Scabies

GENERAL INFORMATION:

What is it?

• Scabies (skay-bees) is a skin infection. This infection may affect the skin between the fingers and under the breasts and arms. Or the hands, wrists, elbows, or belt line may also be affected by scabies. Areas of the body with skin folds is another common area for scabies to be present. These areas are usually under the breasts or arms, near the genitals, and on the buttocks (rear end). Scabies is more common in school-age children.
• Scabies is spread by touching the skin of an infected person, such as a sex or sleeping partner. With medicine the infection is usually gone in 1 to 2 weeks. You may have itching for 3 to 4 weeks after finishing your treatment. Scabies sometimes returns and you will need to have more treatment.

Causes: Scabies is caused by an insect (bug) called a mite. The mite gets under your skin and lays eggs. Eggs become adult mites in 10 to 14 days. The mites are hard to see with the naked eye. A magnifying glass is needed to see the mites easily.

Signs and Symptoms: The mite burrows (digs) under the top layer of the skin. Areas of your skin may look like a dark brown or black colored thin wavy thread. Itching is the most common scabies symptom. The itching may be severe and is usually worse at night. You may also have blisters on your skin which could be pus-filled if infected. Scratching the blisters spreads the insects and their eggs. It can also cause the blisters to break easily and scar the skin.

Care: You will need to put medicine on the infected skin to kill the mites. You may also need to take antibiotic (an-ti-bi-ah-tik) medicine by mouth if the blisters are infected. Caregivers may give you medicine to help the itching. Do not share towels, bedding, or clothing with others. Even though they may not have symptoms, family members or close contacts should also be treated.

CARE AGREEMENT:

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

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