Scabies is a contagious disease caused by the scabies mite. This tick is very fertile, so the disease spreads quite quickly across the skin. A person becomes infected with it through direct contact with the patient, as well as when using his clothes, towels, toys and other items. Infection can occur anywhere: in the shower room, bathhouse, hotel, train and other public places, if you do not observe the sanitary regime.
Young females and scabies tick larvae invade the human body. In the external environment, itch mites can exist for almost 4 days at a temperature of 22 ° C and humidity up to 35%. At 60 ° C, they die within 1 hour, and already at boiling or subzero temperature - almost immediately. Natural fabrics or wooden surfaces are the most favorable tick habitats outside of humans.
In this article, we will consider what symptoms of scabies, which areas are affected, how and how to treat scabies.
Symptoms
The main symptom of the disease is itching, which is significantly worse in the evening and at night. Itching begins after the tick has invaded the skin. At first it is local in nature, but after the lapse of time it intensifies and spreads throughout the body.
Lesion sites
Ticks usually penetrate the surface of the body where the skin is very thin and delicate - between the fingers on the hands, in the elbow bends, in the area near the armpits. Sometimes the moves of scabies mites are observed even in the buttocks or on the inner surface of the thigh, as well as on the abdomen.
Scabies in children
Rashes in children up to a year are often located on such areas of the skin on which they are very rare in adults: face and head, palms and soles. Moreover, sometimes the manifestation of scabies on the face and head is similar to acute weeping eczema. Scabies in children, the treatment of which must be started immediately, can also be like infant urticaria. In children, scabies can often be complicated by severe pyoderma and sepsis, which can even lead to death.
Treatment
The main rule in the treatment of scabies is to prevent its return. First of all, you need to change all the bedding and underwear of the infected person, wash the floor everywhere, and then proceed to treatment. If you are constantly in contact with the patient, then you need to rub your body with a cool salt solution. Repeat this procedure for 7 days.
How is scabies treated? Firstly, all the drugs used for treatment are for external use only. There are many drugs to treat scabies. Some of them:
- benzyl benzoate;
- ointments that contain sulfur or tar;
- lindane lotion 1%;
- permethrin;
- solutions of esdepalethrin or piperonyl butoxide;
Before starting treatment for scabies, you need to take a hot shower to remove ticks from the skin and loosen the surface layer of the epidermis to facilitate the penetration of drugs.
How are scabies treated in children?
For treatment of scabies in children under 3 years of age, you can also use an emulsion of benzylbenzonate, only in the form of a 10% solution, which is prepared by diluting a 20% suspension with the same volume of boiled water. Children are recommended to rub the suspension lightly into the skin of the scalp and face, but so that it does not get into the eyes.
It is necessary to treat scabies under the supervision of a doctor, but we still consider the question of how to treat scabies at home?
If scabies only affects hands, you can use bread kvass. It is heavily salted and heated, then their hands are lowered there several times. Also common is tar. They need to lubricate the affected areas. At home, ointments containing sulfur can be prepared. Such ointments are rubbed into the skin for several hours, then washed off.
Now we know how to treat scabies in clinics, at home and how to protect ourselves from infection with scabies mites.