Anyone Know About Thai Head Lice?

[english_farang_lady]

We recently moved part time into a 'serviced apartment' on the outskirts of Bangkok. All was well for a week or two, and now suddenly, I am plagued by what I hesitate to call an itchy scalp. It is more like bugs trying to eat their way in!

I have no contact with any animals of any kind (except my new husband who does not have it at all), and I am desperately trying to think what it is and where it came from. We do not mix socially, guess I lost the habit after a messy divorce, but out apartment is cleaned, 'serviced' twice a week.

I have taken the bed down to it's bare components, and it seems quite new, there is an underpad acting as an underblanket so the bottom sheet does not go straight on the bare matress. All looks fine. We are using our own pillows, but suddenly realised this morning that the 'headboard' to the bed is actually a board covered in thick padding, with brown corderoy material on top, afixed to a larger board, screwed to the wall. I guess that is a fixture and could have been infected before we moved in.

Too add to the problem, I am almost contstantly itchy all over, mainly arms and legs, due to hormone imbalace I think. I had the same during the last 3 months of my pregnancy. The (English) doctor I saw then prescribed corticosteroid cream which I did not use thinking it could effect the baby. The itchy skin does go sometimes, is much less on the days I use a dot of estrogel, but during this pregnancy time, I did not have this scalp itching.

I have combed my hair with a fine tooth comb over a white towel, nothing comes out. Today I washed it with a fifty fifty mix of shampoo and Dettol. Strung like hel_l, but not itchy now. Usually wash my hair generally two or three times a week in case you think it's just dirty hair causing it! I am fair skinned and blue eyed so usually fall prey to whatever decides to take up residence. Had tumbu fly when I was 4 and living in Africa. Dont ask !!

The only other thing I can think of is the ladies who come in (when we are not here) to clean up and change/remake bed. My comb and hairbrush are on the dressing table (or rather were and are now soaking in Dettol). I know that some of the staff in Bangkok live in terribly unsanitary conditions, and I am wondering, as a last resort really, if I could have caught some kind of head lice from them?

I really am grasping at straws here, and any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks to all

EFL

[londonthai]

they can be fleas from some domesticated animal which lived there before - flea eggs can survive 6 months.

fleas would only jump on you to get some blood - they don't live on your hair like lice. That's why there wasn't any when combing.

get some flea powder and spray from any supermarket (in the pet section). In Tesco they have a cheap brand "Sleeky" - they do only dog preparation but it will kill all kinds of fleas.

powder is 250 grams and spray is 200 g and cost around 70 baht - get both of them. Put the powder all over the floor, including under all the furniture and the spray on the board, mattrace, upholstery and vertical surfaces. The best is to do not only a bedroom but all the flat/house.

Because it's a poison leave the house for as long as you can (even several days) with all windows shut. On return clean the floor from the powder but leave it under the furniture.

[bina]

search lice in thai visa; we discussed it often enough.

dirt has nothing to do with it; combing works best only after using some conditioner and u will see tiny little guys walking on the comb. they dont fall on towels.

fleas will leave a string of bites usually on the stomach etc areas. like three bites in a row.

scabies (human kind) will go in to various places: pubic area, elbow folds, knee folds, stomach etc. they also have strings of raised welts and the itching stays around for a while. animal scabies can be passed to u but goes away on its own; people scabies i dont really know about.

and if u have blond hair its easy to see personal pets walking around (daughter is expert at this)...

bird mites: microscopic ; we had that once due to pigeons living in our roof and the roof was slightly open wiht no ceiling, hence bird mites in the house.

anything that bombs out the fleas will also bomb out most of this stuff too. the flea powders are usually carambates (sp) (opigal or acritin) or permethrin based ; i would go away a few days and have a professional exterminator do the house (is there such a thing in thailand?)

and boil hot wash all your bed sheets, etc. get rid of the head board. better to sleep on new mattresses on the floor! fleas scabies etc all can live for long periods of time until a new tasty host comes along!! or get a dog. the bugs will move house from u to the dog . jing jing.

bina

[leisurely]

If I read this properly, your husband isn't being aflicted. Could it be a dry skin condition? As for the head lice, Bina is right, conditioner and fine tooth combing. Nothing like seeing the buggers in the conditioner. Both of my daughters are blonde and the nits are hard to see, once you get the combing going you can rapidly turn it into a fun game of who's got the most!

