Scabies is a contagious dermatological disease characterized by a high level of infection. It gives a person a lot of trouble in the form of a rash, itching, and sometimes pustules. The causative agent of the disease is the scabies mite. Most often, scabies develops against a background of a general decrease in immunity. One sick person is able to infect a large number of people in contact with him. Therefore, preventive measures and educational work play an important role. Having knowledge of how scabies is transmitted, a person can protect himself from this unpleasant infection.
Causes of occurrence
Before you figure out how scabies is transmitted, you need to know where it comes from originally. As mentioned above, the disease gives rise to the scabies mite (Sarcoptes scabiei). The dimensions of the skin parasite are so tiny that it can only be examined under a microscope.
When it comes to human skin, females of scabies itching begin to fertilize. After that, they make a hole in the epidermis and, moving deeper, gnaw out the itch passages where they lay their eggs. As a rule, one female lays 2-3 eggs per day, of which larvae appear after 2 days, and after a couple of weeks, adult individuals grow.
Ticks are most active at night. It is at this time that there is the highest probability of catching the infection. Viability and reproduction of parasites is possible only on the skin. Outside, ticks die in 2-3 days.
The favorite habitats and reproduction of ticks are wrists, palms, feet, male genitals, as well as the inside of the elbow. The reason for a certain localization lies in the fact that these places are practically devoid of hair. The epidermis layer in these areas is quite large. In addition, there are many sweat glands that secrete sweat. Thus, a favorable environment for the development of offspring is created.
In scabies are not only eggs and larvae. In addition to offspring, female scabies mites leave here their products of vital activity. Being foreign to the human body, such substances over time provoke the appearance of allergic reactions, which manifest themselves in the form of skin itching. Due to the fact that at night the parasites are most active, in the evening the itching intensifies, and at night it becomes simply unbearable.
Varieties
There are various types of scabies, which differ in appearance, but have the same localization:
- Typical scabies is accompanied by a pair of rashes, sometimes in combination with crusts and combs. Without timely treatment, such scabies can go into a more serious form, in which a bacterial infection joins.
- Scabies cleanly manifested in the form of subtle single elements of the rash between the fingers, wrists, chest and umbilical region. The skin begins to itch in the evening. Outwardly, it resembles urticaria or dermatitis. Most often, the disease affects those who like to wash often, thereby violating the natural barrier of the skin. Patients with a weakened immune system often suffer from the disease due to stress or taking antibiotics.
- Nodular scabies is a protracted variant of the disease. Patients in typical areas have dense red-brown nodules. Due to the density of these nodes, it is difficult for drugs to penetrate the skin, which makes it impossible to conduct quick and effective treatment.
- Norwegian scabies is considered the most contagious and severe form of all. The disease affects people with extremely weakened immune systems and sensitive skin. It is characterized by a severe course. Symptoms of scabies of this type are a dry, plentiful rash with whitish scales that spreads throughout the body, including the face, as well as severe itching.
- Pseudo-sarcoptosis (pseudochondrosis) is caused by ticks that parasitize animals (dogs, cats, pigs, goats, horses, rabbits). When contacted with human skin, such mites do not form passages and do not lay eggs. This disease, as a rule, does not require treatment and goes away on its own. It does not pass from one person to another.
How is scabies transmitted
The main source of infection, as a rule, is a sick person and all contacts associated with him. Scabies is transmitted through direct and indirect infection. Also, the disease can be transmitted from an animal. However, such cases are extremely rare.
A direct path involves direct contact with an infected person. How is scabies transmitted from person to person? The disease can develop even after a normal handshake or massage. Also often scabies is transmitted sexually. Often, as a result of direct contact, the disease manifests itself in children who spend time together in playgrounds.
An indirect route of infection is associated with the use of personal items and household items. So, scabies is transmitted through a hand towel, bedding, dishes, soft toys, sports equipment. You can pick up the infection in public places through door handles or handrails in transport. Recently, however, dermatologists are increasingly inclined to the fact that the direct contact with the patient’s skin is still the dominant factor in scabies infection. Therefore, when answering the question of how scabies is transmitted from things, the opinions of experts differ. Experiments have shown that infection through indirect contact does not happen so often. An exception is Norwegian scabies, when the number of ticks on the body can reach several million.
