Scabies is a highly contagious skin infestation of the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. Scabies spreads easily via direct person-to-person contact (eg, skilled nursing facility, day care, prison). The pregnant female mite burrows into the outer skin layer to lay eggs and feces, leaving a superficial burrow track. Intense itching, especially at night, occurs due to the body's inflammatory response to the mite's eggs and feces.
Treatment for scabies typically involves 1 or 2 applications of a scabicide cream (eg, 5% permethrin).
For infants and children, permethrin should be massaged into all skin surfaces from the head to the feet, avoiding contact with the eyes (Option 2).
Even after effective treatment, itching often continues for several weeks.
All persons in close contact with the client during the lengthy 30- to 60-day incubation period (time from infestation to symptom onset) should also seek treatment (Option 1).
To prevent reinfection, clothing and linens should be washed and dried on the hottest settings (Option 5).
(Options 3 and 4) Discarding stuffed animals is not required. Nonwashable belongings can be sealed in plastic bags for 23 days because scabies mites can survive away from skin for only 2-3 days. Fumigation of living areas is not necessary.
Educational objective: Scabies spreads easily through skin-to-skin contact. Clients with scabies and all persons in close contact should receive treatment with a scabicide cream applied to all skin surfaces. Potentially infested belongings should be washed and dried on the hottest settings or sealed in plastic bags for 23 days.
Scabies is a highly contagious skin infestation of the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. Scabies spreads easily via direct person-to-person contact (eg, skilled nursing facility, day care, prison). The pregnant female mite burrows into the outer skin layer to lay eggs and feces, leaving a superficial burrow track. Intense itching, especially at night, occurs due to the body's inflammatory response to the mite's eggs and feces.
Treatment for scabies typically involves 1 or 2 applications of a scabicide cream (eg, 5% permethrin).
For infants and children, permethrin should be massaged into all skin surfaces from the head to the feet, avoiding contact with the eyes (Option 2).
Even after effective treatment, itching often continues for several weeks.
All persons in close contact with the client during the lengthy 30- to 60-day incubation period (time from infestation to symptom onset) should also seek treatment (Option 1).
To prevent reinfection, clothing and linens should be washed and dried on the hottest settings (Option 5).
(Options 3 and 4) Discarding stuffed animals is not required. Nonwashable belongings can be sealed in plastic bags for 23 days because scabies mites can survive away from skin for only 2-3 days. Fumigation of living areas is not necessary.
Educational objective: Scabies spreads easily through skin-to-skin contact. Clients with scabies and all persons in close contact should receive treatment with a scabicide cream applied to all skin surfaces. Potentially infested belongings should be washed and dried on the hottest settings or sealed in plastic bags for 23 days.
