The rash may be red or purple and paired with pimples or pus.
This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.
Pain, inflammation, and infection can also result, sometimes indicating more severe or advanced cases.
Raimo Suhonen / DermNet / CC BY-NC-ND
Normally, the itching can be temporarily relieved with topical or oral anti-itch medications.
That said, those options will not eradicate the mite.
It may, however, occur in very young children who have scabies.
Illustration by Joshua Seong. © Verywell, 2018.
Complications
In severe situations, scabies can cause areas of skin to develop crusted sores.
The crusted skin contains a higher concentration of mites than what is normally seen with scabies.
This condition is more difficult to treat and is highly contagious.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Scabies lesions can becomeinfected with bacteria, particularly after intense scratching leads to open sores and wounds.
These bacterial infections are not normally contagious, but they can spread and cause scarring of the skin.
Bacterial skin infections require a different treatment than the treatment used for scabies itself.
In areas of the world where scabies is common, people often suffer from recurrent infections.
Recurrent infections may be uncomfortable, and make it difficult to eliminate the infection from the household.
Most complications of scabies are limited to the skin.
Your healthcare provider can identify the cause of your rash and initiate the appropriate treatment for you.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
This includes spouses, sexual partners, or anyone with whom you have had prolonged skin-to-skin contact.
Scabies symptoms are anallergic reaction.
These cells work by destroying infected cells.
The itching andrashare side effects of this response.
The only way to get rid of scabies is with topical medication that kills the mites.
It typically takes about four weeks after treatment for scabies to heal completely.
Micali G, Lacarrubba F, Verzi AE, Chosidow O, Schwartz RA.Scabies: Advances in Noninvasive Diagnosis.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis.
2016;10(6):e0004691.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004691
Chandler DJ, Fuller LC.A Review of Scabies: An Infestation More than Skin Deep.
Dermatology (Basel).
2015;10(4):1533-1535. doi:10.3892/etm.2015.2668
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of crusted scabies.
Mccarthy JS, Kemp DJ, Walton SF, Currie BJ.Scabies: more than just an irritation.
2013;257(1761):23-2.
American Academy of Dermatology.Scabies: Signs & symptoms.
Marwa K, Kondamudi NP.key in IV hypersensitivity reaction.
In: StatPearls [Internet].
Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.
2021;10:2020-12-3. doi:10.7573/dic.2020-12-3
American Academy of Dermatology.Scabies: Diagnosis and treatment.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“ScabiesResource for Health Professionals.”
