Scabies is an itchy rash caused by tiny mites that burrow under your skin. You can get scabies anytime you come in contact with the scabies mite, which comes from an infected individual or clothing that has been in contact with an infected person. Enzymes can't help treat scabies.
Scabies
The scabies rash comes from mites of the species Sarcoptes scabiei, explains MayoClinic.com. The mites bury themselves in your skin and lay eggs. The mite's presence causes activation of your immune system, which responds to the invader in a number of ways. Immune cells release histamine and other inflammatory compounds, leading to a severe itching sensation as well as redness. The scabies mites readily spread from one infected person to another, and if you live with someone with scabies, you'll likely get them as well.
Enzymes
Your body cells rely upon many different enzymes to help regulate and speed chemical reactions in the body, explain Drs. Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham in their book, "Biochemistry." Enzymes are also popular as dietary supplements, but in most cases, they're of little to no utility. This is because true enzyme deficiencies are quite rare, and enzymes won't help you if you don't have a deficiency. One important property of enzymes is that they can only participate in one kind of chemical reaction each.
Treating Scabies With Enzymes
Because of the reaction specificity of enzymes, there's little use in taking them to help relieve symptoms or cure diseases. There is no single enzyme that will help to activate the immune system, nor can enzymes themselves do anything to help rid you of a scabies infection. Furthermore, while a small subset of the population might benefit from digestive enzyme supplements, there's no evidence that you can get enzymes out of the gut and into the rest of the system, which you'd need to do in order to treat scabies.
Effective Treatments
Because scabies is a skin condition, successful treatment requires putting medication on your skin. MayoClinic.com notes that there are many medications that will kill the mites when they're applied topically. If you think you have scabies, you should see your doctor, who can examine you to verify the presence of the mites and then prescribe an appropriate topical cream. You may also need a cream to help with itching, as dead mites under the skin will continue to cause an immune response.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Scabies
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D., and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
