Scabies ... Survival guide!

Scabies ... Survival guide!

Warning: the information presented here was made available at the hope it will be useful but without any warranty of any kind it is always recommended to consult a doctor if u can.

author is not responsible for any health damage or death caused directly or indirectly by following the tips presented in this article

What are scabies?

• scabies are some kind of mites that live underneath skin, causing rash
• scabies are very tiny insects that usually can not be seen by naked eye
• scabies do not go away without medication, but its treatment is very easy
• scabies are highly contagious and that's what is really bad about it

How do I know I am infected?

• The most common symptom of scabies is an intense itch (especially at night) and a rash that affects a great deal of the body.
• Its very common to see rashes on wrist (like in top picture)
• Even though it might look like insect bites at the beginning, u can tell its scabies when it doesn't fad away within few days

I have Scabies, what do I do now?

To recover from scabies infection you need to both treat your body (or more precisely your skin) and also everything you came in touch with
I will describe how in the next questions

How do I treat my skin?

• Most effective treatment is permethrin 5%, here in Egypt it is sold under the name "Ectomethrin 5 ointment".
• Best time for treatment is before sleeping
• Cover your whole body (starting from your neck and down to your feet toes)
• If you can make your AC a little bit colder that would be better since permethrin perform better in colder temperature (but if you can't still it will be ok)
• Even though most articles say scabies don't infect the area above your neck (head and scalp) I say be safe and put some in your head too
• Treatment is usually done only once, u should start getting better from next day after treatment
• sun light can neutralize the effect of  permethrin, stay away from the sun light during treatment (or have the treatment before sleeping time)
• if you are in a place that doesn't offer any kind of medication, a very hot water on the skin can kill the mites (and hurt you) that may help a little but its neither practical nor very efficient

I came in contact with (touched) some people, but they are OK

If someone has been infected for the first time, he may not has any symptoms for 2-6 weeks so really if u had direct contact with someone he also must do same treatment described above even if he looks fine

 How do I make sure my home is scabies free?

• Good news is, Scabies mites can't survive without a human host for 24 to 36 hours (source wikipedia ) so simply leaving a room closed for two days makes it scabies free
• Clean your cloths/bedding with hot water
• The sun is deadly for mites (esp. the sun of Egypt in the summer) leave anything infected in the direct sun light for couple of hours and all mites will die

I took the medication but still having rash and itching

The itching from scabies is actually an allergic reaction to the mites and their excrement, so itching may continue even after the mites are destroyed. If you are still suffering symptoms 2-3 weeks after treatment, you may need to be treated a second time.

Then, how do I know I have recovered?

In my case my skin returned back to its normal state after 3 days but as u saw in previous question this might not always be the case
So I can't give u definite answer to this question, but based on the information I gathered I would say if rash still increases at night then probably u r still infected (or re-infected)

I have just touched someone who has scabies

Always be safe and do the treatment described above, mites can walk on the skin and move from one part to another quickly
Soap, Ditol, water are all ineffective

Further reading

http://www.scribd.com/doc/59906567/How-to-Get-Rid-of-Scabies