Scabies Treatment and Cure - Symptoms and Causes

Definition

Scabies is a fairly common disease caused by a very tiny mite that lives in, or just below, the surface of human skin. It can be spread among people of all races, incomes, ages and levels of cleanliness. The female scabies mite lays her eggs in burrows or channels just beneath the skin. Young mites develop in a few days and emerge from the burrows. Proper application of a scabies treatment product kills adult mites and eggs; however, a person can get scabies again if he or she is re-exposed to the scabies mite. Human scabies is almost always caught from another person, anyone who has come into close contact; it could be from a child, a friend, or another family member. Some people do react more severely than others do, and a rare infected person may hardly itch at all.

Causes

1. The cause of this disease is a mite called scabies. The mite that causes scabies in humans is microscopic and almost impossible to see without a magnifying glass. The female mite burrows just beneath your skin and produces a tunnel in which it deposits eggs. The eggs mature in 21 days, and the new mites work their way to the surface of your skin, where they mature and can spread to other areas of your skin or to the skin of other people. The itching of scabies results from your body's allergic reaction to the mites, their eggs and their waste.
2. This is an allergic disease. Any physical contact may transmit the disease from one human to another.
3. It can be caused by dogs and cats etc. as it is also common in animals.

Symptoms

1. The most common symptom is intense itching of scabies.
2. Your skin may show small insect-type bites on it, or the lesions may look like pimples.
3. Scabies frequently occurs in the areas of the body such as between the fingers or toes, the buttocks, the elbows, the waist area, the genital area, or under the breasts in women.
4. Scabies are of red color and crusty due to scratching.
5. Thin, irregular marks made up of tiny blisters or bumps on your skin.
6. The sores can sometimes become infected with bacteria.

Treatment

1. The medication most commonly used to kill the mites is called Elimite. This is applied from head to feet and kept for 10 to 12 hours. The best way to use it in the night when you go in bed. It is safe from child to adults. This process is repeated after one week.
2. Many anti itching creams are available in the market. Any cream can be used according to your body and convenience. Some are hydroxyzine, cetirizine, promethazine.
3. All the family members and close contacts are treated.
4. Videodermatoscopy can be used to enhance the monitoring of clinical response to treatment and allows optimal timing of drug application. This may minimize risk of over treatment, reduce the potential for side-effects, and enhance patient compliance.