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Scabies

Is It Possible to Prevent Scabies?

Author: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD
Editor: Charles Davis, MD, PhD

Discover if scabies may be prevented. Scabies occurs when mites of the species Sarcoptes scabiei burrow into the skin, causing a troubling and relentless itching. The itching may persist for about two weeks even if all of the mites are killed. If an individual is known to have scabies and no previous skin-to-skin contact has occurred, prevention can usually be accomplished by avoiding direct skin contact. It is also advisable to avoid contact with bedding, clothing, and sometimes even furniture that has been used by the infested person.

Among young people, skin-to-skin transmission most often occurs during sexual contact, so scabies can be considered a form of sexually transmitted disease. However, other forms of close contact such as hugging may spread the disease. Casual contact such as shaking hands usually will not result in transmission of the mites.

Learn about treatment of a scabies skin infestation »

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Scabies Overview

Scabies is a very contagious skin condition that is caused by a mite. The mite cannot live more than three days without a human host, but it can survive up to a month when living on a human. The mite also lays eggs in human skin, which hatch and grow into adult mites. This means that symptoms of the condition can last for months or even years.

The rash caused by scabies is extremely itchy and is sometimes called "the seven-year itch." The rash can be subtle, and sometimes scabies is hard to diagnose. The mite is spread from person to person by close contact. Animals can harbor a similar mite, but when the animal mite is passed to people, it cannot reproduce and dies within a few days.

Scabies affects everyone regardless of age, gender, race, social class, or personal-hygiene habits. However, it is most common among household members and sexual partners of affected individuals. Scabies is also common in congested areas such as nursing homes and hospitals where it can spread widely. In people who have poor immune systems or who are malnourished, scabies can cause a syndrome called "crusted scabies" or "Norwegian scabies," which causes skin thickening and a scaly rash. Scabies has no relation to lice, although the treatment is sometimes the same.