Scabies
Scabies is a skin condition that effects anyone, no matter what their class or ethnicity. A microscopic mite Sarcoptes Scabei burrows into the skin and does considerable damage and spreads rapidly. If you have never had scabies before, it could take up to 6 weeks for the symptoms to show!
Because prevention and / or control of spreading appears to be associated with bathing and personal hygiene, scabies is considered to be a water-related disease; however, the tick that causes scabies is not dependent on water for transmission or for any part of its life cycle.
Below are a few pictures of scabies that may help you learn more about this Mite. The picture on your left is an infection of the hand and the scabies picture to your right is of a forearm.
Symptoms of Scabies
Some common symptoms and signs of scabies infection include irritations that look like a pimple, burrows or scabies rash and commonly found on the skin between the fingers including folds of skin on the wrist, elbow, or knee and other areas.
You may also notice an intense itching, especially at night and over most of the body with which can cause sores due to scratching.
Because there is usually less than 10 mites on an infected person, detection from a scraping or biopsy may be missed.
How do I get Scabies?
You can get Scabies by skin to skin contact with a person that is already infested. Without prolonged skin contact such as a handshake, your changes of getting scabies is very low. Intimate contact, sharing of towels and bed has a very good chance of infestation.
It is a common misconception that you can get scabies from your pet. Your pet may have mange and be infected with scabies, but this type of mite will only cause itching and stay in your skin for a few days, then die. It will not spread.
Scabies Treatment
There are many lotions available for treating scabies. Always follow the directions provided by your physician or the directions on the package insert. Instructions usually include:
Make sure your body is clean and apply the lotion from the neck down to the toes and leave it for about eight hours followed by a bath or shower.
Wear only clean clothes and make sure you wash everything you have used in hot water and dry in a hot dryer. You will usually do a second treatment with the same scabies lotion a week later. If you are pregnant or treating a child, there are milder scabies medications.
Scabies is often misspelled in the form of scabes or scavies. If you have this infection, we would love some pictures of the infected area to share with our readers. We will keep your information confidential and are looking for pictures of scabies that can be viewed by all visitors - simply send us an email to jim at badspiderbites.com
Written by Jim on June 30th, 2007 with
84 comments.
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Wow,this is truly amazing. I can’t believe what scabies does to your body!
I found out today that Ihave scabies and they give you a cream to put on your whole body and aparently it goes after one treatment.
i had these horrible scabies once i also had the infection and an another rash to do with scabies my hands were swollen and i had this for 4 months and a half
ps kirra 11
wauchope
I just came back from Cancun and went to my doctor because my ‘insect bites” were multiplying and the itching was unbearable. I was diagnosed with scabies and given a cream containing 5% permethrin. I applied it from the neck to the bottom of my feet after a shower two days ago.
I am still noticing new bumps and it continues to spread. I am going to try a second treatment with the prescription cream. In the meantime, I applied 91% alcohol to the itchy bumps and applied a microwaved washcloth. I also took a superhot bath with sea salt and epsom salts. The bath helped with the itching for the night. I am basically hung over from Benadryl, disgusted at the thought of being infested with microscopic ticks, and in desperate search for an end to this nightmare!
Hey all you I was misdiagnosed and refused treatment, and then when I went to the emergency room the staff whispered that I had scabies and made silent fun of me. I was given a shot to calm down because I was so freaked out that these white things were eating holes in my skin!
Over 50 bumps and my whole body were covered in 4 months. Even worse, I was allergic to the damn things! I have now been to the emergency room 12 times and have been in the hospital for 4 to 5 days covered in antibiotic cream and prescribed 3 boxes of ivermection to date (enough for a horse!)
I am covered in scars, scabs and my kids are scarred of me. My boyfriend dumped me and wants me to move away , my kids are now living with their father and I am alone, sick, weak, and every time I clean I get re-infested with scabies.
I have never seen scabies before, where do you get this from??? or how do you get it??
Scabies is definitely the worst thing that has ever happened to me (and I fell out of a two story window broke my femur in three places). This is so bad that I would do that over again any day times two, if I could just get rid of this transmissible ectoparasite skin infection! I am pissed, really pissed because it has been 5 months and I have tried about every thing.
I read of people having scabies for years and I cant live like that. Nothing to look forward to. It’s not my life any more, it is being run by this infection and no one should have to deal with this. I can almost get rid of them then they just come back. I think I am going to move.
Does any one know the trick to get rid of scabies? Please help, I have never been so frustrated with anything!
I got scabies (Dr said it is a body/under the skin lice) when I was a kid in 5th grade from some other kid (I have to assume that since no one else in my family had it) The Dr prescribed Kwell shampoo to use as a body wash and to wash/rinse all clothes on the hot water cycle and then dried in high heat “cotton” (my Mom washed bedding and my personal clothes every day) and then to repeat the shampoo 7-10 days later. IF you can’t afford to go to the Dr then use the over the counter lice shampoo’s one of the treatments also comes as a conditioner that you could use as a lotion, just DON’T go over the specified time limit on either one. It will cause a serious rash! I TRULY hope this helps.
You mention that ‘It is a common misconception that you can get scabies from your pet.’, I have to disagree with you on this and here is why. When I was 9, my family moved into a house that was infested with scabies. I went to the doctor to figure out why I had the rashes and they had asked if there were pets in the house. The owners before us had 3 dogs that were infested with god-knows-what.
The scabies that I got from the house were the type that you get from pets and sadly, the doctor told me that the type of scabies I had gotten woudn’t go away unless I used a cream to get rid of it. So, off I went home with a big tube of cream. My whole family had to use it to get rid of the scabies and to protect anyone else from getting it.
I’m just telling my experience. Massive itching, it sucked. I had rashes everywhere, and I mean that, lol.
Yeah, whoever wrote that you can’t catch or won’t keep scabies from dogs is totally off their rocker. Before you think I’m just another idiot, first let me tell you I have 2 degrees and 3 years r.n. training. that’s only good for investigating. My EXPERIENCE weighs far greater!! I have been taking in strays for many a year and have treated ringworm to cancer.
