Category: 6. Scabies

A scabies infestation can lead to complications when secondary infections develop. The nonstop scratching can result in open sores that can get infected with bacteria, often staph (Staphylococci) or sometimes strep (Streptococci), causing another skin infection called impetigo. While impetigo usually isn’t dangerous, if it’s not controlled with antibiotics, it can lead to serious complications. If bacteria enters the bloodstream, it can result…

According to a report published in November 2017 in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, experimental research is underway to develop a vaccine to prevent scabies, though it would likely take years before it would be available. There is currently no surefire way to avoid getting scabies, other than to avoid close contact with an infested person and certain…

Successful treatment of scabies means eradicating the mites. This involves using a medication known as a scabicide. While some over-the-counter creams and products can help reduce or alleviate symptoms like itching, they won’t kill mites. Scabicides are currently only available by prescription. Medication Options For common, noncrusted scabies, patients may be prescribed a topical medication. Permethrin cream (Elimite) is…

Scabies subsides once the mites have been killed. Once treatment starts, this typically takes a week. After treatment, even if all the mites have been eradicated, you may have residual itching for up to a few weeks. If the itching lasts more than two to four weeks, or if you notice new burrows or the…

Scabies is contagious, and it’s usually spread by having direct, prolonged skin-to-skin contact with an affected person. The exposure generally has to be sustained: As the CDC notes, a handshake or hug typically doesn’t spread the mites, but holding hands for 5 or 10 minutes can. (The exception is crusted scabies, where even very brief…

Not everyone infested with mites has a scabies rash, but many people do. The rash consists of small, red bumps that may look similar to pimples or small insect bites, and the bumps are often in a line. These aren’t “scabies bites” so much as an allergic reaction the skin has to the presence of the mites.…

Scabies typically causes intense itching, which can be worse at night and potentially so persistent that it keeps you from sleeping. This itching is the earliest and most common symptom of scabies. Scabies can occur anywhere on the body, but the mites tend to prefer certain areas, including: the hands (especially in the skin between fingers and…

Scabies is caused by the human itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei), a tiny, eight-legged parasite that burrows into the upper layer of the skin in order to feed and live. Female mites also lay eggs here. (1) When this happens, the skin often breaks out into an itchy, pimple-like rash in an allergic reaction to the mites, their eggs,…