Scabies

Scabies is one of the most common skin infestations, but there are many myths and misconceptions about the disease. The infection is contagious and can be uncomfortable, but being aware of the signs and symptoms can help you recognize scabies in yourself or someone else. Even if you don’t think you’re at risk of being infected, you should understand what scabies is, what causes it, and how it's treated.

Contents

• 1 What Is Scabies?
• 2 Scabies pictures
• 3 Scabies mite (sarcoptes scabiei hominis) photos
• 4 Facts
• 5 Causes
• 6 Signs and Symptoms
• 7 Diagnosis
• 8 Treatment
• 9 Complications
• 10 Prevention
• 11 FAQ

What Is Scabies?

Scabies is a skin infestation caused by human itch mites. The mites burrow into the top layer of your skin and lay eggs, which leads to itchiness and rashes. As the eggs hatch, the infestation grows, and you can spread the mites to another person through prolonged skin contact.

Scabies is also called as the "seven-year itch".

Scabies can affect people of all ages, races, and backgrounds. However, outbreaks are more common in crowded environments that have the potential for close skin contact. These environments include:

• Nursing homes
• Daycares
• Camps
• Shelters
• Military quarters
• Prisons

Fortunately, scabies is not typically dangerous. It can be uncomfortable, but medical treatment is available. The disease is usually only cause for concern in people whose immune systems are weakened. In this case, the mites could cause crusted scabies, which is a severe form of the disease that leads to thick crusts of heavily infested skin. Most people who are infected do not experience crusted scabies.

Scabies pictures

Scabies mite (sarcoptes scabiei hominis) photos

Facts

Here are some fast facts on scabies, its causes, and its treatments:

• According to the World Health Organization, scabies affects over 130 million people at any given time. Scabies can exist in any climate, but it’s most common in hot, tropical climates.
• Scabies is not classified as a sexually transmitted disease, but it commonly spreads through sexual contact.
• Scabies mites can survive for about two months on a person. Off a person, they will usually die within two or three days. They will also die if they’re exposed to a temperature greater than 122 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 10 minutes.
• Female scabies mites can lay two to three eggs per day in the skin. Eggs usually hatch within three to four days.
• Brief skin contact like a hug or a handshake rarely causes scabies to spread unless the infected person has crusted scabies. It usually takes five to 10 minutes of contact with someone with non-crusted scabies for the infestation to spread.
• Scabies symptoms often get worse at night. The first symptom that many people notice is itchiness that occurs at night and gradually develops during the daytime.
• Some people believe that scabies is a sign of poor hygiene, but this is not true. Scabies mites burrow deep enough into the skin that washing the skin will not get rid of the infestation. Anyone can come into contact with scabies mites regardless of their personal hygiene habits.

Life Cycle of Sarcoptes scabiei. Itch mites size/length. Adult male S. scabiei mites are 0.2-0,25 mm, adult female - 0.3-0.45 mm in size. Eggs are 0.1-0.15 mm in length.

Causes

Scabies is caused by microscopic mites that lay eggs in the upper layer of your skin. The rashes and itchiness associated with scabies occur as your body has an allergic reaction to the mites and eggs.

Sarcoptes scabiei, also called the itch mite, causes scabies.

The infestation spreads from person to person with prolonged skin contact, so it most commonly spreads during sex. However, there are other ways to contract scabies as well. Any close skin-to-skin contact with an infected person could lead to scabies, so people who live or work in close contact with others are at an increased risk.

Signs and Symptoms

The most noticeable sign of scabies is a bumpy, pimple-like rash that forms as the mites lay eggs in the skin. In some cases, small blisters and scales can develop on the infected skin. The most common places to develop a scabies rash include the following:

• The webbing between the fingers
• The area where the knee, wrist, or elbow bends
• The belly button
• The waist and belt line
• The lower part of the buttocks
• The pubic area

You may also be able to see small, crooked lines on your skin, which are caused by the burrowing of the mites. The lines may be gray, white, or skin-colored, and they may be slightly raised. This is less common than the rash, though, as there are typically only 10 to 15 mites on the skin at one time.

Scabies mites

Symptoms of a first-time scabies infestation can take four to six weeks to appear. For those who have been infested before, symptoms may appear within just a few days. It’s possible for an infested person to spread the disease even if their symptoms haven’t developed yet.

