TESTING FOR SCABIES AND TREATMENT
March 27th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: Men's Health-Erectile DysfunctionNo Comments
Scabies is usually not difficult to diagnose when the rash and symptoms are typical, although the rash may be confused with other skin problems that cause rashes. For this reason it is useful to perform a test to help with the diagnosis. Scrapings of the lesions may show evidence of the burrowing mites or the feces of the mites under the microscope.
TREATMENT
Scabies is treated by applying a cream (permethrin, lindane, or crotamiton) from the neck down, which kills the mites. The creams are only available with a prescription. The lindane and permethrin creams are usually left on overnight and washed off in the morning. The crotamiton cream is used for two nights in a row and then washed off forty-eight hours after the last application. It may be necessary to apply a second regimen of crotamiton to eliminate scabies. Sexual partners and close household contacts should also be treated, even if they do not have symptoms. People who do not have body contact or share clothing or bedding with the infected person do not need to be treated.
Lindane generally has more side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, and is to be avoided in pregnant and breast-feeding women and in children. It should not be applied to mucous membranes (such as those around the eyes, mouth, and vaginal area) and should not be applied after a bath or shower. Lindane should also be avoided in people with an extensive rash from scabies or other conditions and in anyone with a neurological disorder, since it can sometimes cause seizures in these persons.
The itching may persist for a week or two after treatment. Medications that relieve itching, such as diphenhydramine, are available without a prescription. If new skin rashes are seen after treatment, then the treatment may not have been successful, and another application may be necessary. Frequent reapplication of the medications can be irritating to the skin, however, and it may cause a rash that may be misinterpreted as being caused by persistent scabies. If the symptoms persist longer than a few weeks after treatment, then a return visit to a health care provider is a good idea.
The nodules that sometimes occur with scabies may take longer to disappear than the rash and itching—sometimes several months. Injection of steroids into the lesions or the use of a topical steroid cream for a short period of time may help to speed resolution. These treatments can be administered by your health care provider.
Just as important as treatment with medication is treatment of clothes and bedding that have been in contact with an infected person within the last seventy-two hours. They should be laundered in hot water and dried on a hot cycle, dry cleaned, or kept out of contact for more than seventy-two hours, after which time the mites will have died of starvation. Furniture and pets do not need to be treated.
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