Several months back my daughter brought home a mangy looking puppy with about 10% left of his hair. At first I thought it was ringworm (initially they look a lot alike), but after 2 weeks, dog no better. Also, both my daughter and I started breaking out. She quit messing with the dog ,but was actually harder to treat than I . Well, months of perseverance payed off. I tried the prescribed stuff, stuff I read off the net, all which knocked them back, but didn’t totally clear it up. Then I had to think. The old fashioned way is burned motor oil and sulfur.YUCK!
I bought cheap equate brand vaseline and a bottle of sulfur. I greased that mutt from one end to the other and dusted the sulfer on. I did this every other day with a bath before next treatment, and in 2 weeks I noticed improvement. You see, the vaseline smothers the mite. The sulfur protects from infection. My daughter has a 2 inch scar from scratching one spot too much. So NOBODY can tell me you can’t catch the mange from dogs. This is also true for the ringworm.
Alternating vinegar rinses with over the counter Jock itch cream will eradicate that. A lot better and quicker than the $25 dollar spray from the vet!!! Try spraying a cat with it too!
OH, I forgot one more thing. Who wrote up at the top of this page ‘ticks that causes scabies’ ????? Ticks DO NOT CAUSE SCABIES!!!! scabies is a mite. ticks cause lyme disease or perhaps rocky mountain spotted fever.
Back to my body infestation with mange mites; I had a few dozen scattered over each arm. then they invaded under the front of my bra. then down in segregated areas of my waist. then occasional ones on the hip and thighs. they had also moved up my neck, around the cheeks and a few at the ears right below the hairline. I was scared they would get in my hair which I had read would be harder to treat and perhaps may have to cut it. It’s almost to my butt!! And I scrubbed thoroughly after every time I handled the dog. Teach me to cuddle the poor thing!
I’m beside myself…I started a new job and I’m sitting there thinking they probably think I’m on heroin…. I have never thought I would be so upset about having scabies, not only am I trying to change things in my life, like people places and things and next thing you know, bammm look what’s happening! I haven’t slept well because I’m thinking I have some blood infection…whsss
There are not any articles if a person should go to work with Scabies. Can you ad some other informations about Scabies at the job site. Some guy at my job has it and I’m very nervous about it. Should I have to worry about it or not?
My 6 yr old grandson was diagnosed today…..the ER dr had thought he had hives two weeks ago and just got worse. I fought cellulitus all summer and still in therapy and the thought of something like that scared me but I haven’t touched his sores so I hope I’m okay….what do you think?
I was misdiagnosed 3 times. Thought I had scabies for over 4 months. Seriously the worst four months of my entire life. I started drinking a ton of alcohol just to be able to pass out, to go to sleep without itching the night away! This was over 4 years ago and I still have a very hard time talking about it, it really messed me up mentally! Anyway, long story short, I treated with the lotion enough times to kill a horse and come to find out (after 4 months) I had HIVES! Thats right, no scabies, ever. I was put on prednisone and the itching went away within hours! RELIEF! Go to a certified Deramatoligist!!! I feel for all of you, I really do! Make sure that you got diagnosed properly!!!
Hey, all you cringing with despair, I have been misdiagnosed myself over 10 times I suffered for over 1 1/2 years! I was refused treatments an called crazy all the while my own kids an boyfriend have seen my skin caved in and being eating alive with holes.
He had to scrape the white pearly sticky dots off my back, some embedded themselves deep into layers and I was hospitalized 9 times. I stopped eating, sleeping and being normal.
To treat the scabies, I took baths in chlorine for pools in burning hot water which helped. Ivermectin is what helped the most which is the horse mite killer, its for parasites, big ones, but I was infested with 1,000’s of them . I was covered in bed with emite lotion pored on me naked rubbed down by a nurse ( how degrading ) over 3 times and sprayed an dipped like a dog. It tool 12 Ivermectin tablets = 1 box 4 times.
I did my own research and here is what I do. Go to the nearest hot tub ! Poor extra chlorine in it and stay in for 1/2 sessions 5 x a day. You will see them crawl out of your skin dried up and 100 laying dead dried up after you lay in the sun. They look like little gold tiny raisins. I put my kids in the pools for days. They had a few climb out of them as well; pools kill them! Extra chlorine! Hot tub, Jacuzzis, make your own if you cannot get to a pool, just pour chlorine or tablets in hot water and soak for hours. Reheat the water to keep it up and make the doctor give you Ivermectin.
I am so upset at the doctors who let me get chewed up. I’m covered in holes deep pits all over my back, my legs, belly, and arms are all covered in pits and holes. They look like freckles from far away but if you look at it you can tell it looks weird, almost burned like.
Some 5 to 6 layers of skin have been eaten away in some areas. People ask if I was burned? Ya, I sure did, by the doctors who refuse to listen and take proper tests. They deny us our rights, treat us like freaks and don’t want to touch you, so they send you away, then the next doctor looks at and says that you’re nuts. What, I did this to myself?
I cannot even reach my back where I have holes an pits an big scars in a row or zig zag. I had no marks on my skin prior to this. This in my life of 42 years, I want to sue, my kids suffered, I live in a panic, and will not touch or pee in a dirty bathroom, in a mall or a public place.
I am afraid to hug kids or people or to even try on clothes. Don’t sleep in cheap hotels and make sure you bring spray such as Lysol bug killer and spray the beds down. I have lost my man and I am so gross I hide under long sleeves in summer.
I have sunburned myself 4 times so bad to peel off the dead layers of skin which looks like I’m peeling off a piece of baby Swiss cheese in some severe areas. I was re-infested 5 times because of lack of knowledge by the doctors and I knew more then they did!
So do what I did first sign of the white itchy bumps, jump in the hot chlorine pool and hot sun; if it is winter and it happens, do it indoors pools or in your own tub. Buy pool chlorine (liquid or tablet) that is safe for kids too, but be careful! I know suffer from nerve damage in my hands an arms because of too much chlorine use.
Ivermectin works and it kills them from the bugs from the inside out! They can go way deeper then any doctor knows. They don’t realize how bad they are and what they do and it takes 3 times of lotions and pills combined to get rids of a severe case.
