Download Scabies - Heartland Alliance

Scabies
Refugee Health Programs
March 2009
Scabies
Scabies is a skin problem caused by a
bug called a mite.
A female mite lays eggs under the skin of
a human and stays inside until she dies.
We cannot see scabies because they are
very small.
Adult mite
Symptoms
• Scabies only affects the skin, outside the body.
• Scabies causes extreme itching, which is usually worse at night.
• Rashes, blisters, or bumps may appear.
• Rashes and itching may last for 2-3 weeks, even after being treated.
Where Scabies Is Mainly Found
• In between the fingers
• Around the head and neck
• Wrist, nipple, elbow, waist, armpit,
buttocks, penis, shoulder
• Hands and feet (especially in children)
If You Think You Have Scabies
• If you think you might have scabies, check
with a doctor or nurse.
• Try not to scratch: scratching scabies can
lead to skin sores that can become
infected.
• Don’t share personal items with others.
How Does Scabies Spread?
Scabies is passed from one person to another:
• Through skin–to-skin contact,
• By touching an infected person’s items
(such as clothing),
• Through sexual contact.
• Remember! Until you are cured, you can continue to
pass scabies on to others.
Prevention
• If you know somebody who has scabies, try not
to touch their skin.
• Do not share clothes with an infected person.
• Wash bedding in hot water and dry at high
temperatures (130 degrees Fahrenheit) for at
least 20 minutes.
• If you are not able to wash something, sealing it
in a plastic bag will kill the bugs.
Infection around the arm
Scabies on the hand. The red
spots cause itching.
Scabies in genital areas
Treatments
• The only treatment for scabies is a medicine that must
be prescribed by a doctor.
• Itching a scabies rash can make the infection worse.
• People living in the same house, or who has had skin-toskin contact with an infected person should also take
medicine.
• Everybody taking the medicine should use it at the same
time so the bugs don’t come back.
Scabies
Refugee Health Programs
Heartland Health Outreach
1331 W Albion Chicago, IL 60626
www.heartlandalliance.org/refugeehealth
773.751.4166 ph
This multi-media document was made possible with funding from the Office of
Refugee Resettlement, Department of Health and Human Services provided to
the Illinois Department of Public Health.
March 2009