[Sheryl]

If it is lice, you should be able to see them when you comb through.

There are lice shampoos sold in most pharmacies, no harm in using one just in case.

You say you itch all over...are there any lesions on the skin? Redness?

Allergy is also a possibility....any medications other than the hormones? New cosmetics or lotions or soaps?

Lastly but most important -- have your thyroid checked. Itching as well as some of the other prpoblems you have had can be due to thyroid disorders which are esecially common in menopausal women.

[steveromagnino]

If it is lice, you should be able to see them when you comb through.

There are lice shampoos sold in most pharmacies, no harm in using one just in case.

You say you itch all over...are there any lesions on the skin? Redness?

Allergy is also a possibility....any medications other than the hormones? New cosmetics or lotions or soaps?

Lastly but most important -- have your thyroid checked. Itching as well as some of the other prpoblems you have had can be due to thyroid disorders which are esecially common in menopausal women.

the other issue is that this could be a heat related condition. Also...check the filter in your aircon carefully, there may be fungus and stuff in there.

I would recommend you bomb your apartment, move into a hotel near the sea where you don't need aircon, then see if that doesn't help.

My own guess is that due to your skin and complexion, you are struggling with the heat, and your scalp is also suffering; as your immune system is under attack, that is what is causing you to get welts and itches and so on.

But that is just me; I get the exact same condition in USA and NZ when i go there; not insects, but attacks of immune system problems brought on from temperature and as soon as I get the slightest bit run down. Thailand ironically is one of the few places i don't get these attacks.

[qualtrough]

If it is lice, you should be able to see them when you comb through.

There are lice shampoos sold in most pharmacies, no harm in using one just in case.

You say you itch all over...are there any lesions on the skin? Redness?

Allergy is also a possibility....any medications other than the hormones? New cosmetics or lotions or soaps?

Lastly but most important -- have your thyroid checked. Itching as well as some of the other prpoblems you have had can be due to thyroid disorders which are esecially common in menopausal women.

the other issue is that this could be a heat related condition. Also...check the filter in your aircon carefully, there may be fungus and stuff in there.

I would recommend you bomb your apartment, move into a hotel near the sea where you don't need aircon, then see if that doesn't help.

My own guess is that due to your skin and complexion, you are struggling with the heat, and your scalp is also suffering; as your immune system is under attack, that is what is causing you to get welts and itches and so on.

But that is just me; I get the exact same condition in USA and NZ when i go there; not insects, but attacks of immune system problems brought on from temperature and as soon as I get the slightest bit run down. Thailand ironically is one of the few places i don't get these attacks.

Try a good scrub down with Asepso or Skin Dure, leaving it on for a while. Worked for me when I picked up something from my dogs, those little critters.

[tracker]

for your hair:

take a couple of fresh leaves from a noyna-tree (custard apple) and pound them in your pok-pok. wash your hair with this. kills lice/eggs and fleas within 20 min

[Farma]

Another thing to look at if both of you are getting itchy is bed bugs. Have you got little bites on your scalp and legs?

I had a run in with these little critters last year and they aren't nice. Initially i started itching like crazy then a few days later tiny mossie type bites started appearing.

Look around and under the fabric edge of your mattress, headboard and curtains near the bed. If you see little white eggs the size of sand or flat brown tick like bugs you've found them. They reproduce repidly and what looked clear one day can be totally covered in eggs the next.

I hope this isn't what you have but it's worth checking.

[tutsiwarrior]

We recently moved part time into a 'serviced apartment' on the outskirts of Bangkok. All was well for a week or two, and now suddenly, I am plagued by what I hesitate to call an itchy scalp. It is more like bugs trying to eat their way in!

I have no contact with any animals of any kind (except my new husband who does not have it at all), and I am desperately trying to think what it is and where it came from. We do not mix socially, guess I lost the habit after a messy divorce, but out apartment is cleaned, 'serviced' twice a week.

