Scabies

About Scabies

Scabies is an intensely itchy skin infestation caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei. Itching typically worsens at night and is accompanied by small papules, burrows, and excoriations, often in finger webs, wrists, axillae, waistline, and genitals. It spreads through prolonged skin-to-skin contact and is common in households and institutional settings. Diagnosis is clinical, sometimes confirmed by skin scraping. First-line treatment is topical permethrin 5% applied head-to-toe, with oral ivermectin as an alternative; all household contacts should be treated simultaneously and bedding laundered in hot water.