Hyssop for Lice

Hyssopus officinalis

Hyssopus officinalus (hyssop)

Hyssop is an herb that is native to the Black Sea region of central Asia. Although it is often grown in North America, it is not related to other North American plants that have similar names, such as giant hyssop, hedge hyssop, prairie hyssop, or wild hyssop.

One way to treat lice with hyssop is to use hyssop oil. Most essential oils have some ingredients that can be used as pesticides. In recent years, doctors and scientists have become very interested in the possibility of using essential oils to treat lice. In the past, Western practitioners have relied on prescribing drug remedies for lice. But most lice in the United States have evolved to become resistant to conventional drug treatments. Many American doctors say that malathion is the only drug left that still effectively treats head lice in U.S. schoolchildren – most lice are resistant to other treatments.

Meanwhile, a 2006 Welsh study found that four out of five lice in Great Britain are resistant to all drug treatments, including malathion, so it is likely that malathion will not be effective in the U.S. much longer either. Consequently, scientists have begun doing studies to find out whether essential oils can be used effectively as insecticides. Tea tree oil, in particular, has attracted a lot of interest, and has been studied for use to prevent both head and body lice. But scientists are investigating hyssop as well, because it has been used since ancient times both as a general pesticide and as a treatment for lice.

Another option is to use hyssop tea as a hair or body rinse. Hyssop tea is especially helpful for relieving the inflammation and discomfort of insect bites. It is less concentrated than hyssop oil, however, so may be more useful for body lice (which are much easier to get rid of) than it is for head lice.

Although hyssop may be effective for killing live lice, it is also necessary to remove any remaining nits (lice eggs) from hair, clothing, and bedding. Otherwise, the nits may hatch and the problem will recur.

Using Hyssop to Get Rid of Lice

Method for Using Hyssop Oil for Head Lice

• Dilute oil with another oil, such as olive oil. Use equal parts of hyssop oil and your carrier oil.
• Apply the diluted oil liberally to the hair and scalp.
• Cover the entire head with a shower cap or plastic wrap.
• Wrap a towel around the head.
• Leave on for about an hour, and then shampoo as usual.
• After shampooing, comb wet hair carefully with a fine-toothed comb or a lice comb, to remove nits (lice eggs). Do one ordinary comb-through or brush-through first to remove tangles. Then divide the hair into small sections, parting the hair so that you can see down to the root as you comb. You cannot do this for your own hair – someone other than the person being treated for lice must do the combing. This is a very important step—if you do not do a good job of removing nits, it may do little good to kill live lice with hyssop oil—any remaining eggs might still hatch and then you will have to start all over. This step takes a long time and is tedious, and boring for small children, but there is no way to treat head lice effectively without it.
• Wash clothing (especially headgear) and bedding, being sure to dry on a hot setting in the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
• Wash personal items that are used on the head, such as combs and brushes, barettes, hair fasteners, etc.
• Seal nonwashable items in plastic bags for a week, or, if possible (for stuffed animals, for example), dry nonwashable items in a hot dryer for 20 minutes.
• Repeat as needed until all signs of lice are gone.

Method for Using Hyssop Tea for Head Lice

• Make tea by infusing two or three teaspoons of dried hyssop in hot water for about five minutes. You may want to simply leave the herbs in the water until the tea has cooled enough for use on the scalp.
• Shampoo hair as usual. Then rinse with undiluted hyssop tea.
• After shampooing, comb wet hair carefully with a fine-toothed comb or a lice comb, to remove nits (lice eggs). Do one ordinary comb-through or brush-through first to remove tangles. Then divide the hair into small sections, parting the hair so that you can see down to the root as you comb. You cannot do this for your own hair – someone other than the person being treated for lice must do the combing. This is a very important step—if you do not do a good job of removing nits, it may do little good to kill live lice with hyssop—any remaining eggs might still hatch and then you will have to start all over. This step takes a long time and is tedious, and boring for small children, but there is no way to treat head lice effectively without it.
• Wash clothing (especially headgear) and bedding, being sure to dry on a hot setting in the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
• Wash personal items that are used on the head, such as combs and brushes, barettes, hair fasteners, etc.
• Seal nonwashable items in plastic bags for a week, or, if possible (for stuffed animals, for example), dry nonwashable items in a hot dryer for 20 minutes.
• Repeat as needed until all signs of lice are gone.

Method for Using Hyssop Oil for Body Lice

• Dilute hyssop oil with another oil, such as olive oil. Use equal parts of hyssop oil and your carrier oil.
• Apply the diluted oil liberally to the skin.
• Leave on for at least an hour.
• Wash clothing and bedding, being sure to dry on a hot setting in the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
• Repeat as needed until all signs of lice are gone.

Method for Using Hyssop Tea for Body Lice

• Make tea by infusing two or three teaspoons of dried hyssop in hot water for about five minutes. You may want to simply leave the herbs in the water until the tea has cooled enough to apply to the skin. Or, you may want to run a bath, and add hyssop tea bags to the bath, turning the bath into a giant cup of hyssop tea in which you can immerse the whole body. In that case, soak in the bath as long as it is comfortable.
• Wash clothing and bedding, being sure to dry on a hot setting in the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
• Repeat as needed until all signs of lice are gone.

Why It Works

Hyssop oil, like most essential oils, contains compounds known as monoterpenoids, which have been found to kill lice in laboratory studies. Monoterpenoids disrupt the nervous systems of insects. Of all the monoterpenoids, the one that has been found to be the most effective at killing lice is terpinen-4-ol. Hyssop oil, like tea tree oil, is rich in terpinen-4-ol. It is also rich in camphene, another monoterpenoid which is often used as an ingredient in insecticides.

If you use a carrier oil, such as olive oil, to dilute the hyssop oil before treating for head lice, the carrier oil can also smother the lice, preventing them from getting any oxygen.

Precautions

Before you begin any system of treatment for lice, be sure of your diagnosis. Head lice, in particular, are often misdiagnosed. Ordinary dandruff is frequently mistaken by parents for nits, or lice eggs. One way to tell the difference is to notice whether they fall out of the hair easily, or stick to the hair shaft. Nits will stick to the hair and are difficult to remove. Topically, hyssop is considered generally safe. It is classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the FDA (the federal Food and Drug Administration). Hyssop oil does cause an allergic reaction, or contact dermatitis, in some people. One way to minimize the risk of contact dermatitis may be to dilute tea tree oil with a carrier oil, such as olive oil. You may also want to test for an allergic reaction by testing the oil on a small patch of skin before applying it to the entire scalp, which can be fairly sensitive.

There is no need to take hyssop internally to get rid of lice, but it is worth noting that hyssop tea is considered safe for internal use (in fact, it is often suggested as a remedy for sore throats). Hyssop oil, however, has been reported to cause seizures when taken by laboratory animals. In theory, it may pose a risk to people with epilepsy. Also, hyssop was used in ancient times as an emmenagogue (a substance that can stimulate menstruation) or abortifacient (a substance that could induce miscarriage), and therefore should be avoided by pregnant women and nursing mothers.

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