What does scabies look like: photo and description, symptoms of the disease, diagnosis and treatment of the disease
Scabies is a common skin disease caused by itch. This is a parasite from the family of arachnids, a class of mites, which makes moves in the skin, gets under the epidermis and begins its vital activity there. The appearance of itching in the evening and at night, characteristic changes in the skin, these are the first signs of infection with a scabies mite. Scabies affects millions of people around the world every year, regardless of their social status.
Content
- Causes of appearance
- What is the causative agent of scabies
- Scabies mites sarcoptes scabiei: what is it
- How to get rid of scabies mites in the house
- How does scabies spread?
- scabies incubation period
- Signs of scabies: typical appearance
- Diagnosis of scabies
- Scabies: treatment
- Features of treatment depending on the location
- Prevention of reinfection
Causes of appearance
Most often, infection with scabies occurs by contact, or in crowded places, it is especially quickly transmitted where sanitary standards are violated.
Scabies mite from a sick person gets to a healthy person through common utensils, contact with his clothes, shaking hands.
Particularly susceptible to infection with scabies are people who have been in contact for some time: children in kindergartens, orphanages, people in nursing homes, in prisons, in public baths, gyms.
What is the causative agent of scabies
In addition to the fact that the course of the disease is accompanied by itching in the evening and at night, penetrating under the skin, scabies makes moves there, feeds and multiplies, leaving waste products, to which in most cases an allergic reaction occurs in patients. As a result, other symptoms of scabies are added to itching and rashes on the body: blood points and small scratches.
Scabies mites sarcoptes scabiei: what is it
Microscopic mite Sarcotes scabiei, which is transmitted from a sick person to a healthy person through direct contact, common household items. Getting from the patient to a healthy person, the larva or female of the scabies mite gnaws through the skin and makes passages under it, lays eggs in them and leaves waste products.
How to get rid of scabies mites in the house
If a family member has contracted scabies, then he must be isolated until he recovers completely. All his personal belongings, bedding, everything that the patient has come into contact with, must be washed. Hard surfaces can be treated with special anti-mite chemicals. Soft toys of the child should be placed in a plastic bag and left for 5 days, during which time the parasite will die.
How does scabies spread?
Scabies spreads in two ways: direct, that is, directly from the ball to the healthy, or outside the focus of infection, in public places.
scabies incubation period
The incubation period after the parasite enters the skin can last from 3 days to 1,5 months. The more parasites get on the skin, the less time will pass from infection to the appearance of the first signs: itching and scabies. With different types of scabies, rashes appear on different parts of the human body.
Doctors distinguish a typical form of scabies with scabies characteristic of this type of scabies and several atypical forms.
Signs of scabies: typical appearance
With typical scabies, whitish or grayish stripes are visible on the skin - scabies that rise above the skin, their length is 5-7 mm. Papules, vesicles, scratches and blood crusts also appear on the body. They are mainly located on the hands between the fingers, on the bending surfaces of the wrist and elbow joints, under the armpits, on the anterolateral part of the abdomen, in women on the mammary glands, around the nipples, and in men, around the genitals.
In adults, scabies mites do not make moves in places where a large number of sebaceous glands are located, in the upper back, on the neck, face, under the scalp on the head. The sebaceous glands produce sebum, which clogs the scabies in the skin, and for normal life, the mites do not have access to air.
In children with scabies, scabies are on the face, on the scalp, palms and soles of the feet. In infants, the parasite even infects the nails. On the skin of children there are many transparent bubbles and red tubercles with crusts.
In older people, on the contrary, there are few scabies on the skin, but it is covered with scratches and blood crusts.
Complicated scabies occurs with incorrect diagnosis or untimely or incorrectly selected treatment; frequent complications with this type of scabies are purulent skin lesions, dermatitis, and microbial eczema. When combing, pathogenic microbes can get under the skin, which can contribute to the development of folliculitis, furunculosis, or staphylococcal impetigo. General well-being may worsen, lymph nodes increase, body temperature rises.
Cleanliness scabies is diagnosed in people who often take a shower or bath in the evening or at night. Most of the scabies mites are washed off and an erased clinical picture is observed: there are single papules and vesicles on the body.
