In the not too distant past, Scabies was known to afflict a large number of people. Fortunately, things have changed for the better with people being more aware of hygienic conditions around them. This has resulted in a welcome decline in the number of scabies cases. Scabies hasn’t been completely wiped out yet, but a lot of progress has being made in that respect.

Scabies is actually caused by Sarcoptes scabiei, which is a tiny mite with eight legs. You will not be able to detect the mite without the aid of a microscope.

The mites are generally attracted by the heat and smell generated by the human body. As soon as they gets into the skin they burrow all the way to the bottom of the skin’s surface. The next thing they do is to create tunnels, which serve as their habitat. The female mites will then lay eggs inside the skin and before long a whole colony of mites spreads all across the skin. Careful observation of the skin can actually reveal the tiny tunnels created by the mites. It takes a few weeks for the incubation period, and it is only after this that the symptoms of scabies appear on the body.

Unfortunately, anybody with scabies is contagious immediately after infection and well before manifestation of the symptoms.

Generally, the scabies mites have a penchant for the hands and feet, and in most cases these are the two parts of the body where the symptoms will first manifest. So how does scabies spread from person to person? Something as simple as touching someone who is infected by scabies can result in infection, so it is very important to be vigilant and careful.

Fortunately, jumping is beyond the ability of mites, so staying in close proximity to an infected person will not result in infection, as long as there is no bodily contact. Sharing clothes, though, can and will result in infection. The mites in clothes will survive for up to five days before they perish from lack of food.

Scabies is transferred from one part of the body to another when you touch an infected part first and then touch an uninfected part immediately after.

Pets such as cats and dogs also suffer from scabies. However the species of mites that afflicts animals is quite different from the ones that cause scabies in humans. These ones are unable to survive for very long on the human skin.

Symptoms start to appear after the incubation period. The symptoms are in the form of pimple sized small irritations that are very itchy and cover all the parts of the body that are infected.

The itching worsens with time because the mites multiply in number very quickly, and before very long an untreated person could literally have thousands of mites crawling all over his or her skin. It is therefore important to see a doctor as soon as the first symptoms appear, or get hold of home remedies for scabies.

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.