I almost died from scabies and made me so week and sick I passed out. I am so depressed, sickly, and also got other skin infections such as fungi and staph, so get antibiotics too.
The scabs get infected from scratching in the night then germs get in. Even got my own microscope an scraped my own and they refused to look at them for fear of making them look stupid. I did take a picture an you can see one in my back (I’ll send it in).
Demand proper treatment for scabies or you will end up scarred for life and traumatized, and possible postpartum stress disorder of scabies mites. I still have nightmares , I can feel them bite me in my skin. I see white things under a microscope, a jellified thing with legs, ugly sickening, nasty dig in an eat there way out of us like we were a cocoon! Save yourself and your kids!
I’ve had scabies for 2 years, how do I get rid of them when my 18 yr old doesn’t cooperate as she doesn’t have them and she doesn’t care. My 10 yr old son and I am suffering.
Do you feel a crawling after you treat for scabies initially or is that something else? Last time I had Scabies and I felt that, I hadn’t got rid of them.
My sister was itching all over for about a year and she had a rash and her animals were loosing fur. The vet told her to treat for mange and it all went away. I told her all that time it was a mite but she wouldn’t believe me but she never does. Well, I was right.
Izabella, I hope you’re just some random internet troll who is trying to be funny, because you could KILL your children with chlorine. Chlorine is a poison and it is NOT effective in treating scabies.
Also, scabies mites do not look like tiny gold raisins to the naked eye. Scabies are microscopic; you cannot see them. They also do not go any further down the epidermis. If you really have an insect eating deep holes in your body, and this insect is something you can see, stop poisoning yourself and your children with chlorine and get an infectious disease specialist or a dermatologist to look at you.
Furthermore, Ivermectin for scabies is an off-label use, and it has not yet been proven that it helps at all.
Alright, I see a lot of people having a problem with Scabies, a lot of misinformation, and a lot of pain. I’m going to share what I found out works for me. This may look like a pain, but you will thank me when you’ve saved the $150 trip to the doctor’s EVERY TIME it comes back a week later, not to mention the $30 for the cream EVERY TIME he has to prescribe it to you. Me and my partner have found a good way to get rid of them.
1. Go to a feed store and get Ivermectin paste for horses. It’s proven safe on humans, but not pregnant or nursing women. It comes in a large feeding syringe at a 1.87% solution. All brands work. Go to a vitamin shop and pick up empty capsules. Fill the capsules with all the paste (CAREFULLY!) and then divide the number of capsules by the maximum weight of the horse it’s supposedly meant for (I’ve used two kinds… one for horses up to 1250 lbs, and one for up to 1500 lbs.) The number you get will establish the weight each capsules treat. For example, I had 13 caps filled with paste meant for a horse up to 1500 lbs. Each cap therefore treats about 115 lbs. Ivermectin is extremely LOW TOXICITY, so no overdose worries. Take 2-3 times your weight. Best to do on an empty stomach, but be careful, it has been known to make you very tired. Do this every 3-5 days. Keep the capsules refrigerated, or they risk dissolving. THIS WILL NOT WORK BY ITSELF, AS IT ONLY KILLS ADULT MITES!!! SCABIES MITES BECOME RESISTANT TO THE TREATMENT AFTER A WHILE!!! DO NOT DO THIS STEP ALONE!!! FOLLOW THE REST OF THIS OR YOU WILL BE SCREWED!
2. While at the feed store, get Permetherin for horses too. The oily solution should come to 10%, which is too high and will cause awful itching and rashes. Mix an equal amount of Permetherin with a fatty base, such as pure Vaseline (this is the most common). If you can afford it, Tea Tree Oil is ideal, because of its healing properties. Put this ALL OVER YOUR BODY once every five days. It WILL itch rashes more, but kill mites as well.
3. At a chemist or pharmacist (online is best, honestly), pick up 100% sulphur. Then, get a simple moisturizer. Mix the sulphur WELL in a 10% solution. Example: For every tablespoon of sulphur, use 10 tablespoons of moisturizer. Moisturize your whole body with this every day. Day 3 will be the worst day of your life, as the mites will have been poisoned and will be disoriented. They will burrow madly, and you will itch like never before, but they will die. Sulphur WILL dry out your skin, so this will be unpleasant too. Extra protection? Sure! Switch your current soap to sulphur soap, available at pharmacies and chemists. While you are at it, throw a tablespoon or two in your laundry wash.
Finally, what all doctors fail to mention is that the mite lives 3-5 days off of its host, and in ideal conditions, up to 22 days. OF COURSE YOU ARE GETTING IT BACK! A single female mite can bring back a whole colony. NO FUN! So, do these additional three steps to ensure total destruction.
1. Go to an outdoors outfitters and get yourself some Permetherin Clothing Spray (technically, you could mix it yourself, but the stuff in the feed store doesn’t bond well and is technically oil). This stuff bonds to fabrics for 2 weeks. Once you have it, spray EVERYTHING with it, focusing on clothes and sheets. Do your carpets, your car, your cubicle at work… EVERYTHING. Use it to clean, dammit. I suggest doing it once to twice a week to be sure of buggy annihilation.
2. The following must be done EVERY DAY: Vacuum your entire home (and car), wash your sheets on HOT, and wash the clothes you will be wearing the next day on HOT as well. What I do to minimize contagion with the next-day clothes is keep them in the dryer once they are done. Your mattress must be vacuumed too. Don’t forget the spray! For added brownie points, take it with you wherever you go.
That’s as much as I know. Do this for 2-3 months, just to be safe. Just because the itching stops, IT DOES NOT MEAN IT’S OVER! Follow this rigorously and it WILL BE OVER! THEY WILL HAVE BEEN BEATEN! You will also want to really start thinking about where you caught this thing, to avoid getting it again. Be strong, it will go. Again, this will run you some cash, but nowhere near what you would have to pay in doctor’s visits and medications, especially if they are repeated. DO NOT think yourself slick and try to raise doses or speed up the process by skipping waiting days, you will just screw yourself more.
Be strong. You will beat this.
This is not medical advice, just what works for me and you should check with your doctor to verify this solution.
