Scabies is an infestation of the skin caused by a tiny insect called Sarcoptes scabiei. When the mite burrows, there is intense itching. In the evening, scratching may be more prevalent. This infection is easily treated. Medications can kill the mites that cause scabies and their eggs.
What Are Parasites?
A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host, taking food from or consuming its host. Protozoa, helminths, and ectoparasites are the three main classes of parasites that can cause disease in humans.
What Are Scabies?
It is an infection caused by the human itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis). Microscopic scabies mites live and lay their eggs in the upper layer of the skin. In most cases, the mite is spread through direct, prolonged contact with someone who has it.
Scabies Symptoms
Symptoms may include:
- Itching, often severe and usually worse at night
- Thin, wavy tunnels made up of tiny blisters or bumps on the skin
If you’ve had it before, symptoms may be visible within a few days of exposure. If you’ve never had the condition, it can take as long as six weeks for symptoms to start. You can still spread it even if you don’t have any symptoms yet.
How Do You Get Scabies?
Anyone can get it. Skin-to-skin contact is the most common way to get infected.
Other possible ways where you can get infected:
- Having a weakened immune system also increases the risk of getting scabies. The elderly and people who have a weak immune system because of diseases such as lymphoma, HIV/AIDS, or leukemia have an increased risk.
- In the United States, it has become a common problem among residents of nursing homes and extended-care facilities. Skin-to-skin contact is frequent because the residents need help with everyday tasks. Nursing staff can contract scabies. It is then possible for staff to spread scabies to other residents. This can happen quickly.
- It can spread without any signs or symptoms. There is usually no sign or symptom of the infection for two to six weeks in a person who has never had it.
Types of Scabies
- Crusted (Norwegian): This type frequently happens in people with faulty immune systems.
- Bullous: In adults, this type of infection can be mistaken for bullous pemphigoid, another condition involving skin blisters.
- Nodular: This type is more common among children. The brown-red nodules can still be there long after the mites are gone.
- Scalp: This type occurs on your scalp and may not present symptoms except for scales that may look like psoriasis.
Scabies Treatment
It’s treatment involves killing the mites and eggs with a medication. Treatment for this often includes:
- Permethrin cream – this is a skin cream with chemicals that kill mites that cause the infection and their eggs.
- Sulfur cream – this cream is a treatment that can be applied overnight, rinsed off, and then reapplied for five nights in a row.
- Ivermectin – this is a remedy used for parasitic infections. It improves the condition by killing the parasite.