How Is Scabies Diagnosed and Treated?
Kelly’s neighbor, the dermatologist, suspected she had scabies based on her intense itching, where the rash was located on her body, and how the rash looked. To make sure, he scraped at the skin between her fingers. He put the scrapings on a slide and when he looked at them with a microscope, he saw several mites and eggs. Prescription drugs called scabicides (SKAY-bi-sydz), such as permethrin (per-METH-rin) and lindane (LIN-dayn), are usually used to kill scabies mites and eggs. Because scabies is so contagious, Kelly’s neighbor instructed the whole family to bathe, then apply the scabicide lotion all over the body from the chin to the toes, and to wash all the recently used clothes, bedding, and towels in hot water. They were instructed to repeat the process in a week. The dermatologist also gave Kelly an antibiotic* ointment because she had some skin infections caused by scratching. Four weeks later, Kelly’s skin was back to normal.
