SayPro Scabies

What is scabies?

Scabies is a skin irritation caused by an infestation of tiny parasitic mites that burrow under the skin. The bumpy rash you see is actually an allergic reaction to the eggs and feces the mites leave behind. The name comes from a Latin word meaning “to scratch,” and if your child has scabies, he’s likely doing lots of that.

Your child can contract scabies through skin-to-skin contact with someone who has it. Scabies is extremely contagious, and anyone can get it – even if they’re scrupulously clean. It often shows up in more than one family member or in groups of children in daycare or school. There’s no particular time of year when scabies is more prevalent.

If your child gets scabies, he’ll develop a severely itchy rash of scattered, pimply red bumps, usually between the fingers. In young children, it also typically shows up on the head, neck, shoulders, palms, and soles. In older children and adults, the rash appears on the hands, wrists, genitals, and abdomen.

You may see curvy or razor-thin red lines where the mites have burrowed under the skin. Your child may also develop little pustules (inflamed areas filled with pus, like little pimples) or small, water-filled blisters.

The itching is usually most intense after a hot bath or at night, and it may keep your child awake. Nasty-looking scabs may form over the areas your child has scratched, and a bacterial infection (like impetigo) or a staph infection) could develop.