Scabies Rash - Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Scabies is an infestation, characterized as an itchy skin condition, caused by a parasitic microscopic mite, known as Sarcoptes scabiei. Scabies rash is highly contagious and spreads quickly under crowded conditions, when the mite gets an opportunity to find new hosts, by direct and prolonged skin contact. It occurs worldwide and is not caused by lack of personal hygiene and it's not limited to a race or social condition. It can affect any unsuspecting individual who may have only shaken hands with an infected person. Skin contact is the primary mode of transmission, for this disease. An estimated 300 million people are affected by the scabies rash every year.

Causative Agent of Scabies: Sarcoptes Scabiei
Symptoms of Scabies
This mite (Sarcoptes scabiei) is a mere 0.3 mm to 0.45 mm and it burrows into the skin, especially affecting the webbing between the hands, the folds of skin on the wrist, elbow, or knee and the nether regions, breasts or even shoulder blades. The female scabies mite is especially attracted to body warmth and odor and is known to hide under or on any jewelry or even under nails. Though the mites do not survive for very long, without a host, the female mite is known to survive for up to a month.

Sarcoptes Scabiei Life Cycle and Most Likely Scabies Rash Affected Areas (click to enlarge)

The prime scabies symptom is a scabies rash, which is characterized by pimple-like irritations, nodular bumps or skin rashes and may spread even in places where the burrowing has not occurred, as the mite's secretions cause itchiness. These are responsible for excessive itching and irritation of the skin, which especially increases at night-time and spreads throughout the body. The constant scratching causes sores on the body, these sores may ooze or become infected and become a breeding ground for bacteria. In more advanced cases, the skin starts to look crusty and develops scales. Intense and ceaseless itching is one of the most primary symptoms of this skin condition.

Scabies Burrow

The telltale burrows can also be seen, especially close to the wrists and a doctor may manage to remove a mite, by observing a burrowed area under magnification. The female mite also lays eggs under the surface of the skin, which hatch within a couple of days, begin to move and soon develop into more harmful mites. This mite does not normally affect the neck and head regions, though it may prey upon the soft tissue in these regions in infants.

Scabies Rash

For a person who has never been infected before, these symptoms may manifest after a long period of 4-6 weeks. A previously infected person shows more immediate reactions and may begin to itch severely within a couple of days; a treatment done once, does not guarantee immunity.

Scabies Diagnosis
The diagnosis of scabies is often difficult as it looks similar to a skin rash in the initial stages. A medical diagnosis is made by scraping the skin to observe under a microscope in order to locate the mite or find eggs. However, it is possible that the results of a skin scraping or a biopsy may return negative but it is still very much possible that you may be infested with the mite. In a typical case, there are only up to 10 mites on the entire body and it is possible to miss them. The constant scratching also causes the characteristic nodular bumps and redness that indicate the infected areas and may occur anywhere except the facial region.

Pets and Scabies
The type of scabies that affects pet animals is of a different type. In pets, scabies is also called mange and the mite can affect you in a similar fashion, as would a human scabies mite, by getting under your skin tissue and causing irritation and itching. However this kind of mite cannot reproduce in humans and soon dies off. These could cause itching but do not need special treatment in order to kill them. Your pet needs to be treated or it will remain infected and the problem will keep recurring.

Scabies Treatment
Any person with a weak immune system or elderly people are at a higher risk of contracting scabies in its more severe form called Norwegian scabies or crusted scabies. Several topical lotions and creams, the most common of which are Kwell lotion (lindane) and Elimite (permethrin) or Benzyl benzoate emulsion are available for treating scabies that can be prescribed by a doctor. These need to be applied after the skin has been cleansed to the entire body and left overnight, after which it can be washed by taking a bath or shower. It is important to maintain hygiene and all the clothes, bedding and towels that are used by the infested person, should be washed in hot water and dried at a high temperature to kill any remaining mites or eggs. It is also important to treat others in the home at the same time to prevent the spread of the infestation.

The bodies of the mites remain in the skin and that causes the allergy so it is possible that even after successful treatment itching may continue for a period of 2-3 weeks though no new burrows or rashes should occur within 48 hours of successful cure. It is entirely up to our own immune system to break down the remnants of the pests and rejuvenate the skin. In case of a lot of itching, an OTC antihistamine will also help to soothe the itch. There is no vaccine for scabies and therefore immunity from it, is a myth.

Scabies home remedies are equally effective to stop infection and cure lesions. Washing the skin with a paste, along with fresh or dried neem leaves and an equal quantity of turmeric powder mixed with mustard oil helps a lot. This paste can be applied on the body and left for at least an hour before bathing. Repeat for 7- 10 days till all lesions have healed. Similarly scabies can also be treated by application of the juice of fresh apricot leaves.

Maintaining good hygiene and being aware of your condition is also a part of the cure. Harsh chemicals and steroids should be avoided and medical help should be sought as soon as possible to ensure an effective treatment.