How easily is the scabies mite infected? I was exposed while playing with a child and only heard about his infection afterwards. Should I immediately lubricate the skin with medicated ointment or wait for symptoms and then start the treatment?
The expert answers:
The mite can be caught by close contact very easily, but less often by momentary contact.
The incubation period is usually 3–6 weeks, in case of re-infection a few days. The most common symptoms are severe itching and rash. Typically, symptoms are between the fingers, wrists, neck, chest, upper back, buttocks, groin and genital area, but the rash can also be in a wide area.
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In an adult, the passages dug by the scabies mite are best seen on the wrists and ankles, where the skin is thin. However, almost everyone does not see them. The infection can also appear as small blisters, pimples or just scratch marks on the skin.
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Even if there are no symptoms, cream treatment is necessary if there has been prolonged skin contact with the carrier of the scabies mite. Nix cream destroys the scabies mite and you don’t need a prescription to buy it from a pharmacy. One treatment session is usually enough, but if the skin symptoms do not improve within a reasonable time, the treatment can be renewed. In addition, used clothes and sheets would have to be changed and washed, carpets and upholstered furniture vacuumed.
Treatment and cleaning may seem difficult, but spreading the scabies and chaining the treatment is an even bigger problem. Scabies itching is very troublesome and can continue even after several weeks of treatment.
This article has appeared in Hyvä tervey magazine. As a subscriber, you can read all issues free of charge from the digilehdet.fi service.
Source: www.hyvaterveys.fi
