How do people get Scabies?

Scabies is very contagious and is spread by skin to skin contact with an infected person, or by sharing bedding, towels, clothing or living space. This can be problematic where a living space or facility is shared by many people or brings people into prolonged close contact, such as schools, nursing homes, changing rooms and prisons.

What are the symptoms of Scabies? What does Scabies look like?

After being infected, it can take up to 6 weeks for symptoms of Scabies to show. If you’ve had scabies in the past, the rash may flare up more quickly if you’re infected a second time. The rash has the following features:

• It is an intensely itchy rash which can appear as small red bumps, hives or tiny blisters- there may also be burrows which look like small lines under the skin.
• However, some people may not get an obvious scabies rash- they may simply experience itchy skin.
• Most commonly affected areas include skin around joints such as elbows, wrists, armpits and between the fingers. However, other areas such as the trunk, buttocks, genital area, limbs, palms of the hands and soles of the feet may be affected.
• It’s less common for scabies to affect the head, neck and feet- but it may do in babies, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems.
• The rash is often most itchy at night, or after a hot bath or shower.
• Scratching may lead to sores which get infected with bacteria (leading to more inflamed, red and weeping lesions)

Different types of Scabies

There is only one type of scabies mite, but it can cause different patterns of infection in different people.

• Typical Scabies- the most common presentation, involving itchy rash on the hands, wrists, and other common areas but often not the scalp or face.
• Nodular Scabies- this presents as itchy, raised bumps on the skin, especially in the axillary (armpit) areas, genital area and/or groin
• Norwegian Scabies- Norwegian Scabies, also known as crusted scabies tends to happen in people who are immunocompromised (a weakened immune system), for example due to medications that weaken the immune system, chemotherapy or HIV/AIDS. It is a more severe and fare more contagious form of the infestation- thick crusts develop on the skin, containing thousands of eggs and mites.

Are Bed Bugs the same as Scabies?

No, bed bugs and scabies are two different things. Unlike Scabies, bed bugs can be seen with the naked eye. They come out at night to feed on human blood, then hide by day in the bed/soft furnishings etc.

A bed bug rash is usually just a red area around the site of the bite, but Scabies tends to cause a wider area of affected skin and burrows may be visible.

Bed bugs are often very difficult to eliminate and may require a professional exterminator.

However, as Scabies don’t survive long without human contact, if a person treats themselves, their family and their environment, the infestation will usually clear up.