Scabies
What are scabies?
Scabies is a contagious skin disease
caused by a mite (sarcoptes scabiei)
which is becoming increasingly
common for reasons which are
unknown. Scabies spreads from person
to person usually by close skin to
skin contact or shared clothing or
bed linen but it is now accepted
that mites can pass by just standing
close to the infected person. Mites
are 0.1mm in diameter. The mite is
disk-shaped, and pearly-white in
colour with brown legs.
Causes
Scabies is transferred when
fertilised female mites gnaw their
way through the skin and create
little passage ways in the process.
In these passage ways, they lay
their eggs and die. Approximately
three weeks later the eggs hatch and
a new generation of itch mites are
ready to reproduce. It will also
take about three weeks from the time
of infection before the itch starts.
It will make the victim scratch the
skin day and night and can cause
bleeding. Scabies is highly
contagious - if you have close
contact with a person infested with
the scabies mite, your chances of
catching it are fairly high. Crowded
living conditions, close body
contact - for instance, sleeping in
the same bed - even holding hands
for a while, can easily allow the
mite to spread from one person to
another.
Symptoms
The mite burrows into the skin,
especially around the hands, feet,
male genitalia, women`s nipples and
arm pits. It does not usually affect
the neck and head, although it may
in infants.
The itching is due to an allergic
reaction to the tiny mites, and is
associated with a rash of red,
raised spots. The itch is worse at
night, and may often affect more
than one family member.
Diagnosis
If only one member of the family has
a rash a diagnosis can often be
missed as the scabie rash can look
like other itchy conditions eg
eczema. Diagnosis is often made
clearer if more than one family
member has an itchy rash. Sometimes
burrows can be seen, especially near
to the wrists.
Treatment
The treatment for scabies is simple
and efficient. The medication can be
bought without a prescription.
Permethrin. Is one
of the best treatments to use in
view of its relative safety, ease of
application, and as it tends not to
irritate the skin. A one-time
application of permethrin (Nix®)
cream or lotion to the skin cures
scabies over 90% of the time.
Sometimes a second application will
be needed after a week. The whole
body has to be cleaned (with warm
water, not hot) and covered with the
cream. Clean clothes should be put
on during treatment - 12 to 14 hours
- and then again after the cream has
been washed off.
Benzyl benzoate emulsion.
This is washed off after twenty four
hours, and repeated two or three
times. In infants or young children
it is wise to dilute in two or three
times as much water, as this helps
reduce skin irritation.
Derbac. This is
washed off after twenty four hours
and should be repeated 7-10 days
later.
When treating the problem the whole
household and people that come in
contact with the infected person
should be treated at the same time
and all beding, towels and clothing
that has been worn should be washed
immediately. If your child gets
infected with scabies there is no
reason why you should keep him/her
off school once you have treated the
problem. The mites die as soon as
treated and can not be passed on.
But you should let the schoool know
that your child has scabies as soon
as the diagnosis has been made.
Get special instructions from your
doctor or pharmacist about how much
cream infants or young children
need. A small amount of permethrin
can be absorbed through the skin,
and might come out in breast milk.
If you're pregnant or nursing, talk
to your doctor about an alternative
treatment.
