Posted by Chet on December 15, 2004 at 22:16:06:
Another perspective on my Scabies experience
Scabie mites, in the past, were known to primarily affect the infants and the elderly. . . Nowadays there seems to be a yearly winter plaque of them, with more and more persons affected each year. . .Many are catching them off dogs, though the Specialists say dog and human mites are different. . . . It appears that the US Gov has actually posted a warning sometime ago that puppies coming from Mexico are generally loaded with mites, and many cases of human Scabies are resulting from these dogs
Most Specialists claim that the Scabies mite lives one or two days, though one Specialist said seven days. . . . I doubt that they really know. . . I could find no research proving the Specialist statements. . . . In my experience, the mites appear to be able to live for weeks, and some for months. . . . I suspect that the Mites (being around for some 5,000 years) can survive many ways, on all kinds of animals, and have the ability to hibernate when needed.
Note - - even if you eliminate the Scabies mites, you are going to itch (and terribly so) for up to three weeks or so. . . Until, all those dead mites, their eggs, their dead larvae, and their excretions are flushed out of you skin (under which it all lies). . . One must wait until new skin growth pushes it all out
The Scabies mite generally appears in the cold Winter months. . . Say, November till the end of March . .It is claimed that the mites are attracted to warmth and odor, hence the suggestion to wash all and bathe frequently. . . One mostly notices the mites at night-time, due to the intense (non-stoppable) itching occurring between 8-PM to 5-AM. . . The female mite bores holes under the skin, waits for the male mite to mate, does her excretion and lays her eggs, as she tunnels back-and-forth under the skin. . . The larvae, or newly hatched mites, travel to the skin surface, lying in shallow pockets where they will develop into adult mites, or perhaps fall off to the floor or bedding . . The intense itchiness is claimed to come from the bodies' allergic reaction to the mite's excretion and eggs. . . It may be up to a month before a newly infested person will notice the itching, and maybe up to eight weeks before seeking treatment. . . But, in actuality, it seems that some people are more sensitive to the ichiness (and perhaps associated rashes) and catch it early when it is easy to eliminate, while others (men usually) can take many months before noticing they have a problem at which time they are not likely to quickly get rid of the mites
What to Look for, per comments on the Internet - - The earliest and most common symptom of scabies is itching, especially in the late evening and at night. . . In early stages, extremely-itchy little red bumps, like hives, tiny bites, or pimples appear. . . These can appear between the fingers, on the elbows or wrists, buttocks or belt line, around the nipples, on the penis, and-or on the leg calf. . In more advanced cases, the skin may be crusty or scaly (so-called Norwegian scabies). . . When the baby mite enters the skin, one notices a very itchy pimple the size of a sharp pencil-point, somewhat of a speck of shiny skin - - but this swells to the size of a wooden matchstick-head within a day, often somewhat red in color now, and again still very, very itchy. . .The itchy pimples behind the elbows can feel to be quite pronounced after a day, perhaps a quarter-inch to three-eights of an inch in diameter. . . Those on the buttocks feel to be somekind of bumps deep under the skin. . . Scabies prefers warmer sites on the skin such as skin folds where clothing is tight. . . Mites also tend to hide in, or on, the skin under rings, bracelets or watchbands, or under the nails. . . In children, the infestation may involve the entire body, including the palms, soles, and scalp. . . The child may be tired and irritable as a result of loss of sleep from itching or scratching all night long.
I caught scabies 15 Nov 2003 from either a barber, a dentist, or a dog that came back from two weeks at the Vet. . . (The dog was near death). . . I live alone, so it was easy to recall who was near me. . .It was not until January 2004 that I knew what I had. . . Two applications of the Physician prescription Acticin cream a week apart(same as the Elimite insecticide cream) worked, but the mites all came back a week later. . . By February 2004, I knew I was in for a war aginst those mites, and the hell with the Physicians. . . It took ten days to eliminate most of the mites, but another two months getting the strays that showed-up now and then
It is easy to tell if you have them around, at least when you have them bad, bad. . .Wear sweats with elastic ankle cuffs. . Sit bare-footed in the room between 10-00 PM and mid-night. . Sit quietly. . .See if you feel things crawling on your feet. . . You won't see them, but you sure can feel them
If so, you are going to have to treat your house for a household mite infestation. . . This is not a simple insecticide cream application or two, as the Physicians suggest.
