Consumer Information

Scabies

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is it?

Scabies mites are tiny bugs that burrow (dig tunnels), lay eggs, and live underneath the skin. These mites bite your skin and feed on blood, causing a skin disease called scabies. Mite bites leave small raised bumps on the skin. These bites may be confused with a poison ivy rash or eczema (EGGS-zih-ma). Mites may also leave uneven thread-like burrow (BUR-o) marks on your skin.
Most people do not know they have scabies until a few weeks after mites are under the skin. Since people may not have symptoms until later, everyone who is close to a person with scabies should be treated. The first sign of scabies is usually very bad itching. Scabies does not go away without treatment. Treatment for scabies is a skin medicine that poisons and kills the scabies mites. Scabies mites are too tiny to be seen on your body.

What causes scabies? Scabies is spread by having close contact with the body of or items used by a person with scabies. This includes having sex with a person, sleeping in the same bed, or sharing towels or clothing. Scabies spreads quickly and must be treated as soon as it is found.

What are the signs and symptoms?

Bad itching that is usually worse at night.
Red, raised bumps or a rash.
Burrow marks. These look like short, wavy gray or white lines on the skin.

Bites and burrows may be found in between and on the sides of fingers, on wrists, ankles, and elbows. They may be found on the groin where the legs meet the belly. They may be found under the breasts or around the nipples, on your armpits, belly button, or waist.

How is scabies diagnosed? Scabies is diagnosed by a caregiver. Your caregiver will put mineral oil on your skin and scrape across it with a tiny blade. The skin scraping will be checked for eggs, mites, or their droppings under a microscope (MY-crow-scope). Sometimes caregivers do not find signs of mites from scraping, but may treat you for scabies anyway.

How do I treat scabies? There is more than one medicine that may be used to treat scabies. Ask your caregiver to help you choose scabies medicine for yourself, your child, or other people. Always read and follow directions from your caregiver for scabies medicines carefully. Your caregiver may tell you to rub a thin layer of scabies-killing medicine onto your entire body from the neck down. For babies and toddlers, you may also be told to rub the medicine on the scalp (head). Take a shower to wash all medicine from the skin after the scabies treatment is over. Put clean clothes on yourself or your child after you have rinsed the medicine off. You may need another scabies treatment in about 7 to 10 days if you continue to have symptoms.

What can I do about the itching? Your skin may continue to itch for a few weeks even after the scabies mites are gone. Ask your caregiver what medicine you may use for the itching. Trim the fingernails of your family members, especially your children. If some of the mites are still alive after the scabies treatment, scratching can spread them. Put mittens on small children to keep them from scratching too much. You may get a skin infection (in-FECK-shun) from scratching the bites.

How do I keep from spreading scabies?

Treat all family members with scabies medicine. Tell all sex partners and anyone who has shared your clothing or bed for the past month about the scabies. Tell them to use a scabies medicine even if they have no itching, rash, or burrow marks.
Wash all items that you have used since 3 days before you learned about your scabies. Use hot water to wash all clothing, bedding, and towels. Dry these things for at least 20 minutes on the hot cycle of a dryer. Dry clean items that cannot be washed in a washing machine. You can hang these items outside for 3 days. You may also put them into a closed plastic bag for 1 week.
Do not have close body contact with anyone until the scabies mites are gone.

Call your caregiver if:

The bites become pus-filled or crusty. This could mean the bite areas are infected.
The itching gets worse after the scabies treatment. Also, if you have new bite or burrow marks after your scabies-killing treatment.
You have any problems that may be caused by the medicine you are taking.

Seek care immediately if:

You become dizzy, feel sick, or vomit (throw up) after the scabies treatment.
You have a seizure (shaking and spasms that you cannot control) after the scabies treatment.

CARE AGREEMENT:

You have the right to help plan your care. To help with this plan, you must learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. You can then discuss treatment options with your caregivers. Work with them to decide what care may be used to treat you. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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