Hair doctor?

[Lorry]

2 girls in their 20s:

 

First one loses lots of hair after shower,  diffuse over the whole scalp. Hasn't seen a doctor yet.

 

Second one scratches her scalp for 4 years (non- stop, many hours every day)  leading to hairless patches. Most shampoos and all conditioners make her scalp itchy.  Seen at BPH (given steroids) and Bumrungrad  (steroids and Harrogate shampoo, contains tar which makes the hair sticky).

 

Both have long tried baby shampoos,  didn't help. 

 

They ask me where to go. As if I knew.

 

 

[tomazbodner]

Did they try Nizoral shampoo against itch?

 

I also know several people who use Havilah shampoo to stop hair fall, and their tonic? serum? The one that has spray at the top... to reverse hair loss. It works better on Asians than Caucasians, apparently.

 

Cheaper than doctor, try for a month and see if it helps. I think it's 890 baht for shampoo bottle on Lazada in their official store. 300 ml I think, but they also have 100 ml, which they often give as gift if you buy 3 large ones.

 

Not much to lose, and least it's a herbal thing, so hopefully less damaging than medications.

[Jingthing]

The thing about itchy scalp is that it has many different possible causes with different treatments depending. 

 

Such as 

 

Lice

Scabies

Psoriasis

Eczema two kinds

Fungus

Allergies 

 

Some cases react to frequent use of mild shampoo and some cases do better with not using shampoos at all but rather non shampoo cleaners.

 

Obviously very hard to do but over scratching should be avoided and nails cut. Scratching easily leads to infection.

 

It's easy to say see doctors but unless something easy to see like lice I think it's common to get bad diagnoses because symptoms are similar.

Edited September 16, 2022 by Jingthing

[Lorry]

1 hour ago, tomazbodner said:

Did they try Nizoral shampoo against itch?

Yes, Nizoral didn't help at all, Selsun is tolerated. (the scratching girl)

 

I will recommend Havilah to the girl with diffuse hairloss, sound good. 

[Jingthing]

Nizoral is for fungal cases evidenced by dandruff. If the cause isn't fungus it won't work.

[Lorry]

17 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

non shampoo cleaners.

What's that?

 

19 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

mild shampoo

What's the mildest you know? Tried Baby shampoo (way too aggressive), mild shampoo from Siriraj Hospital (too aggressive), Eucerin mild shampoo for sensitive skin (helped for a while), Selsun (helped for a while)

 

No lice, no scabies, most probably eczema aggravated by all the chemicals Thais put on their skin. Tacrolimus is too expensive for her (she has the money,  but was shocked at the price)

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, Lorry said:

What's that?

 

What's the mildest you know? Tried Baby shampoo (way too aggressive), mild shampoo from Siriraj Hospital (too aggressive), Eucerin mild shampoo for sensitive skin (helped for a while), Selsun (helped for a while)

 

No lice, no scabies, most probably eczema aggravated by all the chemicals Thais put on their skin. Tacrolimus is too expensive for her (she has the money,  but was shocked at the price)

I don’t really know.

 

Lazada sells a low cost mild shampoo. I don't know if different than baby shampoo.

 

Another thing to maybe try for eczema is coconut oil. The trick with hair is getting to the scalp. If possible then massage in nightly before sleeping with a shower cap. Wash off in morning.

Edited September 16, 2022 by Jingthing

[scubascuba3]

You can get tar shampoo on Lazada and Shopee, works well, doctors recommend it, never made my hair sticky, they're probably using too much. Maybe try Tar for scalp area and another shampoo for the rest

 

 

[SOTIRIOS]

...Environmental...

...Internal...

Or

...Psychological...

 

...4 Years Is A Long Time To Wait... (?)

[Lorry]

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

You can get tar shampoo on Lazada and Shopee, works well, doctors recommend it, never made my hair sticky, they're probably using too much. Maybe try Tar for scalp area and another shampoo for the rest

 

 

Now, that sounds really like good advice. 

The Harrogate shampoo was extremely expensive,  cannot be found anywhere else and Bumrungrad wil only sell it if you see the doctor again. That makes 2000 baht for 250ml shampoo!