My co-worker just found out she has scabbies, I am freaking out! is there a chance that i can have it to? we may have hugged. im not sure but we were definitly working closely and touching the same things.. now that i know about it I am all itchy… tell me Im over reacting!
hi,
Is there anyone out there who can really help as i have 5 children and a partner my youngest child is one yrs old. The Dr said it looks like scabies and a Dr before that said it was too, we’ve all done the treatment from the chemists but we are all still itchy!!!
Please HELP!!!
Yours hopefully
Add
i just found out that i have scabies, i had been on acutane and thought that the rashes were a result of the medicine. But i finally visited my doctor and re todl me exactly what i had. So i will send a picture. the worst sport for me was my hands, and actually my arm pits, which sucked for me because i had a dance to go to and had to find a covering yet cute dres… they gave me medicine for my entire family to use and me a cortisone shot because my symptoms were so bad. it is no fun, I am just wondering if it can be spread through hot tub use. because my family goes hot tubing together often….
Hey people,
I got infected before the summer and did not know what it was. I did extensive research. I started treatment in mid-November and after one tube of Permethrin cream I have seen vast improvements in a lot of the areas that are not my hands.
A few new burrows show up, but I treat them with the cream. Mostly I am just covered with marks from the infected areas, which in time will blend back to the natural skin color (no scars). I also bought a Sulfur based shampoo, which I soak in for about 15 minutes every other day with (2% Sulfur). Trust me, cleaning all of your stuff is not going to solve the problem, but makes you work & worry more.
I have washed all of my clothes and bedding and vacuumed. That is about all you need to do (clean your CPU keyboard too) right after you treat and maybe a few times afterwards, but do not go crazy!
Post-treatment lasts a month to two months. You are going to itch and think that you are still infected. I was paranoid; however I am finding that a lot of my post-scabies marks/rashes are from my skin being irritated.
I do not believe there are any new burrows since I began treatment. There were a few after the perm treatment (nothing compared to what it was… probably just eggs that hatched), but nothing has popped up since I started bathing in the sulfur shampoo. Just make sure you moisturize afterwards.
Another big thing during post-scabies, you will have on and off times where you feel the tingly or things that feel like bites. It is actually your body reacting to the treatment and riding the body of the dead mite and leavings.
I have no clue how I got it, but I know that it sucked. In addition, what the person said about the Sulfur is true… I never had to itch so badly in my life when the last remaining mites were dieing.
Ivermectin was going to be my last step of actions, but from what I am seeing, it will not be needed.
Good luck and do not worry.
My husband has been battling with scabies now for 2 months and nothing seems to be helping. It started on his feet and one of his feet did clear up, but the other one seems to be getting worse. Now it has moved to his groin area. He has been to the Dr. 2 or 3 times now and went through 2 tubes of the cream. The Dr. even prescribed him a pill to take and that didn’t seem to do anything either. We are at our wits end and are going to try some of the things I have read on here today. I hope one of these will work for him. This is all getting to his nerves and he is very edgy now. Of course I don’t blame him for what he is going through I would be too. But he has other health problems on top of this and it’s the last thing he really needs.
The thing that is bothering me is that he is a sanitation worker and has to go to our local landfill everyday. He has told me of the things he has to walk through there and it makes me wonder if there is anyway he could be getting this stuff from his job. We just can’t think of any other way he may have gotten it. Unless it was from a fellow employee. Does anyone think that walking in the landfill could be the cause of this awful disease? You wouldn’t believe the stuff he has to walk through. I couldn’t believe it when he told me half of the stuff. It’s the most disgusting things I have ever heard of. I knew of course a landfill wasn’t clean, but I didn’t realize that actual human waste is dumped there. And of course when it rains the men end up having to walk all through it. Disgusting isn’t it. And remember his feet is where this all started.
I was also wondering if this landfill or his work period could be the cause of it all because then he could file workers comp on this and we wouldn’t have to keep paying for this out of our pocket. This has become so expensive and still with no relief for him.
We tried the benadryl for him and he is so sensitive to things like that , well he was drowsy for a day and a half from just one pill. Buf of course he didn’t have any itching because he was too busy sleeping.
At our wits end with these scabies
Hey,
I’m wondering if someone can help me.
About a week and a half ago I was sat on my sofa and began to feel a mild tickling under the skin. Started on the soles of my feet. I have a sever rash on the toe beside my big toe, which got severly itchy that night and again for the first time since last night. Which makes me itch. Apart from that I just feel tickling. I’m terrified this is scabbies.
My boyfriend has not noticed himself itching yet.
I can’t even get an appointment at my doctors until next year. Please someone help?!
I have questions - Is it EXTREME itching in all cases? Does the rash spread? Please help me. I’m so scared I’m going to see my wee brother soon and I want to hug him and play with him I don’t want to give him this!
I feel for anyone who has to deal with scabies.
Five weeks ago, I took my 8-year-old son to the doctor, because he was itching for about 2 weeks prior. He was diagnosed with scabies. I am assuming he contracted it from his school, because no one else we knew was itching but him. His doctor was only willing to prescibe just enough of this Permethrin cream for the individuals that live in our home (my 2 sons, myself, and my husband). My 8-year-old spends the weekends at his dad’s house. The doctor wouldn’t prescribe more for his dad and his live-in girlfriend. So I was treating him here and sending him back over there. To make matters worse, my husband (his step-dad) refused to finish the treatment.
My son is still itching in various places, but not as severely as before. He still has some small white bumps on his hands; however, I don’t know if they are new ones or old ones. I am greatful to say he doesn’t have any lesions from this, but only a few pencil-point size scabs. His doctor assured me that he would only itch for about 2 weeks after treatment, but it has been 5 weeks. I am worried that he has been reinfected.
This has taken a toll on my sanity. After I was told what my son had scabies, I became extremely obsessed about it. I began checking my skin constantly. Every couple of hours I would stand in front of the bathroom mirror and inspect every inch of my body over and over. About after a week of that I thought I saw some spots and began feeling itchy, so I used what was left of the cream just to make sure. Well, a few hours after having the cream on - I started lossing some feeling in my arms and legs and I was extremely dizzy. I washed of the cream - thinking I am poisoning myself. The next few days seemed to go downhill. My coordination was off, my skin felt sort of numb, my speech was slurred slightly, and concentrating on simple tasks. I couldn’t drive my car. I felt like I was intoxicated all day long or under anesthesia.
