As the frequency and level of pediculicide resistance increases throughout the world,
the need for novel solutions to control pediculosis has intensified. The development
and registration of new pesticides has become so costly that many chemical companies
are unwilling to pursue it and health-care providers now face a serious lack of new
commercial pediculicides. Many infested people resort to using “home-remedy” approaches
that have not been scientifically tested. In this article, we examined the potential
value of six purportedly effective “home remedies” (vinegar, isopropyl alcohol, olive
oil, mayonnaise, melted butter, and petroleum jelly) to treat head louse infestations
and the likelihood of drowning lice by water submersion. Results indicated that only
the application of petroleum jelly caused significant louse mortality but no treatment
prevented lice from laying eggs. Most home remedy products did little to kill eggs,
despite prolonged exposure. Petroleum jelly caused the greatest egg mortality, allowing
only 6% to hatch. It was extremely difficult to drown lice, despite extended periods
(i.e., 8 hr) of water submersion, suggesting that killing lice by depriving them of
oxygen is inefficient. None of the home remedy products we surveyed was an effective
means of louse control. This suggests that when treatment failure occurs, an increased
amount of time and effort should be focused on alternative chemical pediculicides
and/or manual louse removal (i.e., combing) rather than using any of these products.
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© 2004 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
