When it comes to lice remedies, ‘natural’ isn’t better

It’s best to steer clear of tea tree oil treatments and use scientifically proven products, Murray Katz says.

Head lice can happen all year round, but in younger children — especially in daycare — we tend to see more cases in the winter.

Unfortunately, we also see some parents and caregivers who want to share their “natural” way of getting rid of the problem, thereby avoiding the “chemicals” that drug companies put in their remedies.

These well-meaning believers in anything “natural,” who may view pediatricians as slaves to what science recommends, often do more harm than good with their advice.

Most parents would not want to put an “insecticide” on the head of their children. Yet lice are insects and the so-called “natural products” such as tea tree oil don’t work nearly as well as safe and more effective alternatives.

Tea trees (melaleucas) are native to Australia. Anyone can make tea tree oil and put it in a bottle, pay to advertise on the internet and sell the oil.

There are no controls as to the concentration. Some preparations have almost no tea tree oil in them and others are strong enough to burn the scalp or make the eyes tear due to the vapours.

The idea behind using tea tree oil is that it would coat the lice and prevent them from feeding and breathing. This does not work well at all, despite all the claims, especially in dealing with the nits that are enclosed in a white shell.

Far too many parents use the internet to “research” and might not realize that the first thing they see will be commercial websites that aim to sell products.

Scientific information, such as that of the Canadian Paediatric Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, kidshealth.org, various journals of toxicology and reports from poison control centres, is generally more difficult to find.

Nor are these websites likely to attract believers in “natural” remedies, even though such sites provide safe and scientific alternatives.

Poison control centres have reported an increase in cases of poisoning in children due to so-called essential oils. The scientific literature offers many examples of poisoning, convulsions and even death in young children due to “essential oils.”

As far back as 2001, the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health reported that such oils “can be absorbed by mouth and through the skin and if ingested orally by children, they can be harmful, even life threatening.”

Yet the internet is filled with false claims of safety.

Sometimes, effects with so-called “natural” products such as tea tree oil can be unexpected.

The New England Journal of Medicine reported on an National Institutes of Health study that “suggests that repeated topical use of products containing lavender oil and/or tea tree oil may cause prepubertal gynecomastia, a rare condition resulting in enlarged breast tissue in boys prior to puberty, and for which a cause is seldom identified.”

“The results of our laboratory studies confirm that pure lavender and tea tree oils can mimic the actions of estrogens and inhibit the effects of androgens,” Ken Korach, the doctor who authored the study, is quoted as saying.

The best advice is to never just Google. In the interest of the health of your child, stick with scientific sites like that of the Canadian Paediatric Society.

Doing otherwise is not “research.” Too often, it is being duped by those who sell unregulated products for profit and pay to be at the top of internet searches.

Get over the claims about drug companies controlling pediatricians, and don’t turn the word “natural” into a holy grail.

Use safe, effective products recommended on scientific sites.

And one more thing: Lice don’t have wings, so don’t give them wings by using a blow dryer after the shampoo.