52 Year Old Female With Severe Scalp Infection
I am a 52 year old female and have been having scalp problems for over a year. It started out bright red and itchy and has resulted in hair loss and actual quarter size bald spots. My dermatologist initially said it was a staph infection, after doing a biopsy. He has had me on different antibiotics and anti fungals as well as steroid shots for overall inflammation and cortisone spray directly on my scalp for about a year. It has improved some, but the bald spots remain and there are crusty infected looking areas that appear swollen that just won't go away and he says if we don't get them under control I will lose more hair. There is some hair growth in the bald areas, but it is really bristly and has two or three hairs growing out of the same follicle. My dermatologist has labeled it unspecified alopecia and is now suggesting low dose chemo - that sounds pretty scary to me but, I don't know what else to do. I tried coconut, tea tree and other oils on my scalp and that made it more inflamed. I did try ACV briefly, but didn't notice a difference. I'm sure all of these antibiotics and steroids can't be doing my body much good. Any ideas would be most appreciated. Thank you. Debby
York County, Maine
11/28/2010
Hi All - I've had itchy scalp and inner ear itchy/crusty stuff for a couple of years.... Have tried a lot of topical applications and am currently using a rinse of 1 cup water, 2 Tbsp ACV, 20 drops rosemary essential oil. I pour it on the affected area after washing & rinsing my hair - then massage it in a little and let it dry, I don't rinse it out. Along with that, I'm taking a sublingual Vitamin B complex. I've seen the most improvement since staring the Vitamin B. Good Luck to All as I know this is an annoying problem to have.
I have also delt with an itchy spot on my head, and some itchy ears, mine is doing the best it ever has lately. I use iodine, the white clear one, but it stings the ears very, very bad, if you can't handle that use the Lugol's which I also take one drop of the 2% every day. I put iodine on my Itch's and they are doing a lot better. Then after a few days of iodine I switch and use coconut oil to moisten the areas and I use a cotton tip with some for my ears and then iodine, but they are healing, one day it will be healed. Merryanne in Central FL
York, Olde England
11/29/2010
I have variously posted here before on this issue, and will do so here again, as I had this issue for nearly 40 years! An endless list of Doctors (some of who were also good friends) could not solve my problem. Anyway, for what it is worth, apple cider vinegar is great but it is just not strong enough to kill various yeasts (Malazessia spp. [check it out on Google).
What you need to do is dissolve 3 teaspoons of borax in half a cup of white vinegar. Pour this over your head (the yeasts begin their life-cycle here), and down upon your face and shoulders (and possibly your chest and outer ears canal), and then leave it on for about 20/30 Min's whilst having a bath. Do this for about 3 days running (... If you can), and about once a week for a month. After the vinegar treatment, rinse your head/hair with half a cup of washing soda in a mug of warm water. At the slightest sign of any trouble repeat the treatment. Don't go anywhere near Doctors. Most are just crap at what they do and will try to give you steroid cream or solution. As to the ear issue, its much the same. The solution is to get a syringe (with no needle!!! ), and fill with 50% ACV mix that has had a pinch of Borax dissolved in it, 25% (NOTE: 3% percent strength) Hydrogen peroxide, and 25% isopropyl alcohol. Pour this solution into the ear and leave for 5 mins. If you can do this 2/3 times for a few days. After a while you can adjust your own 'mix'. You may find that the ear begins to flake dramatically as the infused yeasts dies off. Remember that skin in the ear is directly attached to bone and does not have a fat buffer like skin does elsewhere on the body so try not to poke about. The yeasts get infused directly into the skin, and so the flaking can be quite dramatic! If the ear gets a little raw a rub of petroleum jelly can help.
Wellington, New Zealand
07/16/2011
Comment to Shaun. Your description of infused yeast die off explains what happened to me. I have had an itchy flakey left ear for some time and my right ear was starting to show signs of it as well.
Two weeks ago I used a urine therapy treatment for hair loss, . ( 4 day old urine massaged in and left on overnight under a shower cap, of course the ears get a good wetting as well. Rinsed off in morning, no shampoo! ). The second day after this I had a massive blob of dry crud in the front of my ear canal. This was very difficult to dislodge, seemingly glued to my earpassage. Over the course of a day I finally managed to clear it (picking at it mostly) since then NO itching or flaking at all. From the description in your posting I can see that it was a fungus problem after all. I read that urine therapy is effective against fungus, and now I have seen the proof.
Tyler, Tx
10/19/2011
Central Pa, Pa
05/21/2012
Hi all, this comment is really for all of you who are suffering with scalp issues. I've been battling what I think is scalp ringworm. I can see it in my microscope but the lab says they see nothing with a biopsy! Amazing, huh? Anyway, I give up on doctors. I have been taking baths with baking soda, staying in as long as I can. Then just towel dry my hair and let is dry naturally, I don't even comb it so I avoid more hair loss. Next day I might use Selsun Blue and a deep conditioner. Most importantly I've been taking coconut oil 3X a day and two oregano oil capsules 3X a day. This is so important. Keep this up without fail and you may see a difference in a couple of weeks. Also, you may want to try UV light which is capable of penetrating the hair shaft. That's right, go to a tanning salon! You might be surprised at what you feel when the UV hits your scalp! Good luck all. I feel your pain, believe me.
