• What
is it? A mite that burrows under the skin and lays eggs.
• How
is it contracted? Through close contact or through sleeping in bedding or
wearing clothes that are infested. Rarely, holding or shaking hands can
transmit scabies.
• Incubation
Period:As long as a week if it's the first time you've been infested; a day if
it's a recurrence.
• Symptoms:Signs
of a scabies infestation include intense itching, or small bumps or a rash on
the penis, between the fingers, on buttocks, breasts, wrists, thighs, or around
the navel.
• Testing:
A dermatologist will perform several different tests on the surface of the
skin.
• Treatment:
Creams and lotions containing permethrin such as Rid and Nix must be applied to
the whole body from the neck down. (As with pubic lice, products containing
lindane may be harmful to the fetus if used by a pregnant woman; check with
your doctor.) Change clothing and sleep on freshly laundered sheets after
you've applied the lotion. Any bedding or clothing that may have been infested
should be washed with very hot water or dry-cleaned.
• If
you are not treated: Continued scratching can cause an infection, and if it
left untreated, scabies can be transmitted to anyone you come in close contact
with.
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