I saw 2 doctors. One said I had vertigo and the other said I was having a severe panic attack. I was given medication for anxiety and major depression. It took 2 weeks for me to feel 90% better. I am still not 100%.
A few days ago I started feeling itchy again. I refuse to use that cream ever and I certainly don’t want to lose my mind. I know my story probably sounds insane. I just want it to go away.
Can someone tell me what to do or what to use?
Sincerely,
Annie
I have been plagued with this wonderful stuff off and on for about 7 years. I sometimes think that the medicine has bugs in it. I have scabies scars on my legs and stomach and arms, I have been alone for the same length of time. I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it.
Don’t worry if you’re itching after treatment..
its usually the dead bugs which tend to irritate your skin
you may still be itchy up to 3 weeks after treatment.
if you continue to itch then go back to your doctor..
i had scabies and it was a pain in the bum!!
got covered in scabs and scars.. but you can get rid
dont give up!!
and scabies cannot be caught by hugging but can be caught by holding hands
its also quite common in crowded living conditions. just because someone has scabies it doesn’t mean you cant touch them!
Hello my daughter and i have scabies we just finished our second treatment of the cream and she still itches but I don’t..hopefully this cream works the second time..Just wanted to know if I should wash my bedding and that again just to be safe or not..this is definitely a bad thing to have and for anyone who’s reading just try everything to make sure that this goes away….and it’s a sad thing to have emotionally i have been not feeling my best and wanting to stay inside the majority of the time because of this awful virus..
Hi everyone,
I want to spread some possible good news. I was a mental health therapist at a children’s clinic in downtown LA. There was a scabies outbreak 3 weeks ago. I did not appear to contract it. Then due to other personal circmstances, I gave notice at my job, and many of my young clients hugged me good-bye last week and I appeared to reicieve a departing gift of scabies! This was on a Friday when I first noticed the bumps. Fortunately, I had seen these bumps on clients so I was pretty sure at early onset even though I did not have terrible itching only mild itching. I did not want to spend the day at the ER on Sat, so since it was a weekend, I also did not want to wait until Monday to treat. So, I went to my local health-food/pharmacy and they recommended neem oil and products. I also researched on line–neem oil and other natural treatments for scabies. In the process I learned that tumeric and coconut oil and tea tree oil can also help, but neem seems to be the best. I also learned that saunas kill them. So the foloowing is what I did:
Sat, I bought concentrated neem oil, neem lotion, fresh tumeric and coconut oil, and tea tree shampoo. I went to a local spa for a day and first washed my whole body with tea tree shampoo. Then sat in the sauna till I could not stand it. Then I put the concentrated neem oil mixed with tumeric and neem lotion all over my body and sat for about 25 minutes. I then repeated this regieme 3 more times and also sat in the hot tub in between. Then I went home and did the wash and all that and continued to apply the neem oil through sat and sun. On Monday I went to the doctor. He said it was scabies, but I had no more new bumps, and the old ones were healing very quickly. He Rx the Per. cream, but I am choosing not to use it since it is so toxic, and it appears my home treatments killed them. And I have had practically no itching when I use th neem products!
I encourage people to read up on the treatments I suggested and try what I did. Keep posting and let us know if this works for you.
And keep positive. Having scabies does not make you a bad or dirty person!!!
Elizabeth
does anyone know where I can get the sulfur shampoo? I’ve looked on the shelves at the local CVS & Riteaid, but found nothing. Do I need to go to the Pet store to get some? Response greatly appreciated.
I had been staying with a friend for a couple weeks and noticed that I started itching. I thought it was allergies, spider bites name it. I went to e.r and was diagnosed with contact dermatitis a week after and a week ago. The meds I received caused me to be admitted into the hospital overnight. Four days later I began to research about skin conditions online. Turns out that scabies is misdiagnosed as conact dermititis frequently. I went back to e.r at 7 yesterday morning and told them I had been there and all that, and that I think I have scabies. I realised it was scabies when i saw places on my hand. No rash I know of breaks you out on the palm of your hand. The lady took me straight back and told me thats what it was and that she had had it before and told me what to buy over the counter as far as sprays for home and the doc which told me he had gotten it 3 times before wrote me out a permethrin cream. As soon as I left I went to wal mart where I bought a complete lice kit.
I came home lathered up, waited 10 minutes and washed it off, even my hair even though I didnt feel itching there.
I cleaned for 2 1/2 hours, vacumming, washing everything I had worn and slept with. I used the house spray in the lice kit on everything from rugs, to couches, to curtains clothes in the closet and even the carpet itself.
I then took a nap and when I woke I applied the rest of the lice shampoo all over my body and washed it off then applied the permethrin cream and wore it for 24 hours. I took a shower today and changed and I am itching still. I have noticed that over night I have some new bumps, but the old bumps are healing. I figured id give my skin a break today, but am going back to e.r tomorrow to see if I need pills or more cream or what.
My family has not caught this from me as of yet *knock on wood*.
I have not sit down anywhere besides one designated chair. Or slept anywhere else but my own bed. I resprayed my bed today.
I itched for about a week to 2 weeks before breaking out in pimple like bumps on my stomache thinking it was allergies…here I am 2 weeks later battling to get rid of this!! and as far as catching it from a dog goes…My friends house I stayed at…her dog had a “rash” On its inner legs…
I have had this for about 7 years. Got it from my daughter’s daycare when she was 2. Now she is 10! Anyway, I researched and diagnosed myself and went to one of the best dermatologists in Atlanta and was told I absolutely did not have scabies and was treated like I was crazy. I think he asked if I had anxiety issues… probably because I went in there all picked at and a little bruised from trying to get those nasty things.
Right. Well, over the years I will start noticing things and convince myself I have scabies - which I do and then I will do a 180 and convince myself that they are all just hair follicles. Ok now, because I know the reaction that I will get from everyone, I confide in my mom and she thinks I am doing drugs because that’s what people act like on drugs - paranoid and think there are bugs all over you. Grrrrr.
