Is it possible to be reinfested with scabies 3 weeks after treatment?
Posted , 3 users are following.
I was diagnosed with scabies about a month ago and I did the treatment of permethrin cream once, waited 7 days, then again. I was also very diligent about washing my clothes and bedding in hot water. It seemed to work and although I had occasional small red itchy bumps, it seemed to just be post-scabies syndrome and I tried not to be paranoid that I had gotten it again.
However, a couple days ago, about 3 weeks after the treatment, the red bumps started getting itchier and more frequent and got very noticeable especially right after I shower. Even when I had full on scabies I couldn't tell whether there were burrows and I don't know now either, but I am very worried.
0 likes, 3 replies
hbinoz amanda42424
Posted
Amanda - the short answer is Yes. You probably didn't get rid of them. As a veteran sufferer of two years, I advise you to treat yourself for longer period, more often and more thoroughly than you have done. Beat them now. You don't want a chronic situation like mine (that was not diagnosed until about 12 months after I first got it). I could not see tunnels - no-one could - until I used remedies. To see better, buy a magnifying glass (10X). Or better still, take photographs and blow them up on a large computer screen. You will see the tunnels then - with debris. I found by accident when observing one sore photo that my whole body is actually littered with black dots under the skin from dead scabies matter. By the way, I have no actual itching but I do sometimes feel one feeding on me for a few seconds, several hours apart and in the same place - in such cases, rub plenty of permethrin cream in. If you have the opportunity, try infra-red sauna treatment (see post by Elder..) Good luck.
amanda42424 hbinoz
Posted
Thank you so much for your answer! Do you have any advise on how to treat my clothes/bedding/towels with long term scabies so I don't get reinvested? Thank you again.
hbinoz amanda42424
Posted
I claim no particular expertise, but remember that scabies cannot live for more than 2-3 days off the body. So clothes can be put in bags/isolated. Shoes/handbags/chairs.... too. Dryness helps kill them faster. People use various nasty products on other surfaces, but I rather doubt that they are a problem (toilet seat excepted). Scabies spend so little time NOT under the skin. Also scabies cannot survive >50 degreesC, so hot washing should be enough. If you have the body properly covered, there is nowhere for the surviving scabies to feed, so I think that washing clothes and bedding incessantly with various chemicals is not the answer. Rather, time the washing to maximise the efficacy of the body treatment.