[scubascuba3]

This one is 245 baht for 500ml, it won't solve the hair falling out issue but I'd expect it solve the itch problem

 

https://shopee.co.th/product/254307999/5244334894?smtt=0.276239321-1663388287.9

[Lorry]

3 minutes ago, SOTIRIOS said:

...Environmental...

...Internal...

Or

...Psychological...

 

...4 Years Is A Long Time To Wait... (?)

Yes, 4 years has psychological reasons. She doesn't see a problem,  just the people around her find the  non-stop scratching disgusting. 

But from multiple trial and errors it is clearly related to the kind shampoo. And if she doesn't wash her hair at all there is no itching anymore. 

Conditioners are even worse (which doesn't surprise me). She is trying to do without conditioners, but she is a Thai girl...

[tomazbodner]

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

You can get tar shampoo on Lazada and Shopee, works well, doctors recommend it, never made my hair sticky, they're probably using too much. Maybe try Tar for scalp area and another shampoo for the rest

 

 

Totally forgot tar shampoo. It makes you smell like a steam locomotive but actually did work. Good advice.

[Denim]

I had a 7th floor apartment in Sukhumvit 63 once. The tap water there was terrible.....very heavy , so that when you took a shower the water collected in large drops all over your body, much larger than the usual. Also, it used to leave my hair feeling dry and sticky and gave me dandruff. 

 

The ultimate solution was to move but a a temporary fix I only washed my hair in bottled water ( of the 5 liter type )

 

After a few weeks my hair at least improved and the dandruff went away. 

 

Water softeners are another solution but they have to be plumbed in. Too much hassle for a rented property.

[NancyL]

During Covid lockdown I turned into a bit of a slob and only washed my hair twice a week.  I found that my scalp wasn't as itchy as normal and my hair was healthier.  Also, I was able to grow my hair longer and not worry about anyone seeing me during the awkward growing-out period.

 

You can use conditioner just on the end of the hair, wash it out immediately after application, and not get it on the scalp.

[Sheryl]

8 hours ago, Lorry said:

Yes, 4 years has psychological reasons. She doesn't see a problem,  just the people around her find the  non-stop scratching disgusting. 

But from multiple trial and errors it is clearly related to the kind shampoo. And if she doesn't wash her hair at all there is no itching anymore. 

Conditioners are even worse (which doesn't surprise me). She is trying to do without conditioners, but she is a Thai girl...

 

Sometimes the itch is due to not getting all the shampoo and/or conditioner  rinsed out, which in turn can be due to hard water. Tell her to add a cup or two of white vinegar to a bucket of water and use that for the final rinses, it may help

 

The one with the hair loss needs to see a dermatologist and also (if derm doctor fails to suggest it) get a thyroid check (TSH level) as sometimes thyroid problems can  cause this

[Lorry]

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

get a thyroid check

Done already, thx

[DrJoy]

On 9/16/2022 at 9:40 PM, Lorry said:

As if I knew.

Most experienced Doc in Thailand -

 

https://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Nantapat

[geisha]

If thyroid is ok , both need to see  a good dermatologist. In France Dermatologists also treat hair loss , nail problems  , skin. Etc. Anxiety can also be a cause of hair loss. A young man who worked for us lost his mum , then his hair fell out. 

[mstevens]

Hair loss can be a result of thyroid issues so that might be worth checking, especially if there are other symptoms  consistent with thyroid issues present.

 

Also, hair loss can be a consequence of fungal overgrowth in the gut. While topical treatments i.e. creams / lotions / potions applied to the scalp will help, if the treatment is effective but the problem returns, that MAY be indicative of a fungal issue elsewhere in the body such as SIFO (small intestine fungal overgrowth). There are various treatments for this, both pharmaceutical and naturopathic - such as oil of oregano capsules.

[Jingthing]

This is interesting.

I've been suffering from very itchy scalp myself.

I think probably eczema because I have that generally. I also take meds for low thyroid, don't get me started ... 

I've been experimenting with mild shampoos, scalp care shampoo when the itching gets worse, limited conditioning and avoiding going deep with it.

Also not shampooing at all every day, sometimes skipping two or three days.

Another weird thing. I haven't really noticed any visible dandruff or flaking. I have noticed when using scalp care shampoo there is a burning sensation. 

Just saw this and it has me wondering.

Obviously, not for everyone ...  but maybe for some?

Are you down with the NO POO movement?

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by Jingthing