Normal scabies can develop into crusted scabies after a skin reaction. The condition affects all parts of the body, including your head, neck, nails and scalp.
A common sign of crusted scabies is widespread crusts on the skin. These crusts tend to be thick, crumble easily when touched, and look grayish in color. Sometimes the crusts appear on one or a few areas of the body such as the scalp, back, or feet.
What does scabies look like? The scabies rash takes the form of small, red bumps that may look like pimples, bug bites, hives or knots under the skin. You might be able to see the burrow tracks created by the mites, which appear as raised lines of tiny blisters or bumps.
In addition, when treating infants and young children, scabicide lotion or cream also should be applied to their entire head and neck because scabies can affect their face, scalp, and neck, as well as the rest of their body.
Scabies is caused by a tiny, eight-legged mite. The female mite burrows just under the skin and makes a tunnel where it lays eggs. The eggs hatch, and the mite larvae travel to the surface of the skin, where they mature. These mites can then spread to other areas of the skin or to the skin of other people.
Scabies. Scabies is caused by a tiny bug called the human itch mite. If these mites burrow into your scalp, your scalp can become quite itchy. Itch is the most common symptom of scabies, and it can be so intense that it keeps you awake at night.
Treatment for a mite infestation usually involves a cream, gel, lotion or wash containing an acaricide. An acaricide is a pesticide that kills ticks and mites. Your healthcare provider may recommend: Benzyl benzoate.
Treating scabies
The 2 most widely used treatments for scabies are permethrin cream and malathion lotion (brand name Derbac M). Both medications contain insecticides that kill the scabies mite. Permethrin 5% cream is usually recommended as the first treatment. Malathion 0.5% lotion is used if permethrin is ineffective.
To use permethrin cream, follow these steps:
Be careful to apply cream in all skins folds, such as between your toes and fingers or around your waist or buttocks. For treatment of babies or adults over 65 years of age, the cream should also be applied to the scalp or hairline, temples, and forehead.
The mites are microscopic, meaning they are not visible to the naked eye. While most people with D. brevis are not even aware that they are carrying these mites, those housing large infestations may experience symptoms.
Unfortunately, in practice, scabies is largely diagnosed based only on the clinical picture, which may lead to a misdiagnosis. A broad differential diagnosis of scabies can include atopic dermatitis (AD), allergic contact dermatitis, nummular eczema, arthropod bites, dermatitis herpetiformis, etc. (1, 7).
Demodex, a genus of tiny parasitic mites that live in or near hair follicles of mammals, are among the smallest of arthropods with two species Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis typically found on humans. Infestation with Demodex is common; prevalence in healthy adults varying between 23-100%.
Scabies happens on the body but usually not on the head or neck area. Itching with scabies is severe and often worse at night. If you think you or your child might have lice, look at the scalp closely. Lice are hard to see.
Scabies usually isn't seen on the scalp or on the palms of hands or the soles of feet. It is possible, however, for young children or people who harbour very large numbers of mites to be susceptible in those areas. Seniors might also find mites at the hairline, neck, temple, and forehead regions.
Mite parasites such as ear mites (Otodectes), scabies mites (Sarcoptes), and demodicosis mites (Demodex) can infest the ears. Neoplasia (tumors) including malignant tumors (cancer) can occur in the ears.
Scabies can lead to skin sores and serious complications like septicaemia (a bloodstream infection), heart disease and kidney problems. It is treated using creams or oral medications.
Permethrin 1% lotion is used to treat head lice infections. It acts by destroying both the lice and their eggs. The 5% cream is used to treat scabies infections by destroying the mites which cause scabies.
Permethrin is a pyrethroid that can be inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through skin. Depending on the formulation, permethrin is a non-toxic to moderately toxic pesticide. Short-term side effects in sensitive individuals include eye, skin, nose, and throat irritation, and may include breathing problems.
Permethrin kills the scabies mite and eggs. Permethrin is the drug of choice for the treatment of scabies.
How can I remove scabies mites from my clothes? Scabies mites do not survive more than 2-3 days away from human skin. Items such as bedding, clothing, and towels used by a person with scabies can be decontaminated by machine-washing in hot water and drying using the hot cycle or by dry-cleaning.
Can I test myself at home for scabies? There is no self-test for scabies. You can become familiar enough with the physical symptoms to suspect you've been infected with the mites that cause scabies, but you can't know for sure without being diagnosed by a healthcare provider.
They typically cause no symptoms unless they overgrow (demodicosis). This causes tiny white bumps and dry, itchy, scaly, irritated skin with acne-like sores. Untreated overgrowth can lead to or worsen other skin conditions.