The main symptom of nodular scabies is itchy small dense purple nodules located on the buttocks, abdomen, under the arms, in women on the mammary glands, in men on the genitals. In some cases, even after curing scabies, the rash remains on the skin for 2 to 6 weeks.
Norwegian scabies affects people with a weakened immune system due to the use of hormonal drugs, cytostatics, or with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Patients do not feel itching, the number of mites increases uncontrollably and spreads throughout the body, the skin becomes bright red and dry, the skin on the buttocks and elbows is highly susceptible to mite damage. Ticks live under gray or brown thick crusts covering most of the body. Norwegian scabies affects the nails. Millions of living parasites can live on the patient's body, so it is considered extremely contagious.
This is scabies that is transmitted to humans from animals. Ticks are on the surface of the skin, bite and itchy. Parasites do not make moves, papules and blisters appear on the skin. Pseudo scabies does not infect a healthy person from a sick person.
Diagnosis of scabies
Scabies is diagnosed after examination, according to the characteristic signs: rashes and scabies. But biomaterial is also taken for laboratory research. There are several methods for detecting scabies mites:
- removing a tick from under the skin with a special needle;
- a thin section of the epidermis with a scalpel;
- skin scraping.
To take biomaterial for the last two methods, it is necessary to detect scabies in order to remove the parasite from there. The skin is dyed with an alcohol solution of iodine or aniline dye. Warm paraffin or liquid paraffin is applied to the skin where the scabies are located to activate the tick before scraping.
Scabies: treatment
How to properly treat scabies will give recommendations to a dermatologist after the examination. It can be treated at home, following all the recommendations. Particularly severe cases are treated in a hospital.
| Reduced itching | To reduce itching with scabies, antihistamines will help, they can be bought without a prescription, but strictly observe the dosage when taking the drugs. Antihistamines should only be given to children if prescribed by a doctor. Your doctor may prescribe an anti-itch cream to relieve itching. In some cases, even after completely getting rid of scabies mites, itching can last for several weeks, depending on the reaction of the body to the waste products of the mites. |
| Destruction of ticks | To kill the mites, the doctor prescribes a lotion or cream that is applied to the skin or an oral medication that is taken by mouth. In special cases, a doctor may prescribe both types of medicine to treat scabies. In adults, anti-scabies drugs are applied to the entire body, with the exception of the face and scalp, drugs approved for the treatment of children under 3 years of age are applied to the entire skin. |
| advanced scabies | For successful treatment of advanced scabies, you need to consult a doctor, after the examination, he will prescribe a specific treatment with a combination of anti-scabies drugs with antihistamines. Treatment is selected individually for each patient, depending on the complications that have arisen. |
| Remedies for scabies in humans | For the treatment of scabies, an emulsion and ointment of benzyl benzonate, peremetrin 5% emulsion concentrate in ethanol, chamois ointment, Vishnevsky ointment, zinc ointment are used. After contacting a dermatologist, and conducting an examination, he will select the appropriate remedy for the treatment of scabies. |
Features of treatment depending on the location
You can treat scabies at home, but it is important to follow these recommendations:
- To kill all adults and larvae that emerged from eggs, continue treatment for 4 days.
- Ointment, cream or lotion is applied to the skin in the evening, before going to bed.
- During treatment, it is recommended not to swim, the skin should be dry and cool before applying the product.
- After applying the medicine during the day, you can not swim, after a day you can wash yourself with water without using soap.
- Preventive treatment is done to all family members living together.
A rash with scabies appears in the interdigital spaces on the arms and legs, so anti-scabies should be rubbed into these places, and try not to wash them off. If you need to wash your hands, then after washing, reapply the product.
Prevention of reinfection
For successful prevention, it is important to know how scabies manifests itself.
- All patients are isolated until complete recovery.
- Contact persons undergo prophylactic treatment.
- The patient's belongings, clothes, bed linen, towels, everything he has come into contact with must be disinfected.
- For washing use washing powder and chlorine-containing products.
- What is not subject to heat treatment, treat with special anti-mite agents.