Scabies
Overview
Scabies is an itchy skin rash caused by a tiny burrowing mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. Intense itching occurs in the area where the mite burrows. The need to scratch may be stronger at night.
Scabies is contagious and can spread quickly through close person-to-person contact in a family, child care group, school class, nursing home or prison. Because scabies spreads so easily, health care providers often recommend treating the entire family or any close contacts.
Scabies is easily treated. Medicated skin creams or pills kill the mites that cause scabies and their eggs. But itching may not stop for many weeks after treatment.
Symptoms
Scabies symptoms include:
- Itching, often severe and usually worse at night
- Thin, wavy tunnels made up of tiny blisters or bumps on the skin
Scabies is often found in the skin folds. But scabies can appear on many parts of the body. In adults and older children, scabies is most often found:
- Between the fingers and toes
- In the armpits
- Around the waist
- Along the insides of the wrists
- On the inner elbows
- On the soles of the feet
- On the chest
- Around the nipples
- Around the belly button
- Around the genitals
- In the groin area
- On the buttocks
In infants and young children, common sites of scabies usually include the:
- Fingers
- Face, scalp and neck
- Palms of the hands
- Soles of the feet
If you've had scabies before, symptoms may start within a few days of exposure. If you've never had scabies, it can take as long as six weeks for symptoms to start. You can still spread scabies even if you don't have any symptoms yet.
Risk factors
Scabies is a common condition found worldwide. It can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact. Scabies can spread easily under crowded conditions where close body and skin contact is frequent.
Places where scabies outbreaks more commonly occur include:
- Nursing homes
- Extended care facilities
- Detention facilities including jails and prisons
- Childcare facilities
How it spreads
You can get scabies by
- Direct, extended, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies or
- Less commonly, sharing clothing, towels, or bedding used by an infected person.
- Homeless shelters or encampments.
Prevention
When a person is infested with scabies mites the first time, symptoms typically take 4 – 8 weeks to develop. However, a person with an infestation can transmit scabies even if they do not have symptoms.
To prevent scabies, avoid direct skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies. Avoid sharing items such as clothing or bedding used by a person who has scabies.
Control
To control the spread of scabies, treat all household members and close contacts at the same time as the person with scabies. This should help to prevent possible re-exposure and reinfestation. Wash all clothing, towels, and bedding used next to the skin during the three days before starting treatment. Items should be machine washed using hot water (temperatures in excess of 50°C or 122°F for 10 minutes will kill mites and eggs), dried on the hot cycle, or dry-cleaned. Seal items you can't wash or dry-clean in a closed plastic bag for several days to a week. Scabies mites generally do not survive more than two to three days away from human skin. Children and adults can usually return to childcare, school, or work the day after treatment.
Diagnosis
Your healthcare professional can sometimes diagnose scabies based on physical exam findings and history but will likely try to confirm scabies by finding the mite, mite eggs, or feces (scybala). They may scrape your skin or use the tip of a needle to carefully remove the mite from the end of its burrow. The sample is examined under a microscope to confirm scabies.
A person can still have scabies even if mites, eggs, or feces are not found. Fewer than 10 – 15 mites may be present on an infected person who is otherwise healthy.
Treatment and recovery
The first time a person gets scabies they usually have no symptoms at the beginning. Symptoms can take four to eight weeks to develop after infestation; however, people can still spread scabies during this time.
If you suspect you have scabies, seek medical attention. Your healthcare professional can prescribe a cream, lotion, or pill that kills scabies mites.
To prevent the spread of scabies
- Treat other household members with whom you have had direct skin contact or have shared a bed, towels, or clothing at the same time.
- Wash bedding, clothing, and towels in hot water and dry in a hot dryer. Temperatures in excess of 50°C or 122°F for 10 minutes will kill mites and eggs.
- Dry-clean items that can’t be washed or seal them in a closed plastic bag for at least 72 hours to a week.
- Avoid skin-to-skin contact with others until treatment is complete.
- Notify people you had direct skin-to-skin contact with during the previous two months and encourage them to seek treatment.
Scabies mites generally do not survive more than two to three days away from human skin.
Products used to treat scabies (scabicides) kill scabies mites; some also kill mite eggs. Scabicides require a doctor's prescription. No non-prescription products have been tested and approved to treat scabies. Carefully follow the instructions contained in the box or on the label. Scabicide lotion or cream should be applied to all areas of the body from the neck down to the feet and toes. For infants and children, the lotion or cream should be applied to their entire head and neck as well as the rest of the body. Only permethrin or sulfur ointment may be used in infants. The lotion or cream should be applied to a clean body and left on for the recommended time before washing it off.
The itching of scabies is due to a hypersensitivity reaction (allergy) to mites and their feces, so itching may continue for several weeks after treatment even if all the mites and eggs are killed. However, if itching still is present two to four weeks after treatment or if new burrows or pimple-like rash appear, retreatment may be necessary.
SOURCES: MAYO CLINIC, CDC,NHS,NICE
Αυτές οι πληροφορίες προορίζονται για γενική ενημέρωση του κοινού και σε καμία περίπτωση δεν μπορούν να αντικαταστήσουν την συμβουλή ιατρού ή άλλου αρμόδιου επαγγελματία υγείας .
This information is intended as a general guide only and not to provide specific information for individual patient care. Any questions about your own situation should be directed to your medical practitioner.
Pediamed,Pediamed4u,Pedialine,Dr.Nikos Konnaris
