticide proceeded to send the girl into a full cardiac and respiratory arrest which she barely survived, according to Erdman.
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Five Steps to Killing Head Lice |
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The researchers recommend a three-week long, five-step plan to deal with resistant lice. The first step is to use permethrin or pyrethium-based pediculicides. While this treatment may kill most of the lice, it won't kill all of them. It is at this point the olive oil comes into play, said Joan Sawyer, director of Sawyer-Mac Productions and Media for the Public Interest, who recently put together a video instruction kit that outlines the five-step lice treatment program.
"Through natural selection, the egg lice appear to be getting smaller, which makes it harder for people to see them," Sawyer said. "If gotten to in enough time [through the oil treatment plan], you can prevent them from hatching and laying their eggs."
The second step in the process involves the olive oil. The oil is applied to the head shortly before bedtime, with the victim donning a shower cap to prevent any oil from rubbing off while sleeping. Step three is the most important step in the battle because before the oil is washed out, the hair must be methodically combed using a special metal nit comb. The lice are stymied by the oil and are easier to comb out, said Sawyer.
"Like humans reacting to hypothermia, lice can literally shut themselves down in the oil treatment and do it for a very long time," she said. "They are very resilient creatures."
The fourth step is making sure the surrounding environment is clear of the lice. The weapons researchers recommend people use in preventing any reappearance are the vacuum cleaner and dryer. Dry heat is a very effective against lice, so instead of washing an infested item patients should use their dryers, said Sawyer. Vacuuming the home after infestation is important to pick up any shed hairs or stray vestiges that could still be still lurking in the carpet. The fifth step is visually checking close to the scalp for any nits with a metal nit remover. The infested person should be checked over a three-week period. The lice can be pulled off by a fingernail, placed on a tissue and thrown away.
Head lice are about the size of sesame seeds or even smaller. They are wingless, have six legs and live only on the human scalp. While annoying, they are not life-threatening; however, patients can suffer from secondary infection due to scratching.
Since the parasites do not hop, jump or fly, they migrate through direct contact with an infested person or their belongings. Poor personal hygiene does not cause infestation and pets do not transmit head lice.
The most common symptom of an infestation is persistent itching, particularly around the ears, back of the neck and crown. However, some people never itch at all. Repeat infestations can cause some patients to become super-sensitive to bites.
Head lice diagnosis is done by finding nits. Viable nits are usually, but not always, found within a half inch of the scalp. Advise children not to wear other children's hats or share combs while in school. Students should also check before donning a pair of earphones. Scarves and hats should always be stuck into the child's coat sleeve, and coats should never be piled one on top of the other but put in separate cubbies, if possible. The researchers also recommend cleaning you child's sports equipment with a vacuum cleaner when not in use.
Olive oil treatment is nothing new to medicine. Harvard researchers said medical reports earlier in this century occasionally made reference to olive oil as one component for treating infested patients. With this in mind, they decided to measure the effect of the oil on live adult and nymph head lice.
The researchers removed 12 active lice from the hair of one child then completely submerged six in olive oil. The lice in the oil stopped moving after five minutes. Of three lice that were removed from the oil after an hour, two recovered and regained normal activity. However, none of the three lice treated for two hours ever recovered and the remaining six non-treated lice remained fully active well beyond the test.
"Any insect will succumb to [a lack of oxygen] if submerged in oil for a prolonged period," said Richard J. Pollack, PhD, associate professor of tropical medicine at the Harvard School of Tropical Public Health. "If the olive oil is applied in copious amounts to the scalp and maintained for a prolonged period, it may offer a means at reducing or eliminating the active stages. We have not yet tested the effects of the oil on the eggs."
Editor's note: Another use for this natural product. I used to have mothers apply it to the scalp of their babies with cradle cap and comb out in the morning. - P. Brunell
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