I have taken the bed down to it's bare components, and it seems quite new, there is an underpad acting as an underblanket so the bottom sheet does not go straight on the bare matress. All looks fine. We are using our own pillows, but suddenly realised this morning that the 'headboard' to the bed is actually a board covered in thick padding, with brown corderoy material on top, afixed to a larger board, screwed to the wall. I guess that is a fixture and could have been infected before we moved in.

Too add to the problem, I am almost contstantly itchy all over, mainly arms and legs, due to hormone imbalace I think. I had the same during the last 3 months of my pregnancy. The (English) doctor I saw then prescribed corticosteroid cream which I did not use thinking it could effect the baby. The itchy skin does go sometimes, is much less on the days I use a dot of estrogel, but during this pregnancy time, I did not have this scalp itching.

I have combed my hair with a fine tooth comb over a white towel, nothing comes out. Today I washed it with a fifty fifty mix of shampoo and Dettol. Strung like hel_l, but not itchy now. Usually wash my hair generally two or three times a week in case you think it's just dirty hair causing it! I am fair skinned and blue eyed so usually fall prey to whatever decides to take up residence. Had tumbu fly when I was 4 and living in Africa. Dont ask !!

The only other thing I can think of is the ladies who come in (when we are not here) to clean up and change/remake bed. My comb and hairbrush are on the dressing table (or rather were and are now soaking in Dettol). I know that some of the staff in Bangkok live in terribly unsanitary conditions, and I am wondering, as a last resort really, if I could have caught some kind of head lice from them?

I really am grasping at straws here, and any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks to all

EFL

I asked the same question recently an' lopburi3 recommended commercially available shampoo...do a search and check out his advice...

grooming and picking out nits is a thai pasttime...my wife and 9 y.o. niece spend endless hours in this pursuit (the niece never washes her hair and I order her to bathe to no avail...)...to interfere in this behavior may betray you as a cultural imperialist...I sure do like watching my niece lying languidly in my wife's lap while searching for nits...she's gwine ta be a seriously beautiful woman sum day...

[steveromagnino]

grooming and picking out nits is a thai pasttime...my wife and 9 y.o. niece spend endless hours in this pursuit (the niece never washes her hair and I order her to bathe to no avail...)...to interfere in this behavior may betray you as a cultural imperialist...I sure do like watching my niece lying languidly in my wife's lap while searching for nits...she's gwine ta be a seriously beautiful woman sum day...

THe name is Peter. Peter O'File. :-) Blimey, 9 years, mate I think you should reread that

Anyway, usually people grow out of lice and nits as they get older, something to do with the immune system, I suspect that this is why little kiddies get them and the adults do not.

[bina]

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG

TELL THAT TO THE LICE THAT ABSOULTUELY LOVE MY HEAD;

and my 17 yr old son (who just cut off his rastas due to him being fed up with delicing shampoos etc)...

and ask any nanny in a childrens' house what she does when she's finished work and goes home to shower every day. she goes thru her hair with a lice comb. or do like we do in our house. we have about five different kinds of lice combs; long tines, metal, plastic, double layered (for deknotting hair)....about ten different brands of shampoos with and without rosemary, lavender, tea leaves, permethrin, etc.

i just think that most americans and other westerners dont have a clue.... those of us in the middle east etc , do....lice like certain heads more then others. they are picky. elitest. they prefer blond to dark but will settle for asian dark if provided.

and theres nothing more relaxing then having someone sort thru your hair for half an hour in front of the tv. even my thai husband will tell me to search for lice, just for the hair fondling. (he never gets the lice, just me and daughter and son. third daughter with knee lenght horse thick hair, never gets lice.

bina

lice breeder expert

[tutsiwarrior]

grooming and picking out nits is a thai pasttime...my wife and 9 y.o. niece spend endless hours in this pursuit (the niece never washes her hair and I order her to bathe to no avail...)...to interfere in this behavior may betray you as a cultural imperialist...I sure do like watching my niece lying languidly in my wife's lap while searching for nits...she's gwine ta be a seriously beautiful woman sum day...

THe name is Peter. Peter O'File. :-) Blimey, 9 years, mate I think you should reread that

Anyway, usually people grow out of lice and nits as they get older, something to do with the immune system, I suspect that this is why little kiddies get them and the adults do not.

jezuz...here we go again...