Scabies: How is it Transmitted, Tested and Treated?

Scabies is a skin infection caused by tiny parasitic mites, which burrow into your skin and lay eggs. These mites are smaller than the head of a pin, but when there are many of them in your skin, they can affect your wellbeing more seriously with crusted scabies – a more rare and severe form of the condition. This tends to affect the wellness of older people, and people with certain illnesses like HIV, but does that make scabies a sexually transmitted disease (STI)?

As the transmission of scabies requires close physical contact, sex is a possible way to pass the skin infection on. However, any form of close body contact can allow scabies to easily pass from person to person, and it’s possible for children to get scabies through close body contact. When not on the body, the mites can live for up to 72 hours so scabies can be spread via your clothing, bedding and towels. On the body, the mites can inhabit your genital area, your hands, between your fingers, on your wrists and elbows, underneath your arms, on your abdomen, on your breasts and around the nipples in women, on your feet and ankles and around your buttocks.

Scabies does present with certain symptoms, but often people are not aware of them, or don’t experience them very strongly. You can come into contact with scabies but not see any visible signs of infection until six weeks later. However, symptoms for scabies do exist, and they are the same for men and women. You may notice intense itching in the affected areas, which may be more noticeable at night, in bed or after a hot bath or shower. The affected areas may also show signs of inflammation or raw, broken skin, usually caused by scratching, and you could experience an itchy red rash or tiny spots, but many people confuse this symptom with other conditions, such as eczema.

Though it’s impossible to see scabies with the naked eye, the mites sometimes leave visible fine, silvery lines where they have burrowed. However, even if you can’t see these lines, but think you may have been infected, it’s important to get tested. You can ask a pharmacist, or get tested for free at your GP, genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics and sexual health clinics. If you do have scabies, it can be treated with a cream that your doctor, nurse or pharmacist will advise you on, but make sure you inform them if you think you might be pregnant or if you are breastfeeding, as this will affect the type of treatment you’re given. Also, remember to wash all bedding, clothing and towels on a very hot cycle, and get all members of your household and sexual partners treated at the same time.