Did I say last week that this was going to be a full month? I had no idea. I've literally spent hours during the past week picking nits. We discovered on Sunday morning that Millie had a case of head lice. From that moment on I have been in de-lousing mode. And when we found lice in my hair on Tuesday, you can imagine that my feelings of being overwhelmed increased substantially. I've been debating whether or not to write about this, because there is certainly an ick factor to it. Doesn't get much grosser than bugs in your hair. But we are using a natural treatment to get rid of the lice, and I thought this might be good information for others.
My understanding is that no, you do not have to put poisonous chemicals in your hair in order to get rid of lice. I am hoping that some heavy doses of olive oil will do the trick. And we're not even talking EVOO here. Apparently the cheaper kind will debilitate a louse.
So, you are basically looking to suffocate the lice with olive oil. You saturate your head with the olive oil, massaging it into the scalp and hair, then cover your head with a shower cap and leave it on for 6-8 hours. Then wash it out and use a nit comb to get rid of both the nits and the lice. We'll do this every few days over the next 3 weeks.
Now, before you think that such a thing is completely safe, I should tell you that the smart folks over at Harvard have their reservations about such a treatment. Here's what I found on the site for the Harvard School of Public Health:
"Olive oil (or any similar food-grade product) would seem intrinsically safe, but may have associated hazards, nonetheless. Oil may cause accidents (slips), and would be difficult to remove from the hair and scalp (detergents can cause irritation)."
Well, then. You have been warned. But I think I'll take a walk on the wild side and try it out anyway. Wish us luck!
