Many people ask what scabies is. We might answer that scabies is a highly contagious health problem. It is caused by Sarcoptes scabiei that is a very small arachnid mite that leads to skin infestation. These mites are burrowed under the skin and the scabies mites are not visible to the naked eye because of their small dimensions from 0.3 to 0.45 mm. It is also known that sensitization usually begins within a month.



Being a contagious disease, scabies is a problem caused by the contact with the infected persons. It can be spread directly or indirectly. The main cause of catching scabies is skin to skin contact. Indirectly scabies may develop after sharing the clothes or any other personal things with infected persons. Even so it is well known that scabies mite survive only a limited time off the human body. The time of their survival is up to 72 hours.

Being an infection, scabies develops a few symptoms too. The most common symptom caused by scabies is the intense itching especially at night. These symptoms begin to ease after a pretty long period of more than 4 weeks. If the patient scratches the infected areas he may develop a secondary bacterial skin infection. During the infection there are chances for the occurrence of a rash in the folds of skin between the fingers or on the wrists, elbows, abdomen or genitals. In the areas where the mites are burrowed into the skin gray or black lines of 1 to 10 mm long, bumps or blisters may occur.

Treating scabies is a very complex procedure. It requires the treatment of all family members exposed to the infection in order to completely disappear. There is no home remedy for treating scabies. After a doctor's prescription creams and lotions may be used. Once the treatment is started all washable items need to be cleaned and washed in hot water. All common surfaces need to be cleaned and disinfected too. For the items that can not be washed the solution is to put them in plastic bags for about two weeks. The most common treatment for scabies is 5 % permethrin. This treatment is much more effective than lindane or crotamiton which are alternative treatments for scabies. Permethrin has to be applied on the affected areas and should be washed away after 8 hours. The alternative treatment called lindane might also help but in some cases it may lead to unwanted side effects. Lindane also has to be applied on the affected areas and has to be washed away after 12 hours and reapplied 24 hours later.