Scabies Fact Sheet
Environmental, Health, and Safety Office
Facilities Planning and Management
What is Scabies?
It is a contagious skin disease caused by a very
tiny (1/64”) arachnid called the human Scabies
mite. Infestation occurs when female mites
burrow under the outer skin where they lay small
numbers of eggs each day for several weeks. The
mites are whitish-brown or colorless and a
magnifying lens is often needed to see them.
Scabies affects people from all walks of life and is
transmitted person-to-person regardless of
personal hygiene or living conditions.
What are the symptoms?
□ Itching (often relentless), normally worse at
night or after warm baths or showers.
□ Tiny red dots on the skin following the burrow
track (gray/silver lines) in a zigzag or “S” shape.
□ A skin rash, similar to hives, and consisting of
red, itchy, pimple-like bumps. The rash occurs in
areas of the body other than the burrow
locations.
□ The itching and rash are believed to be
“allergic” reactions to the mites, eggs, and feces
and occur away from the burrows themselves.
□ Symptoms may not appear for 4-8 weeks after
exposure. People who have had scabies
previously may have symptoms only 1-4 days
after a new exposure as they are already
sensitized to the mites.
Although the infestation can vary in location and
severity, it commonly is around the webs of the
fingers or toes and around the waist and armpits.
Other common areas are the elbows and wrists,
genitals, breasts, buttocks, stomach, and between
the shoulder blades or where the skin is wrinkled,
thin, and warmest.
Mites also hide under
bracelets, watchbands, or rings and where
clothing is tight. The face and scalp are not
normally affected in adults. Scratching can cause
a secondary bacterial infection such as impetigo,
particularly with children.
How is it spread?
Scabies is transmitted through close personal
contact including sexual relations. It is commonly
spread within households and under close living
BSU Environmental, Health, and Safety Office
Scabies Fact Sheet (11/09)
conditions. Any intimate skin-to-skin contact can
spread scabies. The high frequency of scabies on
the hands can possibly spread scabies if contact is
prolonged.
Contact generally must be of some length; a quick
handshake or hug usually will not spread scabies.
Infested persons are able to spread scabies until
all mites and eggs are destroyed. Usually, only
10-15 adult mites may be involved in the
infestation and they may be surprisingly hard to
locate. Scabies can be transmitted to others long
before any symptoms develop. You do not
become immune to scabies and they do not go
away without treatment.
Transfer from underclothes or bed linen may
occur if these items have been contaminated by
an affected person immediately before another’s
contact. Mites do not survive long away from
their host, however, and do not “jump” from one
person to another. A person is able to spread
scabies until the mites and eggs are killed by
treatment, often before symptoms even develop.
How is Scabies diagnosed?
Your health care practitioner can often diagnose
Scabies by the symptoms and observation of the
affected skin areas. Various other dermatological
conditions can confuse the diagnosis, however,
which is why it is important to see a professional
as soon as possible.
A definitive diagnosis can sometimes be made by
looking at skin scrapings under a microscope, or
by using ink or stains to aid in viewing the mite
burrows. A hand magnifying lens can also assist
in the identification if individual mites can be
located.
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How is Scabies prevented?
Only by seeking prompt treatment of the
infestation and providing for the treatment of
those physically close to the afflicted person. Only
early diagnosis and treatment of cases prevents
spread to other people.
Avoid direct physical contact with infested
persons and their belongings, especially clothing
and bedding, until at least 48 hours after their
successful treatment.
How is Scabies treated?
Your practitioner will likely recommend
medication to be applied to the skin from the
neck down to and including the bottoms of the
feet. The directions for the lotion must be
followed exactly. Fingernails should be trimmed
and cleaned under to remove any mites or eggs.
If you wash your hands after application, you
need to reapply the medication to your hands
during the treatment period.
Scabies can normally be cured in 24-48 hours with
proper medication. No new burrows or rashes
should appear after effective treatment.
However, the itching may last for 2-3 weeks
thereafter, and is not a sign of medication failure.
Other medication may be prescribed though to
alleviate the continued itching or any
complications.
Close companions, household members, sexual
partners, and those with intimate or prolonged
skin-to-skin contact should be treated at the same
time in order to prevent transmission or reinfestation. There is no immunity to scabies. If
signs of scabies show up again, you will need to
return to your doctor for additional treatment.
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Scabies Fact Sheet
What environmental precautions are
necessary?
On a person, individual scabies mites can live for
as long as 1-2 months and the infestation will
continue indefinitely unless treatment is sought.
Mites can live away from the human body for 2-5
days but can infest another person for only the
first 2 of those days, and they are not able to
reproduce off the human body.
Being predominantly spread directly person-toperson, the mites do not reside long in the
environment, and transfer by sharing of bedding,
towels, etc., occurs only rarely and incidentally.
There is no vector or non-human reservoir
involved in the transmission of Scabies.
For clothing, bedding, and furnishings which the
afflicted person(s) have contacted shortly before
their treatment, the following controls may be
undertaken:
worn, these items would no longer harbor living
or infective mites.
□ Similar articles, such as stuffed animals,
blankets, or pillows that cannot be washed, may
either be dry cleaned, bagged in plastic for several
days, or placed in a dryer on high heat for at least
1/2 hour. Such potentially infested items may
also be exposed to freezing temperatures for
about 12 hours (outdoors during winter).
□ Pesticides are not generally effective,
necessary, or recommended for control of mites
in the home.
□ Scabies can occur in pets (mange), but this is a
different king of scabies mite. While those mites
can get under your skin and cause irritation, they
die in a couple of days and do not reproduce on
humans.
If you have any questions concerning the diagnosis
or treatment of Scabies, go to the BSU Health
Clinic or contact your medical practitioner. If you
have any questions concerning the environmental
control of Scabies transmission, contact the Ball
State University Environmental, Health, and Safety
Office at 285-2807.
□ The clothing of persons infested with scabies
and worn within 48 hours of treatment, and their
bed linens and towels, should be washed in hot
water and dried in a hot dryer. If not recently
Scabies Fact Sheet (11/09)
BSU Environmental, Health, and Safety Office