Scabies Rash : What causes Scabies?

Scabies Rash

Scabies rash is a very itchy skin condition caused by tiny mites that burrow into your skin. Scabies can affect people of all ages and from all incomes and social levels. Even people who keep themselves very clean can get scabies rash. Many people who get scabies rash are not even aware of why they have it or what caused it.

The most common way that scabies rash is contracted is through close human interaction. Whether it is from a hug, sleeping together or other contact, scabies can be passed very easily from one person to another. In addition to human contact, a small percentage of individuals contract scabies from touching something that the mite is on. This form of transmission is much rarer, mainly because the mite has a life span of less than forty-eight hours when it is away from a host human.

Some experts believe that the scabies mite can live up to 3 days without human body contact. When a mite reaches an area of rough or wrinkled skin (elbows, knuckles, knees), it burrows under the skin. Scratching can spread scabies mites to other areas of the body, but simply touching another part of the body while mites are on the hands may also spread them.

Scabies rash can also be spread by sharing towels, bed sheets, and other personal belongings. Scabies rash often affects several family members at the same time. We can spread it to another person before we have symptoms. After treatment, the itching usually lasts another 2 to 4 weeks. It will take your body that long to get over the allergic reaction caused by the mites. If you still have symptoms after 4 weeks, you may need another treatment.

Scabies Rash

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Scabies rash - Scabies Diagnosis

Scabies rash

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.

Scabies rash

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Symptoms of Scabies (Scabies Rash)

Scabies Rash

This mite is a mere 0.4 mm and it burrows into the skin specially 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 specially attracted to body warmth and odour and is known to hide under or on any jewellery 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.

Scabies Rash

The scabies symptoms are scabies rash which are pimple-like irritations, nodular bumps or rash of the skin 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 and these sores may ooze or become infected and be a breeding ground for bacteria. In more advanced cases, the skin starts to look crusty and develops scales.

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 and 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. 

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 Rash

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