Scabies is not caused by poor hygiene as was once commonly thought by some people. The fact is that anybody can get scabies by coming into bodily contact with someone who is already infected. What are the symptoms of scabies? Scabies results in severe itching particularly in the evenings as people lie in bed under blankets for warmth. Fingers, wrists, elbows, armpits, thighs, buttocks and groins are some of the areas that scabies tend to afflict quite often. Other parts of the body are susceptible too, but these are the main ones. Mites burrow into the skin most especially the areas around the feet, hands and male genitalia. Adults don’t usually suffer from scabies above the neck, although infants and young children are known to be vulnerable to scabies in the neck and head.

An allergic reaction to the mites is what causes the intense itching, and it results in rashes and raised spots that are red in color. How do you treat scabies? Skin lotions such as permethrin, crotamiton and lindane are some of the pharmaceutical products used to treat scabies. It is advisable to see a doctor in the first instance. The lotion will have to be applied all over the body from the neck downwards. The itching doesn’t usually stop immediately, so even though the scabies has been eliminated, itching may continue for a while. People that come into close contact with an infected person need to be treated as well, This includes family members, roommates and sexual partners. The best way to prevent re-infection is to wash all clothes, underwear and bed linen with hot water and then dry them at a high temperature.

Then use a vacuum cleaner on the carpets and upholstery. Combs and brushes should also bee thoroughly washed with soap and hot water as well. How do you prevent scabies? If someone around you has scabies, makes sure that you avoid coming into bodily contact with him or her. Also regularly change your clothes and wash them thoroughly. The same thing applies to bed linen and other laundry items. Clothes and other personal items should not be shared in situations where there is a suspected case of scabies. We now know how to cure scabies.

It is also common in hostels, hospitals as well as nursing homes. Just brief skin contact with an infected person is enough to transfer scabies from one person to another. Some people think that you must have prolonged skin contact to get infected. That is not necessarily the case at all. Sharing the same bed with someone is an easy way to get infected by the scabies bug. The same applies to sexual contact of any kind. Sharing clothes, bed linen or towels is another way that scabies can be transmitted. Animals also suffer from scabies. However, the species of mite that infects animals cannot survive for long on the human body, meaning that humans are safe from animal scabies.

That particular species can only survive for a maximum of a few days on the human body. As stated earlier, skin contact with an infected person is often enough to transmit the disease. Scabies makes no distinction based on age, sex, colour, race or social standing. Anyone can suffer from scabies.

It is more prevalent, however, amongst those that live in crowded conditions, or those that have permanent contact with children or infants. After infection, it generally takes up to four weeks for the symptoms to manifest. Sometimes it could take slightly longer or slightly less – it caries from case to case. For those that have suffered a previous case of scabies, the symptoms can appear in as quickly as two days. This means that people can suffer from scabies more than once.

The most common types of symptoms associated with scabies are itching mainly in the evenings, as well as blisters and rashes. With the right medical attention, scabies can be treated very effectively. However, failure to treat it promptly could mean that the disease carries on for several weeks or even months. The main treatment for scabies involves the application of a cream or lotion to the areas affected by scabies. Experts advise that application should start from the neck and then proceed downwards. Special attention should always be paid to how to kill scabies on the elbows, knees, wrists and armpits. They are the parts of the body that are mostly afflicted by scabies.

Skin specialists often perform skin scrapings, which they place under microscope to establish the presence of the mites and their eggs. The mites can be eradicated by applying a prescription cream to the affected areas over a period of time. It is also advisable to continue the application for at least a week after the symptoms clear up. Bed linen and personal clothes will have to be washed with hot water and dried at a high temperature. There is no need to panic when scabies is identified as the cause of the skin irritation. Scabies is treatable once it is identified. Other members of the family should apply the cream just for prevention purposes. Scabies is very contagious and can be spread easily if infected people are not treated as a matter of urgency. With proper action, scabies can be eradicated. It is not a pleasant experience, though.  That is why a scabies cure is really essential.