Alright so this is my story - some is graphic. If you have any insight at all, please let me know your thoughts. I know I am infested and I think it can have a profound effect on your energy level and can cause depression - because of the overwhelming infestation is draining.
I am sure you are wondering how I could have been infested for so long without really doing much about. In the beginning I was obsessed and was always in the bathroom and was hyper focused on it. Recently, I took a five day course of Amoxicillin and I noticed it altered the state of the little critters.
I have had nodule type bumps along my jawline in which I can see them hanging out in. This is really gross and I think I was just in denial and knew I couldn’t deal with the truth. I am also never bothered by itching per se and I love my bed and could sleep through a tornado. They say they rarely live on your face, well I have them and have had them on my face for a long time. They react when I put certain products on my face.
About a month ago I put a papaya enzyme mask on face and noticed all of these hard little white things surfacing. Some were fleeing for my hairline and others were moving onto my lips and into my mouth. They are always on my inner lips. I remember asking the dermatologist about them and he said they were white heads. So basically when they move onto your lips it is almost like chapped lips - very odd.
It’s different now than it’s ever been. Either the facial masks have irritated them, the amoxicillin has mutated them, or maybe the flax seed oil I started taking is making them crazy. Anyway, now I am going crazy.
Over the years they have moved into all of my scars on my feet, legs, wrist and underarms. And of course my elbows, knees and most recently my vagina. Sorry, more on that later. They are literally on every body part in some fold or crease. Over the past few years they have made burrows in my hair line which has caused me to lose a lot of hair, which is the least of my problems.
I honestly think most of body is a burrow, seriously. It feels like certain parts of my body are kind of fake feeling, almost leathery like. Everyone who has ever dated me tells me I have the nicest skin and that it’s so soft… I do have very specific burrows that are consistent, but if I pour oil or 2.5% benzoil peroxide on them they freak out and run away. So I decided I was going to try to get rid of them off my face. That drives me crazy. I mean crazy. I never really realized they were there.
I’ll post pictures later - there is one of me today with a burrow going up my chin and then all of these leathery slightly raised little patches that are sometimes above my upper lip and along the sides of mouth. For along time I have been squeezing them and oil and stuff comes out and they go away instantly. They concentrate in between my eyebrows which make little furrows aging me 8 years. Again the least of my problems. But I squeeze the crap out of those.
To be honest, I never really thought that was scabie related, I was just beginning to think I had really strange skin. I also had a “zit” on my lower cheek, right above my jawline that would not go away - wouldn’t budge. Still there. I never had a zit like that. Right below my left eye I had a little tiny scar from when I was little.
Over the years it seems to grow, but I just realized those things have burrowed little holes and also conglomerate under my eye in the soft skin. They seem to like it there because I don’t put any harsh products there. It is gross. They also move into the corner of my eyes (inside and out) - making little holes.
So over the past 8 months or so, the left side of my face has completely altered all the way from my ear almost half way across my cheek. It looks kind of yellow/green and is filled with tons of little holes - maybe another parasite I don’t know. But my ears from the get go have been targeted and have hosted the scabies on the outside and inside. My left ear has two dark and really deep looking holes in there. Both ears are infested.
Ok - I am tired and am going to wrap this up. The most recent place I found them is down on the vagina in the outer folds of my labia on both sides they created a straight line burrow on a hairline - after they parked themselves there it felt different but I didn’t know what it was.
My ob gyn said it might be herpes, but she had never seem anything like that. Great. So one night, my bf and I were fooling around and we were using some oils. I noticed the little critters moved to the outside area and waited for things to die down. I think they were males because I kind of had to pluck them out.
Some had also inhabited an ingrown hair like 6 months ago and I cannot make it go away. I think when I got it 7 years ago, my daughter’s pediatrician prescribed the Eliminate. I guess it didn’t work. I did become a friend of lotions infused with tea tree oil. I need to get this taken care of, because I cannot take it anymore.
My mom still thinks I am on drugs. I am a very attractive girl and when I leave them alone, my face settles down aside from the little things, that I thought were zits right above my left eyebrow. Another festering bump that cannot be killed. It will sink down and disappear if I leave it along or until they come back to that particular spot.
I definitely have scabies, I see the stupid things - even when they linger around my lips and inside my lips. So gross. I am wondering if I have the animal kind since they are hanging out on my face?
So maybe I have mange? Sometimes I just want to kill myself. One more thing, last night at 3am I was dabbing the benzoil peroxide on the spots and smothering the slightly raised bumps - which would kind of melt away and anyway, all of a sudden, I had this rush and release of oil on face. It was very odd. It seems they were all coming out and oil was almost gushing. I do not have oily skin at all. Very weird.
I wish I could just go to a spa and have someone take care of me to get rid of this once and for all. I can’t take it anymore.
All I can say is Flax Oil, Flax Oil, Flax Oil is working for me! Take one 1000mg pill 3x a day and those things will leave your body so fast. And they do turn into little dried up caramel looking things when they come out of the body DEAD. I am so incredibly amazed and hopeful to have rid myself or to currently be ridding myself of these things. I do need to start an environment cleanup, but I think this Flax Oil serves as a repellant. Not completly sure, but I know they will quickly die before terrorizing my body any further. Good luck.
NOTE that I wrote the above post 24 hours ago and have already turned that corner.
Okay, i’ve got one simple question. How can i sleep?
I’ve had Scabies for weeks now, and i’m getting really sick from lack of sleep. I’m up all night itching and trying to resist itching. My treatment only intensifies the itch killing the bastards, only later to find out some how i have them once again! I NEED SLEEP. How the hell do i get sleep!?
I have had this mite over a period of years as well, I believe the biggest problem is reinfestation, by the way sulfur does work, it takes time but it does work, harder to get rid of on the scalp so I will be trying the ivermectin now that I am pretty convinced it’s safe, 15% msm lotion can be purchased at health food stores or on-line.
