Coco (Pt. Charlotte, Fl, Usa) on 09/20/2009
I believe I have mites burrowing into my scalp and skin. Bumps/bites become itchy, I scratch (try not to). Then I end up with tons of bites/scratch marks on my arms, legs, chest, back, face, nose, and scalp. I have had this for approx 2 yrs now and have tried many remedies. Nothing has eradicated the mite. Sometimes I feel I am reducing the problem, then out of nowhere I end up with a new set of bites. I always seem to have more than one new bite in an area of my body. I have colored/bleached my hair for over 20 years. When I color/bleach my hair once a month, the bleach formula is extremely strong and is left on my hair for 30 mins. I can't help but wonder why the mites, at least the mites on my scalp don't die when I bleach my hair? If the strong bleach/peroxide formula doesn't kill them, how will borax and peroxide kill them? I recall that the initial itching began over two years ago when I went swimming at the beach and just let me hair dry in the sun, didn't shampoo until the next day or so. I have been reading voraciously to try to identify whats biting me. Some kind of mite seems to be most likely. My mites are white and look like a grain of rice but much, much smaller than rice. I would be forever grateful if you have any helpful information to rid my body of this parasite.
Sincerely and Thank you
Replied By Jana (Ludington, Mi) on 10/22/2009
I'm no expert, but from how you describe the mites as looking like long grains of white rice, but smaller, it sounds like head lice. The bleach you uses on your hair would kill the live lice, but not the lice eggs, so they would hatch and start the infestation all over again. You could use the lice killer shampoo from over the counter, but that exposes your body to toxins. I use a thick conditioner, slather it all over my scalp, wrap hair in plastic wrap, leave on for at least 12 hours, then use the little lice comb (can be picked up at pharmacy), and comb the eggs out. The problem with head lice is the lice are easy to kill, but the eggs just keep on living, unless removed from hair entirely. The eggs are incased in a glue sack that nothing over the counter or otherwise seem to desolve. From my experience, the conditioner sufficates the live ones, and makes the eggs detach from the hair follical more easily. I use the comb everyday for at least 3 days (as in put the conditioner back in your hair like you would after a shampoo), then comb them out. I repeat the whole process(conditioner plus plastic wrap)one week later incase I missed any eggs that might hatch. You will easily be able to see the eggs in the conditioner once they are combed out of the hair. Just smear the contitioner residue (from the comb) on a white paper towel, and you will be able to see the eggs. They appear to be black or dark tan with a tiny stalk on the end of them. They look similar to a poppy seed, but much smaller. As a rule scabies (at least in adults) do not effect the face or scalp. That occurs mostly on babies, or small children. I hope this helps. It can't hurt to try it. If nothing else, your hair will get a deep condition...