Can Children Get Scabies? Protecting Your Little Ones
Yes, children can absolutely get scabies. This highly contagious skin condition, caused by tiny mites, is especially common in settings where children are in close contact, making understanding prevention and treatment crucial for parents and caregivers.
Understanding Scabies: A Background
Scabies is a skin infestation caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. These microscopic creatures burrow under the skin, laying eggs and triggering an intense itching sensation, often worse at night. While anyone can get scabies, it’s particularly prevalent among children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. Understanding the basics of scabies is the first step in protecting your family.
How Scabies Spreads: Transmission Routes
Scabies spreads through prolonged, skin-to-skin contact. This makes it easily transmissible in environments where children play closely, such as:
- Daycare centers
- Schools
- Playdates
- Even within families
Sharing clothing, bedding, or towels can also, but less commonly, spread the mites. Unlike lice, scabies is not usually spread through casual contact like shaking hands.
Recognizing the Signs: Symptoms in Children
The most common symptom of scabies is intense itching, especially at night. Other tell-tale signs include:
- Tiny, raised bumps or blisters: These are often found in skin folds, such as between fingers, on wrists, in armpits, around the waistline, and on the genitals.
- Burrow tracks: These appear as thin, wavy, grayish-white lines on the skin. However, they can be difficult to see, especially in children.
- Rashes: A widespread rash may develop in response to the mite infestation.
- Secondary skin infections: Scratching can lead to open sores, which can become infected with bacteria.
Infants and young children may experience more widespread symptoms, including involvement of the scalp, face, palms, and soles.
Diagnosing Scabies: Seeking Medical Expertise
If you suspect your child has scabies, it’s crucial to see a doctor for diagnosis. A physical examination, coupled with a skin scraping examined under a microscope, can confirm the presence of mites or their eggs. Don’t attempt to self-diagnose or treat scabies, as other skin conditions can mimic its symptoms.
Treatment Options: Eradicating the Mites
Scabies treatment typically involves prescription creams or lotions called scabicides, such as permethrin 5% cream or ivermectin. These medications kill the mites and their eggs. Follow your doctor’s instructions carefully, ensuring that the medication is applied to all areas of the body from the neck down (including the soles of the feet for infants and young children).
- Apply the medication: At bedtime after a bath or shower.
- Leave on for the recommended time: Usually 8-14 hours.
- Wash off thoroughly: In the morning.
In addition to topical treatments, oral antihistamines may be prescribed to relieve itching. It’s important to treat all household members and close contacts simultaneously, even if they don’t have symptoms, to prevent re-infestation.
Preventing Re-infestation: Environmental Control
To prevent re-infestation, it’s crucial to decontaminate the environment:
- Wash all clothing, bedding, and towels: In hot water and dry them on high heat.
- Dry clean items that cannot be washed: Or seal them in a plastic bag for at least 72 hours (mites cannot survive without a human host for more than a few days).
- Vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture thoroughly.
Common Mistakes: Avoiding Treatment Failures
Several common mistakes can lead to treatment failure:
- Not treating all close contacts simultaneously.
- Not applying the medication properly (e.g., missing areas of the body).
- Not repeating the treatment after 1-2 weeks (as recommended by your doctor).
- Not decontaminating the environment effectively.
Living with Scabies: Managing the Itch
Even after successful treatment, itching can persist for several weeks. Here are some tips to manage the itch:
- Apply calamine lotion or anti-itch creams.
- Take cool baths or showers.
- Keep fingernails short to minimize skin damage from scratching.
- Consider using oral antihistamines.
Remember that the itching is a result of an allergic reaction to the dead mites and their waste products, and it will gradually subside.
Can Children Get Scabies Even if They Practice Good Hygiene?
Yes, children can get scabies even if they practice good hygiene. Scabies is primarily spread through prolonged skin-to-skin contact, not necessarily by poor hygiene. While cleanliness is important for overall health, it won’t prevent scabies transmission if a child comes into contact with someone who is infested.
How Long Does It Take for Scabies Symptoms to Appear After Exposure in Children?
The incubation period for scabies, meaning the time it takes for symptoms to appear after exposure, is typically 2-6 weeks in individuals who have never had scabies before. In people who have had scabies previously, symptoms may appear much faster, within 1-4 days.
Are There Natural Remedies for Scabies in Children?
While some natural remedies like tea tree oil or neem oil are sometimes suggested for scabies, they are not proven to be effective and are not recommended as a substitute for prescription medications. The FDA has not approved any natural remedies for scabies treatment. Always consult with a doctor before using any alternative therapies, especially on children.
What Are the Potential Complications of Untreated Scabies in Children?
Untreated scabies in children can lead to several complications, including:
- Secondary bacterial infections due to scratching.
- Crusted scabies (Norwegian scabies), a severe form of scabies that is highly contagious and difficult to treat.
- Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, a kidney disease that can occur after a streptococcal infection, which can be triggered by skin infections from scratching.
Is Scabies Considered a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) in Children?
While scabies can be spread through sexual contact in adults, it is generally not considered an STI in children. In children, scabies is more commonly spread through non-sexual skin-to-skin contact in settings like daycare or within families.
How Do I Know If the Scabies Treatment is Working in My Child?
If the treatment is working, you should see a gradual decrease in itching over several days to weeks. New bumps and burrows should stop appearing. However, it’s important to note that the itching can persist for several weeks even after successful treatment due to an allergic reaction to the dead mites. If the itching doesn’t improve or gets worse, or if new lesions appear, contact your doctor.
Can My Child Go to School or Daycare if They Have Scabies?
Children with scabies should not attend school or daycare until they have been treated with a scabicide medication. They can usually return 24 hours after the first treatment has been applied, as long as all close contacts are also being treated.
Does Scabies Affect Certain Age Groups of Children More Than Others?
Scabies can affect children of all ages. However, it is particularly common in infants and young children who attend daycare or are in close contact with other children. Older children may also be affected, especially if they participate in activities that involve close physical contact, such as sports.
What If I Am Pregnant and My Child Has Scabies?
If you are pregnant and your child has scabies, it’s important to consult with your doctor about the safest treatment options for both you and your child. Some scabicides are not safe to use during pregnancy, so your doctor will recommend a suitable alternative.
Can Pets Get Scabies and Transmit It to Children?
The type of mite that affects humans is different from the mites that affect pets. Pets may get sarcoptic mange, which is caused by a different type of Sarcoptes mite. Human scabies mites cannot survive on pets, and pet mange mites cannot live on humans. If your pet has mange, it’s important to treat them separately.
Are There Different Types of Scabies That Affect Children Differently?
The most common type of scabies affecting children is classical scabies. However, children with weakened immune systems (e.g., those with HIV or undergoing chemotherapy) are more prone to developing crusted scabies (Norwegian scabies), a severe and highly contagious form of the disease.
How Can Schools and Daycares Help Prevent Scabies Outbreaks?
Schools and daycares can play a crucial role in preventing scabies outbreaks by:
- Educating parents and staff about the signs and symptoms of scabies.
- Implementing policies for excluding children with suspected scabies until they have been treated.
- Encouraging good hygiene practices, such as frequent handwashing.
- Promptly notifying parents of any suspected scabies cases within the school or daycare.