Yes folks, that’s right. 4 months in and I became a live host for a few devilish buggies. Was it a huge surprise that after 50+ van rides, 3 long distance bus trips, 6 flights, and weeks of sleeping on the floor that I have bugs living on my scalp? No, not really. These things happen- never a dull moment on the race, let me tell ya!
I have never had lice before, and the experience is definitely one I won’t forget. Trying to get rid of lice in Cambodia is a much different experience than what it would be in America. Let me recount the events that have taken place since finding said buggies.
1) Day 1. I immediately searched for any form of lice shampoo or lice killing ingredients at the local “super-market.” No luck. The stores in Asia usually only carry items that people use on a daily and/or weekly basis.
2) Day 2. I went to the Pharmacy in search of 5% Permethrin per recommendation of my mother. Pharmacies in Asia are like gas stations in the U.S. Every street has at least one, if not more. Unfortunately, my lice buggies decided to move in during the same week as Cambodia’s Khmer New Year- a major holiday in which most schools and businesses close for 5-7 days. No medicine at the super market, and all the pharmacies are closed. What’s plan C?
3) Home Remedies: I did some research on how to suffocate the little suckers. It isn’t easy. For three nights in a row, I put a mixture of vinegar, garlic, and sunflower oil through my hair and tied a bag around my head overnight. My team so graciously coined a unique and personalized endearment, “Allie’s got a bag head!” and put it to good use over the last few weeks. The worst part was the smell of vinegar and oil that leached into every pore and followed me days after I washed it out of my hair. It doesn’t help that Cambodia weather is 95F with 100% humidity every day. Vinegar sweat is not your friend, folks. Take my word for it.
4) Day 3-4. Those of you who can empathize with lice head may be wondering how I removed the buggies from my clothes. Well, it wasn’t easy. Lice cannot live in temperatures above 180F for greater than 5 minutes according the CDC. Access to a washer and dryer makes this processes easier in the U.S. They do have laundry services in Cambodia too, so I took every piece of item containing even the slightest bit of fabric to be washed. I didn’t think to ask if they used hot water until after I picked my clothes up and paid my fee. Turns out, the business only has access to cold water. Hot countries in Asia avoid the extra expense of heated water because it’s usually unnecessary. Key word: usually. Without hot water, my clothes were clean but still lice infected. The next day I spent 5 hours boiling water over and over again in order to soak all my clothes and de-lice my entire wardrobe.
5) Day 5. To my dismay, the home remedy wasn’t really working. While we rarely found any live lice, my teammates were pulling 30-60 lice eggs out of my hair 2 times a day! Some of the little buggies were surviving my nasty head treatments. (Huge shout out to Sylvia for spending 12+ hours picking lice eggs out of my hair! I owe you so big.) I held onto one last strand of hope, and went back to the pharmacy with intent on buying the poison I needed to exterminate these parasites. This time the pharmacy was open, but they were out of stock of the cream I needed. I’m not saying I got on my hands and knees and begged, but within 1 day, they somehow managed to get 6 boxed of the medicine delivered. My team decided to treat themselves too for good measure.
6) Day 8. While I am not 100% lice free, I am excited to say with full assurance that the little suckers are on their way out. I now have an abundance of lice shampoo and a a de-licing routine I am committed to daily. There is light at the end of the tunnel- I have full confidence the Lord’s healing hand is at work!
So what did I learn from this experience?
–I learned to laugh at myself. Did I want this to happen? Of course, not. But I came out on the other side with a lot of laughs and only a few sleepless nights. My team, specifically my older brother-esque teammates, joined in bouts of rolling laughter every time I walked in the room wearing a bag on my head. And I laughed with them. I was a funny picture. It was way more fun to laugh than to pity myself. There are always times in life when less than ideal situation occur, and I have learned how not to let them get the better of me.
-It’s experiences like these that make you grateful for the small things we take for granted such as: 24/7 pharmacies, hot water, friends who bring out the best in you, and hair that doesn’t look and smell like a pasta dish.
–Nothing is too small to pray for. You better believe I started praying for the Lord to heal me of these lice. My teammate, Jonathan, called me out when I first thought it felt selfish and pathetic to ask God to cast out the lice. He reminded me that God promises to take care of us and meet our daily needs. Being lice infested is not in our best interest physically or spiritually, so asking God to heal me from the lice is a practical prayer of promise, not a selfish wish.
-I learned that God works in funny ways that we relate to best. I know God didn’t give me lice, but He did speak to me through the experience. Sometimes we are faced with problems we have never encountered before, nor know our way around solving them. Sometimes they are small, sometimes they are big. Sometimes we get a safety net, and sometimes we discover just how long we can tread water. But our hope is the same because God is the same. He never walks away from the tiniest kink in the road or the longest detour of our lives. He’s steadfast and persistent in pursuing our hearts, allowing us to choose Him every time. Whether it’s head lice or cancer, a lost cat or a lost job- when you choose Christ as your Lord and Risen Savior, you’re choosing to let the Creator of the universe defend you for eternity. It’s an easy promise to forget in the midst of the BIG things, when we aren’t in the habit of looking to Him in the small things.
It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. -Isaiah 19: 20
