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Outdated or conservative pediatric protocol?

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k46446
k46446

Hi yall, my son was diagnosed last thursday with scabies. We think he got it from an Anaheim Disney area hotel (not a cruddy one, a big name with whom we are tiered members). Four weeks later we went on a two week roadtrip/camping trip and we all came home bitten by mosquitoes and whatever else hides in grass. Did a fair amount of wading in various fresh water bodies and thought that the lasting rash on DS was swimmers itch, or perhaps another insidious parasite.

Parasite was right. Soon he got blistery lines and everyone said, oh, thats just from him itching. Watch it.

A week and a half after first seeing the rash, we got into the pediatric office. My appointment was with a nurse practitioner, no problem as I see a nurse practitioner regularly, only i was slightly annoyed that they didn't inform me over the phone that my sons rash was going to be seen by her, not the doctor.

While she was doing her physical exam, I expressed a concern that it was scabies, she said, "You're right." (Which is why i love nurse practitioners.) She says, "no problem, its just a cream you apply at bedtime, you may want to repeat in 7 days. Wash his bedding in hot water and dry on high." I said, "well, he literally rolls around the couch and our bed and everywhere. How agressive do I need to be with cleaning?" She said "Oh gosh, probaby just vacuum everything."

I pick up the cream ($120!! Omg heart attack!), get home, vacuum, wash, dry, iron, steam clean everything. Relax. Google scabies. OMFG!!!!

Call the ped, ask why everyone else doesn't get a tx. Because we don't have scabies, is his answer. Treat symptomatically. I was like, ok, just in case of drug resistance, only treat symptoms. Today, day 6 post-permethrin, toddler son has one new line and one new blister. Call ped again. He says, treat again today ("Day 6? Are you sure?" "Yes, it's fine."wink and call on Friday if there are any problems. Today is Tuesday.

I wanted to treat myself and hubby at the same time as DS the first time, but he refused to let me rub him with the cream and said i was overreacting.

My question is, have you ever heard of a doctor treating so conservatively, or is this blatant malpractice? I am literally not allergic to ANYTHING, except mosquitoes, and I have no itchiness or rash, neither does DH. I'm thinking that if I have scabies I'm not going to show a reaction.

Lastly i have a cat, so spraying everything with permethrin is out of the question. She has been treated with an intensive routine of Revolution for 6 months for a skin condition which has resolved. So she undoubtedly does not carry mites or parasites.

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • k46446
    k46446

    Posted

    I guess I also want to let everyone know how this treatment turns out, how many more doctor visits I need to make, if DH and I eventually need treatment. Based on what i have seen today treating one patient once with the cream will not eradicate the pests.

    The information printout I received with DS's cream even said close personal contacts should be EXAMINED, not TREATED for scabies.

    One additional fact I may as well address - I was a vet assistant for 10 years. Whenever we would come across a patient infested with whatever, fleas, ticks, maggots, mites, knowing that none of these things could infest us would still not quell the creepy-crawly-itchy feeling that these patients would make you experience. This is a normal feeling and i experience it daily - although I do recognize it as being all in my head.

  • sj8373
    sj8373 k46446

    Posted

    Hi there ....first I am very sorry you are going through this . I haven't been on this forum in awhile but your post was sent to my email . I work in the medical field and have been trying to fight this for almost 7 months now . Yes I work in the medical field and still can not get proper help dealing with this . I won't go in to my situation to much because I don't want to scare you. BUT.....YES you should treat yourself and your husband !! Hopefully permethrin will work for your son ......read about the life cycle of these mites !! I could write a book about this yet I am still not rid of this after ivermectin & Permethrin treatments. You can order Permethrin on Ebay .....kick this immediately before you get symptoms and give it back to your son. This is just my recommendation. My Fiance went to his Dr. and told him I had it. He didn't hesitate and treated him . I wish you the best of luck ! This is a horrible thing to experience and I hope you beat it quickly !

  • jami88430
    jami88430 k46446

    Posted

    So sorry you are going through this. This hit my granddaughter, daughter and boyfriend last year. This is what we did. My daughter treated her house by cleaning alone everything the night of treatment and then again when she treated 7 days later, Thats it for cleaning. She treated herself, baby and boyfriend all the same day with permethrin cream ( very expensive). The baby has 2 sets of grandparents, all close contact so to be same we were all treated at the same time ( only one treatment for us, and cleaning that night). My daughter/baby/boyfriend then treated again 7 days later with cream but baby got ivo as well ( 2 doses 7 days apart). It has been 9 mo and all is clean and nobody else got it! I cannot explain how bad the baby was, crusted scabies and skin infection from scratching. We were convinced she still had it 2 months later as her skin would just not heal but it was just the lasting effects of treatment. They took bendryl for weeks and baby had bakingsoda baths to help heal the skin. We treated a total of 9 people  (only 3 with symptoms) to protect the baby. Never found out where it came from and took months for it to go away. So glad my daughter trusted the treatments and just let the skin heal. Two suggestions, do not use hot or even warm water, it aggitates the skin! The baby was coated in coconut oil every day to help heal the skin and it kept her from scarring. Best of luck! 
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