Human scabies

[sangtarah]

Talk to me about this.

 

How is transmitted? How likely is it that you can get it from the seat of a van? Is it terrible to get rid of? If one person in a family has it, how likely is it that other family members will get it?

[Mimm]

 Oh no. Ok, not sugar coating this... It's horrible. I'd rather have lice three times than deal with scabies again. Part of it was that my pediatrician misdiagnosed it and it spread through the house while we tried ineffective treatments for something we didn't have. You're ahead of the game there at least. I don't know how likely you are to get it from the seat of a van but keep an eye out and get treatment right away.

[momacacia]

Oh, lordy. Why did I read this thread? I had to.open it. Now I will have to know about this. 😲

[sassenach]

We caught it from my grandmother. Treatment involved the whole family doing head to toe medicated lotion treatment for a length of time. It's been awhile, I don't remember for how long. I think other than washing our sheets, there wasn't a huge amount to do with our surroundings. It was mostly just the lotion treatment, which was extensive time-consuming.

 

Call your doctor!

Edited June 8, 2017 by Sassenach

[SparklyUnicorn]

I got them once while cleaning up an overgrown garden in the fall.  OMG they were terrible.  I wanted to rip my skin off.  I just used OTC itch lotion.  Which did not really cut it, but it did just go away on its own.

 

sorry, I had chiggers and not scabies!

 

 

Edited June 9, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[Saddlemomma]

I got a case of scabies in my late 20s.  They are horrible, miserable, tiny harbingers of maliciousness. My hands were covered and the itchiness was agony.  They like between the fingers, toes, armpits, wrists, places like that.

 

We didn't have to do anything to the house, but I did have to get a medicated cream to kill the little buggers.  Nothing else would take care of them.  If I were you, I would go to the doctor's office ASAP and get a prescription.  Once you get the cream, it kills them off fairly quickly.

 

Here's some info for you

[sangtarah]

Thanks.

 

No confirmed scabies; the other options include eczema or a reaction to a weed that was pulled.

 

The itchiness and bumps began two days ago. Family member has had eczema and dry skin always.

 

The family member is being treated with scabies meds. I just wanted to know if all should be treated, even if there are no symptoms on the rest. According to doctor, all family doesn't need to be treated at this time. Doctor was leaning towards eczema, but gave the scabies meds in order to head it off, if that is what it is.

[regentrude]

I got them once while cleaning up an overgrown garden in the fall.  OMG they were terrible.  I wanted to rip my skin off.  I just used OTC itch lotion.  Which did not really cut it, but it did just go away on its own.

 

Is that really the same parasite as human scabies? I thought the "harvest mites" (as trombiculidae aka chiggers are is called back home) is a different kind of mite than the one transmited through close human contact in scabies.

[Okra]

We were misdiagnosed with scabies. Then, we finally got our answer from a great dermatologist.
My daughter had papular acro dermatitis.
He explained several things.
One, scabies is always in the darker areas of the skin. So, say in between the fingers, the bend of your elbow....etc. Unless scabies is very very bad you will not have it in areas that are more hit by the light, say the face, the outside of the arms.

Also, scabies spreads very slowly.

So, maybe it's not scabies. We were so happy to see a skin expert. Personally, I would think that it would not be  easily transfered in a car.


 

Edited June 8, 2017 by Okra

[sassenach]

Thanks.

 

No confirmed scabies; the other options include eczema or a reaction to a weed that was pulled.

 

The itchiness and bumps began two days ago. Family member has had eczema and dry skin always.

 

The family member is being treated with scabies meds. I just wanted to know if all should be treated, even if there are no symptoms on the rest. According to doctor, all family doesn't need to be treated at this time. Doctor was leaning towards eczema, but gave the scabies meds in order to head it off, if that is what it is.

They make a distinctive line with their bites at the onset. princ_rm_photo_of_scabie_burrow.jpg

 

When we were exposed, I checked myself and the kids for several days. One of my kids got the line of bites right on the inside of her thigh, like where your swimsuit sits. As soon as I saw that line I knew we had it. The whole family did the treatment all at once and that knocked it out.

[sassenach]

Is that really the same parasite as human scabies? I thought the "harvest mites" (as trombiculidae aka chiggers are is called back home) is a different kind of mite than the one transmited through close human contact in scabies.

