Scabies is a skin condition that leads to an itchy rash. It is caused by a tiny bug called a mite that starts living in your skin.
A severe form of this condition is known as crusted scabies or Norwegian scabies. Crusted scabies spreads more easily than traditional scabies.
Scabies typically leads to:
In adults, these symptoms can appear anywhere on the body. However, scabies is more likely to develop in areas where your skin is folded, including in your armpits, insides of your elbows, between your fingers or toes, near your belly button, or in your groin or buttock area. Mites also commonly live near your wrists, waist, chest, or bottoms of your feet. In infants, scabies symptoms usually appear on the fingers, hands, feet, face, neck, and head.
Crusted scabies may cause a different set of symptoms. If you have this condition, you may develop thickened skin that crusts over instead of having a traditional-looking rash.
Scabies symptoms are caused by mites living in the outer layer of your skin. The rash develops when the mites burrow under your skin, and the itching is an allergic reaction to the mites.
This condition can spread from person to person. However, it usually won’t spread through quick contact such as a hug — it requires long periods of direct contact. Often, scabies is spread during sex. It is also common in crowded spaces such as nursing homes, prisons, and schools. Rarely, scabies can spread if you share a towel, bedsheets, furniture, or clothing with someone who has a scabies infestation.
It may be difficult to tell where your scabies infestation came from. You may have the condition for up to eight weeks before symptoms appear.
Your doctor can confirm whether your rash was caused by scabies by looking for mites or mite eggs on your skin. A dermatologist can scrape off a small sample of your skin and study it under a microscope to look for signs of mites.
Scabicide medications are creams or lotions used to kill mites and their eggs. You can get these medications with a prescription from your doctor. Apply the lotion all over your body and then put on freshly washed clothes to avoid re-contaminating yourself. You may need to reapply if your itching or rash continues.
During treatment, you need to get rid of mites in your environment to prevent scabies from coming back. It is a good idea to wash your bedsheets and towels in hot water to kill any mites found there. If you can’t wash something, get it dry-cleaned. Alternatively, put the item in a sealed plastic bag and leave it in a location where you won’t come into contact with it, such as a garage or attic, for several days. Mites can’t live for more than three days outside of a human, so spending a few days avoiding any items that may have mites will help prevent them from spreading.
Mites can also live in furniture or carpets, but it’s more difficult to clean these items. Vacuum and clean as best you can, and then avoid the objects for several days to help get rid of a current scabies infestation and prevent them from coming back.
If you live with family or roommates or have recently had sex with other people, it is also a good idea for them to undergo treatment. They may also have a scabies infection, even if they aren’t yet showing symptoms.