What Is Scabies - Treatment for Scabies
Scabies is highly contagious and often tough to diagnose because it can look like dermatitis, welts from hives, pimples and other skin rashes. Since it is a very itchy rash it can be also obscured due to the scratch marks as well as possible bacterial infections such as impetigo which may mask it.
Scabies mites are microscopic and can’t be seen by the human eye. It may sound like the movie Aliens, but the female will burrow in your skin, lay eggs and the eggs will develop. The babies then look for mates as they crawl on your skin and the process of reproduction and burrowing continues. The rash is actually an allergic reaction to the scabies burrowing in the skin.
Scabies can often be spread around child care centers, nursing homes and other places where there is close contact . It is passed via skin to skin contact but also can be contracted by sharing clothing, towels and sharing a bed. One salient feature is that it is extremely itchy. A doctor may take a skin scraping and see the “scabies burrows” where it has dug it’s little trench. It is only the width of a hair, so hard to see.
Elimite is usally prescribe as it has a high success rate. It is a pesticide you put on from the neck down covering your whole body and leave on for 12 hours or more. It is important to get this under your nail beds as well. After showering it off, be sure to wash all the clothing and linen you’ve used in the last few days in order to not re-infect yourself. If you’ve been around family members they should also use the cream at the same time you do so that everyone in the home is treated . Sometimes the rash can go on for a while when there is a ping pong effect between people and the mites keep circulating. In one nursing home , it was found that people hadn’t treated well under their nails and due to scratching themselves and touching clothing and others this kept spreading the scabies rash around the facility.
It can be very frustrating due to the itching so be sure to speak to your doctor to get an antihistamine if you need it to sleep . Taking oatmeal baths and using anti-itch creams are useful as well. In India, they use neem oil and leaves topically to help stop the eggs from developing. In fact, neem is used as a contraception . There was a study where using neem and tumeric topically for scabies had a high success rate. Tumeric stains so be aware of this.
It will help to keep nails short and for kids to sleep with socks over their hands to prevent scratching. Kids can go back to school after they have used the elimite cream and are no longer contagious. However, be sure that they have fresh clothing on and their clothing worn during the week is washed in very hot water. Some find borax also helpful in the wash to assure eradication of the mites.
Scabies is not just something people get in low income areas anymore but is highly contagious and can be found in many schools, day cares, camps and nursing homes where there is close contact.
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How do you know if the itching after using the scabies cream means you got it again or if it is just the old scabies rash taking a while to get better? The scabies itching is still pretty severe.
In the pictures of scabies I saw on the net they showed a magnified image of skin with the burrow of the mite, but I don’t see this on my skin. But I read you can have scabies rash and never see the burrow too. Do most people see the burrow or is it too small to see?
I know in some countries they use home remedies for scabies and most people couldn’t afford the 30 dollar perscription pesticide lotion for scabies. I have heard that neem is good for this but don’t know anyone who used it as a home treatment for mites.
My cousin in graduate school got scabies rash and it was a drag. She used the prescription lotion but knows someone who travelled to a yoga center in India and they used neem leaves and oil there. Also she never had it in the finger webs like the pictures of scabies usually show. It was on her wrists and waist. Got it during finals week too.
I was treated with the elimite cream this week for scabies, I stopped itching for a day and then the itch was insane! I read that this is normal for up to four weeks and more bumps appeared after treatment behind my knees and in the arm pits. I just hope all the little goobers are dead and I don’t have to do this again.
The scabies natural treatment I read about with tumeric and neem oil paste said it is used a lot in India and foreign countries but it can stain the clothing, sheets and rest of laundry. Can it be used without tumeric because that i think is the staining agent.
I heard about a scabies natural treatment that uses sulfur but I know that has a very strong odor. I wonder if it’s effective. The weird thing is my cousin still isn’t sure if she even has a scabies rash because the dermatologist said he can’t tell for sure.
Hi, my 5 year old was diagnosed with scabies a little over a week ago, after having a rash for a week, and the doctor told us to wait it out to see what it was….now my other kids have it and me as well…..I am going out of my mind with the laundry and bleaching everything, vaccuuming, cleaning mattresses…..i even used lice shampoo on out hair … Contrary to what i have read, YES, THEY DO IFEST FACE AND HEAD. my child has some marks on her cheeks, ears and around the hair line…..We used the permethrin5 cream , but after 5 days the severe itch and red welts reappeared on her body, I felt horrible that I couldn’t do anything, We reapplied the permethrin that night, and are hoping for the best….I have tried a bleach bath, using 1/2 cup of bleach and a full tub…I stayed in for like an hour, and the next day I woke up with crawlie feelings all over my body….I thought it was supposed to KILL THE SUCKERS…I am now rubbing the kids down in Vaseline to see if this helps..The doctor told me that the kids aren’t contagious after the permethrin treatment,,,, but HOW DO I KNOW IF THE SEVERE ITCHING AND WELTS THAT RETURNED ON MY DAUGHTER ARE NOT A REINFESTATION???? I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO….I am at my wits end….and it’s only been 2 weeks of this…i am reading horror stories of people who have this for months and even years…..ANY ADVICE FOR KIDS….
My friend didn’t think the permethrin worked for her scabies but it did. It just still itched for a while after using it (like weeks). I would not keep using pesticide on skin over and over and over. It isn’t good for you so just use it and then give your body time to get better.
I was recently diagnosed with scabies. The doctor prescribed me the permethrin cream 5%w/w.. I’ve applied it several times before I sleep. And I just stopped applying today. I called to tell me doctor that it still itches. So I made an appointment with my dermatologist. It has been a good 2 weeks now. Am I suppose to wait longer?
My body looks so gross now. It’s covered in red patches, and I can only hope that the reason I’m still itching is because of the allergic reaction.
And yes, it can spread on your face..
Does anyone know if it’ll scar?