Scabies is caused by a contagious infection from a parasite that spreads very quickly over the skin. The parasitic mites that cause scabies are almost impossible to detect without a magnifying glass. They make their home under the skin and case the skin to become very itchy and irritable.

Since they lay eggs and multiply very quickly, it is important to eliminate the mites at the earliest opportunity or else the entire body could become infected. People that are infected with scabies can be recognised by the large number of tiny red spots that cover their skin.

The red spots are actually the places where the mites make tunnels through the skin as they search for food to eat. The itching from a scabies infection is truly awful. Immediate treatment is a must.

It is also important to take adequate measures to prevent infection if any friends, work colleagues or members of the family are known to be infected. See a doctor immediately. The doctor will examine a skin sample from an afflicted part of your skin, and will be able to confirm if you are suffering from a case of scabies or not. If it is scabies, you will have to receive treatment immediately. Don’t worry about the treatment you receive. It is safe and very effective.

You will be required to apply a lotion all over your body on the infected parts of your body, as well as the uninfected parts. The problem is that the mites could already have laid eggs on the parts of the skin where the symptoms have not yet manifested. After the lotion is applied to the body, it is important to ensure that it remains on the infected areas for a few hours at least. This will ensure that the parasitic mites are killed off quickly. Certain types of lotion have to be washed off after twelve hours or so.

It will take several applications of the cream before the mites all go away. The treatment must then be continued for a few more days to prevent the scabies from reappearing. Wash all your clothes and bedding thoroughly at 50 degrees Celsius, because the mites would have transferred to them from your body when you were infected. After five days, most of the mites in the clothes and bedding will die of starvation, but it is still important to wash all the items in hot water.

The itchiness will not disappear immediately, though and the skin will still be itchy for up to three weeks. The treatment for scabies is very effective, and the lotion will kill all the mites used. However, if the skin is left untreated for too long, you will end up with literally thousands of these nasty mites in your skin. In such cases, stronger treatment is needed to completely eliminate the parasites. That is why it is crucial to see a doctor as soon as you notice the red spots, and get them to start your scabies treatments immediately.

The symptoms of scabies are not very different from that of other skin disorders such as dermatitis, eczema and chicken pox. When more conclusive signs of scabies are absent, it makes it very difficult for doctors to accurately determine if a patient is suffering from scabies or a different affliction. This makes it very difficult for the right diagnosis and treatment to be made. This very often results in delayed medical intervention by the doctors when a patient is suffering from scabies.

It is quite common for other complications to develop in addition to scabies. These complications include bacterial infections, crusting and scaling of the skin, and arise as a result of the inability to correctly diagnose scabies as the underlying problem.

The parts of the body most affected by scabies are the feet, toes, ankles, hands, wrists, fingers, knees, elbows and armpits. The chest, lower abdomen as well as the nipples and genitals are also commonly afflicted.

It is uncommon to have scabies rashes above the neck. The reason for this is that the parasitic mites much prefer to remain in the unexposed parts of the body i.e. those covered by clothes. However, it is known that young children, elderly people and those with poor immune systems could also have scabies rashes develop on their scalps. The rash is much worse in infants and young children, and is often associated with pruritus and an intense itch

The scabies rash is a persistent one and if not managed properly, can be very difficult to treat. The rash usually appears before the other scabies symptoms, and annoyingly is often the last to disappear. The rash tends to linger for weeks after the mite infestation has been eradicated.

Ointments such as hydrocortisone and antihistamine aid in the treatment of the scabies rash. They can provide relief for a short while, but will not get rid of the rash completely. Severe rashes can be managed with analgesic creams, and for longer lasting relief sufferers can ingest oral analgesics.

Alcohol based creams and lotions are very popular for treating scabies rashes. Unfortunately, these alcohol-based products can actually be responsible for aggravating the rash. This results in the itch intensifying, and a greater feeling of soreness and discomfort. Try and stay away from alcohol based products so that you do not experience problems similar to those just mentioned above.  Remember that it is important to get a treatment for scabies as soon as possible.