Medieval folklore suggests that lard was used to try and suffocate
In China, documents from 1200 B.C. indicate they used mercury and arsenic compounds to drive away head lice. It didn't work. By 450 B.C., Egyptians recommended shaving the entire body to eradicate lice, which, while effective, has proved impractical in the succeeding centuries.
If you became infested with head lice, the Egyptians treated themselves with an aromatic head lice formula made of water, vinegar, oil of cinnamon, oil of rosemary, oil of terebinth. They would treat ancient head lice with the formula and use a fine tooth comb.
When Victorians were infested with head lice they would visit the local bathhouse to receive an arsenic and quicklime treatment. During this treatment the different chemicals would burn off the hair weather it is on their head or the entire body.
In the middle ages, humans couldn't get away from lice. They were an unavoidable part of their life and lice didn't discriminate; they infected all parts of society from serfs to royals. People in the Middle Ages took lice to their grave as well. They lived a life of itch, itch, itch!
It also appears that Romans regularly used delousing combs to rid themselves of lice and fleas, Mitchell said.
The British also developed a combination of naphthalene, creosote, and iodoform made into a paste which could be applied to the seams of uniforms with a good result of eliminating lice in just a few hours.
The 1600s – 1700s
In the 1600s, humans started trying different concoctions to rid themselves of the dreaded lice. Parents were told to give their children everything from tomato juice to a drink mix made of vinegar and cheese whey.
Head lice (Pediculus Capitis) are a common problem that most parents, students and teachers in Australia are familiar with. They are tiny parasites, about the size of a sesame seed, and live on the human scalp and hair. They feed on human blood up to 4 times a day.
Human lice likely co-evolved with people. Our primate relatives harbor their own species of lice. Recent evidence is suggestive that body (clothing) lice evolved from head lice.
It all started over 5.5 million years ago with the critical relationship between humans and chimpanzees. Up until this point, humans and chimps shared the same type of lice that would equally drive both species to incessantly nit-pick at one another in an effort to remove lice and their eggs.
Early American Lice
Bones from animals were commonly used to create nitpicking combs. A soldier's fort in Wisconsin from the early 1830's was the source for a recent archaeological find of bone carved lice combs used by the soldiers. Sometimes in extreme cases, kerosene was used to kill lice and eggs.
The proportion of lice killed varied from 10% with the bonnet‐style hair dryer to 80% with the Louse‐Buster with hand piece.
Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person's head. To live, adult lice need to feed on blood several times daily. Without blood meals, the louse will die within 1 to 2 days off the host. Life cycle image and information courtesy of DPDx.
In the United States, infestation with head lice is much less common among African-Americans than among persons of other races. The head louse found most frequently in the United States may have claws that are better adapted for grasping the shape and width of some types of hair but not others.
Not everyone feels lice moving around on their scalp, but some people do. Dr. Garcia says that most of her patients say they “don't feel anything,” but others may get a creepy, tickling sensation as lice move around their head.
Manager Field Operations (Animal Health) at the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) Chris van-Dissel said there had been an increased prevalence over the past 12 months of sheep lice detections in wool shedding breeds such as dorpers, damaras, Aussie whites and wiltipolls.
The oldest human head louse nit was found on a hair from an archeological site in northeastern Brazil and was dated to 8000 B.C. (Araujo et al., 2000).
A team of researchers with the University of Oslo has found evidence that suggests human fleas and lice, not rodents, were behind the spread of the plague that killed millions of people over the course of several centuries.
Researchers tested Vaseline (a brand of Petroleum Jelly) alongside 5 other home remedies for effectiveness against head lice, here's how it did. In the study, Petroleum Jelly killed about 62% of head lice. It outperformed many other home remedies such as mayonnaise, olive oil, butter, and vinegar.
Lice Infestation
The unsanitary conditions at Gallipoli soon led to a widespread infestation of body lice amongst the men. Men scratching at their louse-ridden skin and inspecting the seams of their uniforms for the parasites became a familiar sight.
The soldier fired into No Man's Land, the area between the enemy trenches. Soldiers were ordered to keep firing even if they did not see anything. This was called the “morning hate.” The constant fire would keep the enemy from sneaking up on the trench.
The longer answer goes back over 800,000 years. Scientists believe head lice began to evolve on a different path than body lice about the time humans started to wear more clothing. Body lice evolved to attach to clothing fibers which are typically thicker and stronger than a human hair.