Each morning, I washed all garments that I had touched. . . But, I found that hot-washing and hot-drying the clothes, bedding, and garments did not kill the mites. . . When so washing-drying, and then putting the cleaned clothes on next late-evening, I always felt as if I had bugs crawling all over me within an hour or so. . I went to pre-soaking for an hour in a 5-gal bucket of insecticide before washing them. . . Turning periodically with a stick. . .The change was noticeable, as the clothes always felt good when putting them on late-evening that day . . . I did this daily for ten days, soaking and washing everything touched . . . I used 5-oz of Spectracide's Triazicide in a empty five gallon paint bucket for the insecticide soak. . . (Got it a Home Depot)
I made my own insecticide cream, same Permethrin insecticide as in that which the Physician prescribes. . .I just needed to have more available then the small 2.1 ounce prescription tubes, as it seemed to me that I had a "war" on hand. . . I just mixed the proper amount of Dragnet SFR insecticide with a 99-cent jar of Noxzema cream. . . I used the $55/quart Dragnet SFR insecticide by FMC Corporation Agricultural Products, that is considered useable within the home, and which is a 36.8% concentration of Permethrin - - the same insecticide as in the prescription Elimite. . . I made a 5-percent solution for full-body coverage. . .And I made a 7.5% solution for application to local areas (feet, leg calfs, elbows, and finger webs)
Each evening at 8-PM, I showered and waited till thoroughly dry. . . I then covered myself with this home-made insecticide-cream from ears to toes and kept it on till the showering next night. . I then dressed in my previously pre-soaked and washed clothes. . . For simplity - I slept on a backpacking foam pad on the floor, one blanket and a rolled pillow-towel, using long-johns and a wind-breaker - to minimize all that needed soaking-washing the next morning. . . . Again, I did this nightly for ten days
In January 2004, I had my dogs given mite shots, this twice, but the shots did not seem to do any good, and I eventually gave-up on them. . . (The Vet later told me that four or five shots are sometimes needed). . . The one dog was forever scratching himself, and thus seemed highly susceptiple to the mites . . When starting by attack against the mites, I had this dog shaved. . .And applied the home-made insecticide-cream nightly to the dog also. . . Again, I did this for ten days.
It took ten days to get rid of the mites. . . Noticeable, as there was no crawling on my bare feet any more at late night. . . But for the next two months, now and then, a mite would again get on me. . . I then quickly applied the home-made insecticide-cream locally as needed, as I was not about to let another household mite infestation get started again
BTW - - The Permethrin insecticide-cream is a contact killer. . . So, it kills the mites that crawl across your insecticide-cream coated feet. . . But the mites don't just immediately die when contacting the Permethrin. . . It takes awhile for them to die, so they continue their crawl for sometime. . . I nightly tested the presence of the mites with bare feet - but after awhile (when starting my attack on the mites) the crawling mites got on my nerves and I had to put on malathion-soaked backpacking-type polyester wicking-socks. . . I just used the wet soaked sock, as body temperature quickly dried the socks. . . I used Malathion here rather than Spectracide's Triazicide, as the later easily causes skin irration (it passes), whereas Malathion (though stinking) does not seem to irritate the skin
BTW - - A year later, Dec 2004, some Scabies mites again showed-up in my home. . . They thus must have been able to hibernate during the summer months. . . This time, though, they were not a problem, as I quickly recognized the mites on me and applied my insecticide-cream locally. . . The one dog is again shaved as a precaution . . . (He is mostly indoors). . .And will be treated with the insecticide-cream if he shows signs of lots of itchying
Chet