1. Scabies
By Percy Taylor

2. What are Scabies
Scabies is an itchy skin condition caused by an infestation by the itch mite Sarcoptes scabiei. Mites are small eight- legged parasites (in contrast to insects, which have six legs). They are tiny and burrow into the skin to produce intense itching .The mites that cause scabies are not visible with the naked eye

3. How do you get Scabies
Transmission of the mites involves close person-to- person contact of the skin- to-skin variety. It is hard, if not impossible, to catch scabies by shaking hands, hanging your coat next to someone who has it, or even sharing bedclothes that had mites in them the night before. Sexual physical contact, however, can transmit the disease. In fact, sexual contact is the most common form of transmission among sexually active young people.

4. How Long Does Scabies Last
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.

5. Signs and Symptoms of Scabies?
Scabies produce small red bumps and blisters and affect specific areas of the body. Scabies may involve the webs between the fingers, the wrists and the backs of the elbows, the knees, areas around the waist and the areas around the nipples, the sides and backs of the feet, the genital area. The bumps (medically termed papules) may contain blood crusts. It is helpful to know that not every bump is a bug. In most cases of scabies affecting otherwise healthy adults, there are no more than 10 or 15 live mites, even if there are hundreds of bumps and pimples."

6. Scabies Treatment
Apply a mite-killer like permethrin (Elimite). These creams are applied from the neck down, left on overnight, and then washed Ivermectin, is an oral antiparasitic medication that has also been shown to be an effective scabicide, although it is not FDA- approved for this use. off.

7. Sites
s_slideshow/article.htm