Scaring Away Scabies

You have a never ending itch that doesn’t go away. You have red bumps that look like thick red lines from scratching. You could have scabies.

Scabies is a skin infestation of tiny mites that burrow into the top layer of skin where they live and lay eggs. This causes intense itching and a pimple-like rash. The female mite burrows into the skin, creating a threadlike tunnel in which to lay her eggs. In five weeks, those eggs hatch, then mature into adults in two weeks.

Scabies causes intense itching in the affected areas, chiefly the backs of the hands, wrists, elbows, ankles and belt line. Overnight itching might be especially intense.

It can be found in places where people live and spend time in close quarters, such as nursing homes, extended-care facilities, child care facilities and prisons.

Scratching can cause skin sores. Scabies is spread easily to sexual partners and household members. In rare instances, when a person is heavily affected, bed linen or clothes could be the source of transmission.

The scabies mite survives only 24 to 36 hours when it leaves human skin. So you have the reassurance that in two or three days, any mites on furniture or other inanimate objects are dead. Washing bedding or clothing in hot water and drying them on the hot cycle of a dryer kills the mite.

Scabies are also known as sarcoptic mange. Animals can get scabies too, but the mites are slightly different. Usually the mites that live on animals can’t adapt to living on humans. However you might have some sort of reaction to the mites on your pet.

Anyone can get scabies. It is not based on poor hygiene.

There are different types of scabies other than the classic type. Other types are:

·       Crusted (Norwegian): This kind of scabies happens in people with faulty immune systems. It forms crusty areas covering a large area of skin. If you have crusted scabies, there is a good chance that you have millions of mites invading your body instead of the standard 10 to 15 common with classic scabies.

·       Nodular: This type is common among children. The brown-red nodules can still be there long after the mites die off.

·       Bullous: In adults, this type of scabies can be mistaken for bullous pemphigoid, a similar condition involving skin blisters.

·       Scalp: This type occurs on your scalp and may not present other symptoms other than scales that may look like psoriasis.

You can be infected up to four to six weeks before having the telltale signs of red rash and bumps. The tiny spots might look like bumps or pimples. The rash spreads slowly over a period of weeks or months. Besides the rash other symptoms include intense nighttime itching which makes it hard to sleep, bumps that might be infected from scratching and a later rash that looks gray or skin-colored lines on the skin. Children with scabies might be cranky from itching all night long.

Most cases of scabies can be confirmed just by looking at the skin. Your health care provider may also take a sample of your skin and look at it under a microscope to confirm the presence of mites or mite eggs.

A single application of permethrin—Elimite—gets rid of the mites. But be warned. It takes a week or so before the itching stops altogether. The mites are dead, but the skin may be reacting allergically. Some parents, unaware of this delayed itching effect, might be tempted to reapply the permethrin and further irritate the skin. Calamine lotion can control the lingering itch.

If you have a red, itchy rash that impedes your ability to function, contact your health provider right away. The disease can be hard to get rid of. But scabies, like other skin conditions, is highly treatable.