The likelihood of contracting scabies from animals is highly controversial. The thing is that human and animal scabies are different types of diseases, although they have similar symptoms. Ticks of animal origin, falling on human skin, can live on it for a while and even manage to inflict bites. However, animal parasites do not survive on the human epidermis for the reason that it is not suitable for feeding such mites. In other words, this type of scabies can pass from pets, but does not take root for a long time. Scabies from a cat is transmitted to a person only when the pet's hair plays the role of a tick carrier, that is, if an infected person stroked it before that.
What about the reverse gear? The answer to the question of whether scabies is transmitted from person to animal is similar: dogs, cats and other animals are not able to get sick with human scabies. Such mites on their body do not live.
Symptoms of the disease
The main symptom of scabies is the appearance of itchy skin. It occurs a month after infection. Itching is a responsive allergic reaction to a parasite invasion. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that it manifests itself most of all in the evening and at night, that is, during the hours of active tick activity.
The next symptom of infection is the formation of scabies that the female makes. In appearance, they resemble a thin swollen strip about a centimeter long. The most common scabies parasite habitats are palms, wrists, an elbow fold, the interdigital spaces, the feet, and the inguinal region.
In addition, scabies is accompanied by the appearance on the skin of crusts, itchy vesicles and dry cracks. All these manifestations arise due to the reaction of the body and the life of the parasite.
Diagnostics
Itch is best determined by microscopic examination.
To identify the moves, iodine is often used, which is applied to the affected areas. As a result of such manipulations, scabies are painted in a more intense color, which indicates a skin lesion by a parasite.
A thin section technique is also used when a layer of the epidermis is cut with a scalpel or eye scissors, which is subsequently poured with an alkaline solution for 5-8 minutes and then examined under a microscope. Thanks to this method, it is possible to detect not only ticks, but also eggs with larvae.
Treatment
After it was possible to diagnose scabies, it is necessary to begin treatment. It is important to understand that this disease never goes away on its own. It can last for years, periodically ceasing to bother. However, sooner or later, symptoms will again be felt.
In order to get rid of this scourge, it is enough to destroy the pathogen and laid eggs. For this purpose, local therapy is used. As a rule, dermatologists recommend the use of medications as a treatment. Among them, sulfuric ointment, an emulsion of benzyl benzoate, Spregal, Lindane, Permethrin, Crotamion and Ivermectin are most often used.
From folk remedies, bay leaf, birch tar, leaves and green fruits of walnut, crushed sulfur, and turpentine have worked well.
Rules for effective treatment
• Before starting therapy, the patient should thoroughly wash himself, wipe himself dry, and only then start using the drugs.
• It is imperative to change clothes and bedding, washcloths and towels.
• Persons in contact with a person infected with scabies should undergo treatment together with the patient for prevention.
• The used underwear and bed linen should be boiled and ironed.
• Anti-scab drugs should be applied to the entire body except the head and neck.
• Treatment of the skin is carried out in the evening, before bedtime. After the procedure, hand washing is not allowed.
How to stop the spread of scabies
The life span of the scabies mite outside the human body depends on the temperature of the environment. In conditions of high humidity, the parasite lives more than 2 weeks. In a dry climate and at a temperature of about 20 ° C, it dies after 5 days, at 90 ° C - after half an hour, and when boiled - almost instantly. Also, the tick is afraid of frost, which destroys it in a few hours. All this is important to consider when processing contaminated linen, clothing and household items.
Preventive measures
If scabies is found in one person, the rest of the family members who came into contact with him are required to undergo preventive therapy. The patient's clothing should be disinfected. For this, things are boiled using washing powder and ironed. Children toys with which the child played must be put in an airtight bag for a week. After this period, the ticks will die and the toy will become completely safe.
Based on how scabies is transmitted, in order to prevent disease, it is necessary to adhere to personal hygiene rules, as well as to avoid doubtful contacts. You should never forget that this infection is very easily transmitted.