Now back to my problem reinfestation everything I read keeps saying that washing clothes in hot cyclesis all that’s needed, been doing it for years, it can work but it takes a lot of washings and dryings and ironings before wearing the same garment again. There is nothing to say how to remove it from shoes or items that cannot go into the washer, the dry cleaners is useless against these things, from my experience these things can live in woolens and shoes for years on end, the information also states that these mites cannot live without a host for more than 5 to 7 days, so how come everytime I get into a car that I’ve infested after a month or two or three I get it again?
My question is this what do they have to repel these things in addition to treating your skin and such? Something natural that works, I have tried the Sawyer permethrin for clothes all I got was sick as hell, this stuff has the same thing in it as Rid spray which by the way if you read the can closely it says not to use on clothing because it can be harmful which it can believe me.
Now once again the sulfur is the best thing I’ve come along to fight this for years on my skin mixing it with moisturizers and using creams with cortesteroids along with it does help with the itchy feelings, but reinfestation is the biggest problem which comes from clothing and belongings, one can get rid of it a thousand times off of their body and then become reinfested from a belt, handbag wallet, the inside of shoes, a wool coat so my question once again after thousands of dollars is how to get rid of it naturally in items that cannot be washed? Even more to the point to regain my quality of life how to repel it, there must be something that works.
I am not sure if I have scabies, I am a Teacher’s Aid at a local Continuation High School. A Student was sent home because she had scabies. I would like to know what the time frame is from coming in contact to actually seeing a rash. I broke my wrist a few months back and came back to school in December, she is a close student of mine and she gave me a hug and about a week later she was sent home. If you know this please let me know a.s.a.p. as I am freaking out right now and my kids are pretty grossed out. Let me tell you this much I won’t be hugging anybody from now on….pretty sad huh.
Yesterday I finally went to the docter. She told me scabies, she thinks! I thought it was an allergic reaction to cleaning chemicals in my home. I’ve never had anything like this before in my life! I’m a very clean person. I have been feeding this wolf and stray dog . Anyway, 4 weeks ago my husband accidentally left the garage door open and one of them got in my house.Only for a minute, but I think she might have brought them in! As soon as we got her out I started cleaning where she had gone in the house. Can dogs give you scabies? I’m scared for my three young children and the embarressment that my oldest might get from scholl if she contracts it. They don’t have symptoms, only me. How would I prevent them from getting it? I’ve had this for 3 to 4 weeks. It’s all over my body. Rough patches on my wrists. I have over a hundred on each leg. Now I have them on my stomach,back, butt,arms . Will I have little scares all over my body?
I have been misdiagnosised the first time around Thanksgiving from the ED (emergency department) doctor. I was told I had a chemical rash from the hotel’s soap. I was given Zyrtec D and some steriod cream for it.
Three weeks later I was back at the ED and saw another doctor who looked at me and said, you were here when? Thanksgiving I said. Well, he looked me over and right away told me I had “scabies” I asked him what that was. He told me and asked me when this started I told him, when I first got here to the state and was driving myself nuts during EMT school. He asked me where I stayed when I got into town, I told him a major hotel. He told me that it was so common in this college town to get this at this time of year. Oh, wonderful! He gave me the medicine to kill of the mites and told me to re-unpacked my suitcase and wash all my clothes again along with the suitcase (I just washed everything and was packed to go home). I cried, I tried to see a social worker, but the nurse at the hospital told me no.
I have been treated twice and been to the ED in two different states (one in the state of the EMT school and one in the state where I’m visiting relatives before going home). I don’t sleep at night except for a few hours and then I sit there and dig holes in my skin until I bleed again. I have tried everything over-the-counter to help stop the itching and dry up the holes, nothing is working. My body is dying. The ED doctor told me it wasn’t life or death, but my skin is so damaged now that he told me I first needed to heal my skin and then treat the mites. I need to do business and then go home to my family. I have been through hell and back with EMT school, mites, kids schooling, and our damn landlord. I can’t take it anymore. I tried to find a lawyer who would help me sue the hotel, but all of them represent the “hotel”. I’m now going to get the ACLU in on this and if I have to the government. This sucks.
I wish everyone who has this the best in getting on with your lives. I’m trying to fix all the problems we have by going from state to state and having to deal with this on top of it, is killing me. My mom is yelling at me to leave her house after seeing me itch so bad and not being able to kill them. She’s afraid she’ll get them if I stay too long to visit.
Any ideas that actually work for you and is “safe” I hope you will tell.
I heard if you like, freeze stuff that can’y be washed (like yout shoes) for like a week or so it kills them.
To Andie,
Listen,
From visiting the boards on a Topix site, many of the long timers there started using 15% sulfur lotions which you can buy from some health food stores and on-line as well and msm creams they made themselves, there is even a recipe for making it yourself, you can google that. I have been using it both ways, the sulfur creams are safe you can leave them on your body all the time, taking two baths or showers a day to get rid of dead ones, when I bath I use espom salts or some other bath salts, with a bar of sulfur soap containing 10% sulfur (which is the highest percentage I can find with soaps and washes) immersed in the tub, I also wash with the sulfur soap as wel then use another softer soap to take down the smell, you can also had a nice smelling bubble bath to the whole mix if you like, if you make your own sulfur cream or lotion and use a very moisturing cream you can get from any drug store, the sulfur will be less drying to your skin, it will take up to a week to notice the difference but you definitely will, also I read that taking the sulfur capsules internally along with using it externally helps to battle them from the inside out, now that takes care of the body, the other problem is getting rid of it in items that cannot be washed, like woolens and such, the dry cleaners these days are useless where that is concerned, so I’m still looking for a solution for that because reinfestation is a huge problem and I don’t care what the experts say these things can live without a host for eternity. (just my personal experience)
Washables are a little better you can wash and dry them in very high temperatures in plenty of borax and regular detergent, using bleach in the items that you can, then bag them for a few weeks, take them out and do it again without wearing them if you can, I personally have been doing this then ironing them on the highest setting the iron has allowing the iron to just sit on each area for up to five minutes at a time, then bagging them, then washing again without wearing and ironing again, it’s alot of work but it has helped tremendously with the washables, mattresses and pillows should be covered in plastic which helps with cutting down on reinfestations, until I get it from something again and the whole vicious cycle starts back up. Ususally from shoes, woolens and heavier garments, leather gloves etc. also wallets and pocketsbooks, laptops and other things you carry, even jewelry that’s worn daily must be treated as well.
