Scabies - Treatment and Symptoms

Few diseases carry so much social stigma as scabies. Most people openly express resentment when they are told that their itching is due to scabies. Actually, anybody can get scabies - the disease is caused by a mite, which is no respecter of social status. It is a highly contagious disease.

Scabies is passed on from one person to another through intimate contact, infected bedding and clothes or by sharing a bed. The mite can live on the discarded clothes for a couple of days. After contact, it takes about 6 weeks for the itching to start. The itching is more severe at night. Soon a rash appears on the body - this rash is not seen on the face and is most prominent on the hands, the waist, the abdomen and on the genitalia.

When you go to your doctor with complaints of itching, he generally examines your hands very carefully - this is because he is looking to see if you have scabies. If you follow the directions given by the doctor carefully, scabies is easily treatable. The whole family is to be treated together, even if only one member has the problem. Benzyl benzoate or gamma benzene hexachloride are used - both are very effective.

If you like this page, please post it on: