5 Things You Need to Know About Scabies

1. Scabies: Mites Living Under Your Skin

Scabies occurs when a mite, called an itch mite, or Sarcoptes scabiei, burrows under the top layer of skin on humans. The mites then lay their eggs under the skin. These tiny parasites are only 1/3 millimeter long and have eight legs. Itch mites are invisible to the human eye; you need a microscope or a magnifying glass to see them. In most cases, mites only live for 24 to 36 hours on a human body.

2. How You Get Scabies

Scabies is highly contagious. It spreads through activity that involves skin-to-skin, or person- to- person contact, such as sexual activity or a mother hugging her baby. People that are sick, elderly or weak living in nursing homes and other institutions get scabies at a higher rate due to the conditions in this type facility. You won't get scabies through casual contact such as shaking hands, or hanging up the coat of someone that has an infestation of scabies. Cats and dogs cannot spread these mites; animal mites are a different type.

3. Signs and Symptoms of Scabies

An infestation of scabies causes extreme itchiness, which is the most common symptom. The itchiness is sometimes worse after a hot bath or at night. Scabies begins as blisters, itchy bumps or bumps that are full of pus. When you scratch the bumps, they break open and release fluid and pus. In certain cases, small dark or reddish wavy lines appear on the skin at the places where the mites burrow. The most common places are between the fingers, on the back of the elbows, wrists, knees, buttocks and the groin area.

4. Diagnosing Scabies

A medical professional examines your skin checking for the burrows of the mites. The doctor scrapes the areas of the skin when he finds the burrows. He will then examine the scrapings under a microscope, looking for signs of mites or eggs.

5. Scabies Treatment

One treatment for scabies is a cream such as permethrin. You are supposed to spread this mite killer over the entire body and leave on overnight, and wash off in the morning. You have to repeat the process in seven days. Another treatment is ivermectin, an oral medication. The recommended dosage of the medicine depends on the infected person's body weight. Most people with scabies also take an antihistamine such as Benadryl. The itch subsides slowly and full relief takes up to two weeks.