People with crusted scabies may not experience the same rash and itchiness as people with non-crusted scabies. Crusted scabies typically causes thick crusts or patches on the skin that may contain thousands or even millions of mites.

Diagnosis

Allergic reactions to drugs or other substances can cause a similar rash to scabies, so you shouldn’t diagnose the infestation on your own. It’s important to see your doctor for a proper diagnosis and for fast and effective treatment.

If your doctor rules out all other possible causes, they may diagnose scabies based on the appearance of your skin rashes. To give a more confident diagnosis, they may scrape off a small layer of your skin and use a microscope to look for mites, eggs, or mite excrement.

If you have any crooked, raised lines on your skin from a mite burrowing, your doctor might use a tiny needle to try to remove the mite and confirm the infestation. To find burrows, your doctor may perform an ink test, which involves placing ink on the skin, wiping it away, and looking for ink that remains inside of a burrow.

Treatment

If you have scabies, it is essential that you receive professional medical treatment to get rid of the infestation. Your symptoms may go away temporarily on their own, but they will return if you don’t get medical treatment.

Scabicides are creams or lotions that treat scabies by killing the mites and eggs. There are no over-the-counter scabicides that are approved for human use, so you’ll need a prescription from your doctor. The CDC recommends the following scabicides:

• Permethrin: a cream applied to the entire body from the neck down
• Crotamiton: a lotion applied once per day for two days; approved for adults but not for children
• Lindane: a cream applied from the neck down; only recommended when other treatments do not work
• Sulfur ointment: safe for children and adults

Your doctor or pharmacist will give you detailed instructions on how to use the scabicide, but most products require you to apply the cream or lotion from your neck all the way down to your feet. After some time, you’ll wash the scabicide off and change into clean clothes.

Instead of a scabicide cream, your doctor may recommend that you take ivermectin, an oral medication that can treat a wide variety of parasites. This is a common treatment for people with crusted scabies and for people with weakened immune systems.

If you still have a rash, itching, or other symptoms two to four weeks after your treatment, you may need an additional round of treatment. You should speak to your doctor before using more scabicide, though.

Although home remedies won’t get rid of the mites, they can help with the itchiness and discomfort. Helpful over-the-counter and home remedies include the following:

• Hydrocortisone cream
• Benadryl cream
• Aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs
• Ice packs and cool water applied to the rashes

All housemates and sexual partners of an infested person should be treated, too, even if they don’t show signs of an infestation. You can remove mites from your home by washing your bedding, clothing, and towels in hot water. You should avoid contact with items that cannot be washed for about three days, which will allow any mites to die off without reinfesting your skin. Putting small items in a sealed bag is an easy way to prevent skin contact while you wait for the mites to die.

Complications

Scabies is not typically dangerous as long as you receive treatment soon after your symptoms develop. There may be a risk of it progressing into crusted scabies, though, especially if you have a weakened immune system. People with weakened immunity may include the following:

• Young children and the elderly
• Pregnant women
• People with neurological disorders
• People who are receiving chemotherapy
• People with a condition that affects immunity, such as HIV and AIDS

Another possible complication that anyone can experience is a secondary infection caused by itching. Scratching a scabies rash can break your skin’s surface, which leaves you vulnerable to bacterial infections.

Prevention

One of the most common ways for scabies to spread is through sexual contact, so minimizing the number of sexual partners you have will lower your risk. Unfortunately, condoms and other contraceptives will not protect you from scabies. The only way to completely eliminate your risk of being infected from sexual contact is to avoid sexual contact entirely. You can greatly reduce your risk by not having sex with your partner if they have an unidentified rash.

Minimizing skin-to-skin contact with others in general will reduce your risk of scabies, too. However, it’s impossible and impractical to go through your life without ever making skin contact with another person. Therefore, it’s helpful to know the signs and symptoms of scabies, so you can get treated right away if you think you may be infected. This is especially important for people who live or work in close quarters with others.

If you’re diagnosed with scabies, you can prevent your partners or household members from being infected by carefully following your treatment protocol and by letting them know about the issue. This will also help prevent you from being reinfected by anyone you may have infected before your diagnosis and treatment.