Scabies – What is it, Symptoms and Treatments

Symptoms can affect a large part of the body or only certain areas, such as the wrists, the skin between the fingers or around the waist. Children are often more susceptible to head infections. The itching tends to get worse at night. When scratching, the skin can be injured exposing it to additional bacterial infections.

Scabies is caused by an infection of the female mite Sarcoptes scabei . The mites infiltrate the skin and live there and lay their eggs. The symptoms of scabies are due to an allergic reaction to mites. Most of the time, only about ten to fifteen mites are related to an infection . The disease can be transmitted through objects, but is most often transmitted by direct contact with infected skin, with an increased risk if prolonged contact is normal in sexual intercourse.

The contagion of the disease can occur even when the person has not yet developed any symptoms. In overcrowded housing, such as childcare facilities, institutions or prisons, there is a greater risk of spreading the disease. Areas with poor access to water have a higher rate of correlation with infection.

Crusted scabies is the most serious form of the disease. It is usually associated with immunosuppression, which can give rise to millions of mites, which intensifies the risk of contagious. In these cases, the infection can spread through brief contact with the person or through contaminated objects. The mite is very small and usually not directly visible. The diagnosis is made based on the signs and symptoms.

Causes of scabies:  Infection by the parasite that causes scabies happens through intimate contact between people or even through clothing. Scabies is caused by a tiny mite that can only be seen under a microscope: Sarcoptes scabiei. This parasite feeds on keratin, a protein that makes up the surface layer of the skin .

After mating, the female lays her eggs (six on average), which hatch two weeks later. From there, the lesions can spread to other parts of the group from touch – mainly because one of the most common places for lesions to appear is between the fingers. The hands are, in fact, the main means of transport for the parasite. The characteristic itching of scabies is the result of an allergic reaction of the body to the presence of mites.

Scabies can also affect dogs and cats, but these are usually only affected by specific species of mites. Humans can even contract Scabies caused by mites typical of dogs and cats, but only temporarily, because the mites have a preference for a specific type of host. In this way, they do not survive far from the “perfect host”.

Scabies Symptoms:  The main signs and symptoms of Scabies  are:

• Itching, often severe and usually worse at night
• Presence of papules, which are skin lesions that arise mainly in skin folds , especially between the fingers, in the armpits, around the waist, on the wrists, elbows, soles of the feet, buttocks and knees.
• In men, these lesions are also common in the genital region  , and in women, they often appear on the breasts as well. In the case of children, the most common sites of infestation include the scalp, face, neck, palms and soles of the feet.

Scabies Treatment:  It is very easy to get Scabies . If you have close contact with an infected person, it doesn’t take much for the contagion to happen. However, in the same way that scabies is easy to catch, it is also easy to treat. The treatment for scabies is basically done through drugs that have as main objective to end the infestation by the parasite. Some dermatologically tested creams and lotions may also be recommended by doctors.

The patient usually applies the drug over the body for a few hours. This is usually enough to eradicate the skin disease . Consult a doctor if the drugs do not work or if, even with the use of them, new lesions appear in the body. The doctor, by the way, may recommend the use of these drugs not only for the person diagnosed with scabies , but also for all the people closest to him, even if they do not have injuries.

Only a doctor can tell you which drug is most suitable for you, as well as the correct dosage and duration of treatment. Always follow your doctor’s instructions to the letter and never self-medicate. Do not stop using the drug without consulting a doctor first, and if you take it more than once or in much larger amounts than prescribed, follow the instructions on the package insert.

Scabies Prevention:  The only way to avoid getting scabies is to avoid direct and/or intimate contact with a person infected with the causative parasite.