Here is what I found on how to make MSM cream at home to help with Scabies; thought I would share this with everyone (I have not tried it, but plan on doing so).
To help stop the itching and pain brought on by Scabies, you can mix MSM with eucalyptus and camphor. This mixture of MSM cream is said to also help moisturize and soothe dry and cracked skin.
You’ll Need the following items:
4 oz. emu oil
1.5 oz. avocado oil
3 oz. beeswax
1 oz. stearic acid
1/2 oz. menthol crystals
2 cups water
1/4 oz. citric acid
1 oz. eucalyptus essential oil
1/2oz. lavender essential oil
1 oz. camphor essential oil
1/2 oz. capsicum powder
3 oz. MSM powder
Sterile container
Place the emu oil, avocado oil, beeswax and stearic acid in a saucepan over medium heat for two minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the menthol crystals and stir until the crystals are dissolved.
Place the water in a glass bowl and stir in the citric acid. Stir in the menthol crystal mixture and blend it completely with a hand mixer or blender. Add the essential oils and continue to mix until they are blended.
Blend in the capsicum powder and then mix in the MSM powder. Allow it to cool and thicken. If it isn’t thick enough, add a little more melted beeswax.
Pour the cooled MSM cream into a sterile container. Feel free to share this MSM cream recipe with others.
Good luck!
Marci
My grandson was diagnosed with scabies last night at the ER. I told My daughter and Husband the rash looked like the scabies this was three weeks ago. I told my daughter then to take the baby to the doctor or ER and find out if this was what he had. At first I thought it was a reaction to the laundry powder I was using, but we didn’t start itching until weeks later. The itching is worse at night. as I have horses I am very familiar with Ivermectin which is a broad spectrum Wormer. The only burrowing parasite it will kill is the bot larve. On this site several persons say they have ingested it to kill the scabie mite I have never know it to kill mites on horses at all even mange mites which is close to the scabie mite. I will be trying the sulfer soap and shampoo and I will be bleaching the walls and floors of my house. I will also spray the entire house down with a permethin. spray purchased for my horses from my local feed store. I will be taking some of the advice on this site until I see my doctor at the VA clinic. Thank you
Have eliminated scabies in the past, sometimes starting with the usual Rx cream, then daily dosings of apple cider vinegar with red pepper,(spread head to toe), also neem oil. Have heard turmeric is good, and add that sometimes.. takes a few weeks of diligent treatment, for all itching and rash to clear up. Recently saw and felt the familiar rash (maybe got it at the gym?), and tried tea tree oil for the first time; worked better than anything for the itching, the rash is disapppearing. Studies show 5% is effective, I mixed it w/ abt 3 parts neem oil to be safe-(25%)( like icy/hot all over!) Always daily ironing of my sheets, and washing all clothes after one wearing. (bag up things that cant go in the wash, for a few wks or so; plastic bag)..yes, it can be quite maddening to deal with!! good luck (Also, yrs ago my son had it, as a child, treated it w/ the Rx ointment , then again a wk later, since he still had the rash, it never seemd to quit! the MD then said he had excema-lke condition from the treatment (post-scabies syndrome?)! It went away after a little while, just leaving it alone…
Question for Kirsten, in the case of the apple cider vinegar and crushed red pepper, are you drinking this or using it on your body?
the first time i had scabies was a week before christmas they went away came back in january went away again and i got them again feb 1st its kinda weird i have a doctors appointment this week
My new puppy was just diagnosed with Scabies . I had taken him three times to the vet during the past month and he was misdiagnosed with food allergies. The vet said I couldn’t get them but he was wrong! I have bumps all over and itched so badly I couldn’t stand it. I am chemically sensitive and don’t want to use chemicals so I went online and found quite a few articles on tea tree oil as a treatment. I dabbed it on the bumps and almost immediately they started to itch less. I also put on some tea tree salve over larger parts of my body and it seems to be very soothing. HAs anyone else had good succedss with this? Also I read that washing clothes with 20 mule team Borax kills ‘em.
I am using a borax/peroxide/water solution and also drinking borax and water - 1/8th of a teaspoon in a liter of water. The borax irritates my skin, but I can wash my hair with it, and I have been doing this for the past 4 days and I still feel itchy. I read on the web that post scabies is sometimes worse than the actual scabies. Apparently the dead eggs and dead mites take weeks - months - even years to come out of our skin. Sick
I plan to not take any more borax for about 3 days, have my dog bathed (just in case) and wipe everything in my house with borax. (I also filled a spray bottle with water and borax and sprayed on my couch, carpet, and mattress. Washed all of my clothes and bedding in hot water and borax, and sprayed and wiped down my car. The stearing wheel, handles, emergency break, gear shift, stereo and a/c controls. Sprayed the carpet and seats too.
(If possible - put your pillows in the dryer on high too.)
Oh - and if anyone replies to my post about Borax - I am drinking a liter a day with only 1/8th of a teaspoon and it is not harmful. Borax is the best yeast infection remedy - borax/water on a tampon inserted. It also is known to practically cure arthritis. I would have to consume 5 grams of pure boric acid to have an overdose, so it is not harmful. Scabies feed on our blood, so a little borax goes a long way. Who knows what else you may be purging from your body as well.
I plan on taking probiotics to replace any good bacteria that I may have killed. I recommend that for anyone who has taken medication internally to kill the scabies and for anyone who has taken antibiotics.
Thanks for the tip about putting shoes and items that can’t be washed in the freezer. I read that they die quickly in intense cold or hot temps. I am too scared to use the Sauna and hot tub at the local YMCA. I also read that soaking in a hot bath with baking soda and sea salt helps with the post scabie itching and helps to work them out of the skin.
Hello. I went to my naturopath who mixed me up some vaseline and sulphur powder for scabies. I had to put it on my whole body and leave on overnight three nights in a row. It worked and was not toxic to me.