Scabies

During this time, the mites burrow under the top layer of skin, laying eggs and leaving waste as they go. Once your body develops some sensitivity, an allergic reaction is triggered, which causes the itching. Proper treatment destroys the eggs and the mites, and gradually, the itching goes away.  

If you’ve had scabies once, your body will be much more sensitive, and if you become infested again, you will exhibit symptoms immediately.  In any event, it is important to seek treatment as soon as you are showing symptoms, so you don’t develop complications like bacterial infections.

The most common symptom of scabies is severe itching that tends to be worst at night.  It is also often more severe in children than in adults, although elderly adults may also experience more severe itching.  At first, the itching is usually most noticeable right after bathing, and can be mistaken for dry skin.  The itching is an allergic reaction to the mites, their eggs and their waste, which they leave under the skin as they burrow.

If you look closely at the irritated areas, you might be able to see little curving tracks in the skin. At times, you might even be able to see the mite itself, or small blisters.  Scratching the skin will often make it more difficult to see the tracks, however. On babies, blisters can be more difficult to spot, and the rash is likely to appear simply as red, inflamed skin.

Some areas where scabies is most likely to appear are around the navel and waistline, the buttocks, between the fingers and the inside of the wrist, on the outside of the elbows or in the armpits. In men, they can also appear on the genitals, and on women, around the nipples and sides of the breasts.  In babies and small children, scabies may also appear on the face and neck, palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

A doctor should be able to recognize scabies from your symptoms.  To confirm, a skin sample can be taken to see if mites can be spotted under a microscope.  The sample is just a small scraping of surface skin cells and is quite painless for most people.  Your doctor may also ask questions to find out if you’ve recently been in contact with others who have similar symptoms.

Once scabies is identified, there are several ways to treat it. It will not go away on its own.  In most cases, a prescription cream or lotion, used as instructed, is enough to make it go away.  In more severe cases, pills may be prescribed.   Not all of these medications are safe for babies, small children, pregnant or breast-feeding women, so always follow your doctors instructions.

When you are being treated, anyone else with whom you are in close contact should be treated as well, so the mites can’t be passed back and forth.  You will need to wash all of your bedding, clothes and towels as well.

Once you start treatment, the itching should go away within 2 to 4 weeks.  This is usually how long it takes your body to completely get over an allergic reaction.  If you are still exhibiting symptoms after 4 weeks, consult your doctor.  It may be that not all of the eggs were destroyed and have now hatched, causing the need for another round of treatment.

In most cases, scabies is spread simply by being in close contact with someone who already has it.  This is especially true if you share bedding, towels and other personal belongings. Scabies can be passed on before symptoms are shown, so a whole household can contract it fairly quickly.  For the same reason, everyone in the same household, or those otherwise in close proximity need to be treated as well.

A common misconception is that scabies is a sexually transmitted disease.  This is not the case. While it can certainly be passed between sexual partners, this can occur through simple proximity and not necessarily sexual contact.

Although scabies is unpleasant and uncomfortable, it is fortunately, quite easy to treat. Knowing the symptoms will help you and your doctor identify it quickly so you can start treatment and take measures to make sure you don’t pass it on to those close to you.

Scabies is a common, easily spread, but easily treated skin condition caused by mites burrowing under the top layer of skin.