Scabies is a common skin condition that causes intense itching and a rash. It results from a tiny mite infesting the skin, leading many people to question how it spreads. A frequent misunderstanding concerns its classification, particularly whether it is considered a sexually transmitted infection. This article will clarify the nature of scabies and its various modes of transmission.
What Scabies Is
Scabies is an infestation caused by the microscopic mite Sarcoptes scabiei. These mites are invisible to the naked eye. Once on the skin, the female mites burrow into the outermost layer, forming tunnels where they lay their eggs.
The symptoms associated with scabies, such as severe itching and a rash, do not appear immediately after infestation. They typically develop as an allergic reaction to the mites, their eggs, and their waste products within the skin. This allergic response can take several weeks to manifest. The persistent itching is a hallmark symptom, often worsening at night.
How Scabies is Transmitted
Scabies primarily spreads through prolonged, direct skin-to-skin contact with an infested person, allowing mites to transfer. While sexual contact is a very common way for adults to transmit scabies, it is not the exclusive means of transmission.
Beyond sexual contact, scabies can also spread through other forms of sustained close contact. This includes living in the same household or sharing a bed with someone who has scabies. Children can often acquire scabies through close play with infested peers in settings like daycare centers. Transmission is also possible, though less common, through sharing personal items such as clothing, towels, or bedding that have been recently used by an infested individual.
Due to these multiple routes of transmission, scabies is not classified solely as a sexually transmitted disease. While it can be transmitted during sexual activity, its spread through non-sexual close contact means it does not fit the strict definition of an STD. Understanding these pathways is important for preventing its spread.
Identifying and Treating Scabies
Identifying scabies often begins with recognizing its characteristic symptoms. The most prominent symptom is intense itching, which frequently becomes more severe at night. This itching is accompanied by a pimple-like rash, and sometimes, tiny, raised burrow tracks can be seen on the skin. These burrows appear as fine, wavy lines, typically a few millimeters to a centimeter long.
Common areas for the rash and burrows include the webbing between the fingers, wrists, elbows, and armpits. In adults, it can also appear on the waist, buttocks, and genital area. For infants and young children, the infestation may be more widespread, affecting the head, neck, palms, and soles of the feet. A healthcare professional can diagnose scabies through a visual examination of the skin or by taking a skin scraping to look for mites, eggs, or fecal matter under a microscope.
Treatment for scabies typically involves prescription medications that kill the mites. Topical creams, such as permethrin 5% cream, are commonly prescribed and applied to the entire body from the neck down. In some cases, especially for extensive infestations or when topical treatments are ineffective, oral medications like ivermectin may be used. It is also important to treat all close contacts of the infested person, even if they do not show symptoms, to prevent re-infestation and further spread. Additionally, washing clothing, bedding, and towels used by the infested person in hot water and drying them on a hot cycle helps eliminate any remaining mites.