I think you're right that they are not the same thing.

[sangtarah]

They make a distinctive line with their bites at the onset. princ_rm_photo_of_scabie_burrow.jpg

 

When we were exposed, I checked myself and the kids for several days. One of my kids got the line of bites right on the inside of her thigh, like where your swimsuit sits. As soon as I saw that line I knew we had it. The whole family did the treatment all at once and that knocked it out.

 

Thanks for the picture! I haven't seen anything like that on the patient, so that makes me feel better. I'll keep looking for it on other family members.

[Daria]

My son had it in 3rd grade. We caught it super fast because he happened to have a Dr.'s appointment the same day the rash showed up. We both got the head to toe lotion, washed the sheets and had the car detailed. It never came back.

 

My pediatrician said he probably got it from the soccer field as they are often in the grass.

 

Lice was worse for us but he had locs in his hair, plus that's how we learned he had asthma triggered by the smell of coconut oil.

[regentrude]

My son had it in 3rd grade. We caught it super fast because he happened to have a Dr.'s appointment the same day the rash showed up. We both got the head to toe lotion, washed the sheets and had the car detailed. It never came back.

 

My pediatrician said he probably got it from the soccer field as they are often in the grass.

 

?? But I thought the mites in grass are a different species and don't burrow into the skin to lay eggs, as the scabies mites do.

Edited June 9, 2017 by regentrude

[Murphy101]

Oh, lordy. Why did I read this thread? I had to.open it. Now I will have to know about this. 😲

Me too. I'm itching and I haven't even read past your post yet.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Is that really the same parasite as human scabies? I thought the "harvest mites" (as trombiculidae aka chiggers are is called back home) is a different kind of mite than the one transmited through close human contact in scabies.

 

You are right!  It was chiggers. 

 

Forgot what it was called, but yes.

 

Oops!

[regentrude]

You are right!  It was chiggers. 

 

OK, that makes sense. The bites itch like crazy- BUT, the treatment should be different since chiggers do not burrow into the skin to lay eggs; what itches is just the bite where the chigger has injected the saliva. The meds are against the itching and reaction, but do not actually have to kill the eggs/larvae of the scabies mites - that would require different treatment.

Edited June 9, 2017 by regentrude

[SparklyUnicorn]

OK, that makes sense. The bites itch like crazy- BUT, the treatment should be different since chiggers do not burrow into the skin to lay eggs; what itches is just the bite where the chigger has injected the saliva. The meds are against the itching and reaction, but do not actually have to kill the eggs/larvae of the scabies mites - that would require different treatment.

 

I didn't even go to a doctor.  Just used OTC stuff.  I scratched so much though that I have scars.  I've had poison ivy several times and I'll take that any day over chiggers. 

[regentrude]

I didn't even go to a doctor.  Just used OTC stuff.  I scratched so much though that I have scars.  I've had poison ivy several times and I'll take that any day over chiggers. 

 

My DD has a horrible reaction to chiggers. The bites swell badly, and the area looks like streusel cake. We banned walking on grass from August through October because it was so bad; she literally couldn't set foot on the lawn during those months.

 

I can usually ward off the reaction by washing my legs as soon as I get inside; the chiggers don't inject the enzyme right away.

[Daria]

?? But I thought the mites in grass are a different species and don't burrow into the skin to lay eggs, as the scabies mites do.

He definitely said scabies and that the lines on my son's skin were the burrows.

 

I don't know whether he meant mites living in the grass or just that another kid could spread them via the grass (e.g. he falls in the same spot as a previous fall by a kid with scabies).

[sangtarah]

Okay, so baby girl had a rash pop up this week that looks like eczema - the doctors says it's eczema. It's dry scaly patches of skin all over her back, some on back of arms, the inside of one of her elbows has a pimply heat rash type of thing.

 

My new question: can scabies ever present like eczema?

 

I'll put some pictures in another post.

[sangtarah]

 

 

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[sangtarah]

 

 

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[Guest]

That's either eczema or contact dermatitis. Definitely not scabies.

[sangtarah]

Thanks, Artic Mama!

