Scabies

Scabies is a contagious skin condition that causes intense itching. It is caused by tiny mites called sarcoptes scabiei, which burrow into the skin.

Scabies can be spread through close physical contact and, less commonly, through secondary contact with clothes and bed linen.

How common is scabies?

Scabies is particularly widespread in countries that have a high population density and limited access to medical care. It is hard to estimate the exact number of cases in England and Wales because many people treat the condition themselves without visiting their GP.

However, one study suggested that one in every 1,000 people will develop a scabies infection each month.

Scabies is more common in children and women and appears to be more widespread in the north of England. Most outbreaks of scabies occur in winter, possibly because during this time of year people spend more time indoors and are in closer proximity to each other.

For reasons that are not fully understood, outbreaks of scabies seem to follow a cycle, with the number of cases peaking every 20 years.

In this section

What do they do?

Mites like warmth and smell. The mites feed by using their mouth parts and front legs to dig into the outer layer of the skin. They ingest tissue and fluids as they burrow. As they feed within the skin layer, they lengthen their burrows horizontally (about 0.5mm per day). The females lay two to three eggs per day in a permanent burrow in the skin. The larvae (or baby mites) hatch from the eggs in three to four days and travel to the skin surface where they lie in shallow pockets before they turn into adult mites.

Scabies like warmer places on the skin such as skin folds, between the fingers or under fingernails, around the buttock or breast creases. They also tend to hide under watch straps or bracelets, and in the skin on the finger under rings.

Treating scabies

Scabies is not usually a serious condition, but the intense itching can be unpleasant and have an adverse effect on the quality of life.

Scabies can usually be successfully treated using special creams. In order to prevent re-infection, it is important that all members of the household are treated, as well as any sexual partners that you have had.

Occasionally, scabies can lead to a secondary skin infection as the skin can become irritated and inflamed through excessive itching.

Crusted scabies

A more severe and uncommon form of the condition occurs when there are a lot of mites, sometimes thousands and millions, in the skin. This is called crusted scabies, and can affect older people and people with certain illnesses that lower immunity, such as HIV. See the 'complications section' for more details about crusted scabies.

Human scabies mites are too small to be seen by the human eye and can only be identified with a microscope.

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