 

Although I wish it something I could treat and rid her of. ðŸ™

I don't think it's contact dermatitis; nothing I've been using for her clothes or bath has changed. I don't think she could have become sensitive quickly to something that we've been using all along.

My older girls suffer with asthma and enviromental allergies, and I was hoping baby girl could avoid it. The doc this morning said eczema this young is a high predictor of asthma & allegies. (Ds has avoided both so far.) This is the first time we have dealt with eczema at such a young age, and it seemed to happen overnight.

[Mergath]

Nope. Not scabies. I know this because my dd was (most likely mis) diagnosed with scabies a few days ago and I've been looking at every picture of scabies rashes that exists on the internet. (I don't recommend doing that unless you want to make yourself crazy, btw.)

 

We just figured out yesterday that one of the cats has a massive flea infestation :scared:  so that's probably where my dd's bites came from. That or chiggers.

 

If you can't stop worrying and you want to reassure yourself, you can do a marker test to see if it's scabies or not. You basically take a washable kids marker, color over the most recent rash area, then wipe it off again with rubbing alcohol. If it's scabies, the marker will seep into the burrows before you wipe it away and you'll see colorful squiggly lines leading away from the bumps.

[Mergath]

Thanks, Artic Mama!

 

Although I wish it something I could treat and rid her of. ðŸ™

I don't think it's contact dermatitis; nothing I've been using for her clothes or bath has changed. I don't think she could have become sensitive quickly to something that we've been using all along.

My older girls suffer with asthma and enviromental allergies, and I was hoping baby girl could avoid it. The doc this morning said eczema this young is a high predictor of asthma & allegies. (Ds has avoided both so far.) This is the first time we have dealt with eczema at such a young age, and it seemed to happen overnight.

 

You can get contact dermatitis from just about anything if you have sensitive skin. It doesn't necessarily have to be a new lotion or detergent. I get it all the time for no apparent reason, and you can develop allergies and sensitivities literally overnight.

[Katy]

Start with detergent.  We had that when we got an allergic reaction to Tide.  We used homemade stuff for a couple of years until I was forced to buy some commercial stuff during a move and realized how dingy our clothes had gotten.  Now we us All Free & Clear.

 

Then try swapping everything else commercial & scented to a hypoallergenic alternative.

 

Then look at diet for excema.  I know there are a few changes that made a big difference for a friend of mine - he figured out he had some sort of fatty acid deficiency combined with a stress reaction when his was triggered.

[ocelotmom]

Nope. Not scabies. I know this because my dd was (most likely mis) diagnosed with scabies a few days ago and I've been looking at every picture of scabies rashes that exists on the internet. (I don't recommend doing that unless you want to make yourself crazy, btw.)

 

Scabies is one subject where I strongly recommend STAY OFF THE INTERNET!!!!!!!! Or at least stick to reputable sites. Following the rabbit holes (scabies burrows?) just makes it so much psychologically worse.

 

I think there's a lot of delusional parasitosis out there.

 

My whole family had scabies many years ago - there was an outbreak in our community. It sucked. It was horrible. But realistically... we did the treatment, washed stuff, and were fine. Didn't have to get rid of furniture or burn the house down or anything like that.

 

My new question: can scabies ever present like eczema?

 

It can, actually. But your daughter's rash doesn't really look like it to me, and after treatment it would be unlikely.

 

One possibility - scabies treatment can trigger eczema.

[sangtarah]

Scabies is one subject where I strongly recommend STAY OFF THE INTERNET!!!!!!!! Or at least stick to reputable sites. Following the rabbit holes (scabies burrows?) just makes it so much psychologically worse.

 

I think there's a lot of delusional parasitosis out there.

 

My whole family had scabies many years ago - there was an outbreak in our community. It sucked. It was horrible. But realistically... we did the treatment, washed stuff, and were fine. Didn't have to get rid of furniture or burn the house down or anything like that.

 

 

It can, actually. But your daughter's rash doesn't really look like it to me, and after treatment it would be unlikely.

 

One possibility - scabies treatment can trigger eczema.

The baby is not the family member that was treated for scabies/eczema.

[Melissa in Australia]

another zombie thread

[Tap]

ZOMBIE THREAD🧟‍♂️

Edited August 21, 2021 by Tap