Scabies leaves microscopic intradermal parasites - mites or itching. Infection with them entails a disease called scabies. It manifests itself as itching and rash. If the patient cannot resist scratching, infection occurs, and a purulent process begins. The disease is highly contagious, as it only takes a few seconds for the parasite to infiltrate the skin of a new host.
Scabies mite
On some large-scale photos of scabies, you can see the pathogen itself. But it is difficult to see it well with the naked eye, since the size of the parasite does not exceed 0.23-0.45 mm in length and 0.19-0.35 mm in width. The females are larger than the males. On a white wide oval body there are several pairs of legs, some of which are equipped with suction cups, and the rest have bristles.
Invading the human body, ticks carry out all their vital activity there. They mate on the surface of the skin, after which the male dies, and the female begins to break through passages in the epidermis of the host, in which she lays eggs, and feed on the blood and lysate resulting fromdissolution of keratin. Severe itching occurs on the affected areas.
Historical data
Photos of scabies have now been seen by almost everyone, but this problem was first described in the 4th century BC. Mention of the disease can be found in the Bible. Scabies was also described in the writings of Aristotle. The ancient Greek philosopher identified it as a skin disease that is part of the "psora" group. In Rome, from ancient times to the present day, the disease has been called scabies.
Already in the Middle Ages, it was hypothesized that scabies on the skin are caused by parasites. But evidence of this could only appear after the creation of the optical microscope. It was with his help that at the end of the 17th century, the Italian doctor Bonomo and the pharmacist Chestoni established the nature of the infection, and in the middle of the 20th century, a detailed description of scabies appeared in the manual of the Austrian doctor Gebra.
Epidemiology
Many people have worked to identify the patterns of occurrence and development of the disease. Relatively reliably, it was only possible to establish that 5% of cases of skin diseases are scabies. However, these data are valid for peacetime; during periods of war, scabies appeared in 30% of the population. This was due to a sharp deterioration in living conditions, nutrition, hygiene, the need for a large number of people to live together. Such social phenomena are also characteristic of natural disasters or famines, so during such periods there are also bursts of morbidity.
Studying photos of scabies mite moves taken at different time periods, some researcherspaid attention to the cyclical nature of the disease. So the theory was put forward that scabies appears in autumn and winter (during cold or dry seasons) every 7-30 years. Regarding periodicity, the theory does not stand up to criticism, and seasonality is explained by the biological activity of ticks, their increased fertility and better survival in the external environment in the cold. In addition, sweat, which contains antimicrobial peptides, prevents ticks from infiltrating in summer.
Views
Scabies can manifest itself in many ways and is therefore classified into several types. The most common of them is typical, the one that is characterized by the presence of direct scabies.
Atypical is nodular, when the passages on the patient's skin look like purple round seals with a diameter of 2-20 mm. The parasite quickly leaves this passage, but leaves waste products in it, so the seals do not go away for several weeks.
Cortical scabies is considered more dangerous. Norwegian is the second name given to her in honor of the homeland of the doctors Beck and Danielsson who described the disease. If with other types of the disease the number of its pathogens does not exceed 15-20 units, then with Norwegian scabies it reaches a million individuals. Such a huge number of live parasites on the body makes the disease highly contagious. It appears as whitish scales covering the scalp, face, neck, arms and buttocks. In some cases, they even affect the subungual zones. Itching is most often absent.
Another type of disease is called incognito scabies. Unusu althe term was coined due to the fact that this variety is quite difficult to diagnose. It develops in people who frequently take a bath or shower, as a result of which a large number of parasites are removed mechanically. Symptoms of scabies in this case are mild, and treatment is not performed for a long time. Therefore, complications occur - urticaria, dermatitis, eczema.
Because scabies mites can affect not only humans, but also other mammals, a person can become infected from a pet.
The resulting disease will be called pseudosarcoptic mange, its symptoms will appear quickly, but it is not accompanied by the appearance of stripes on the skin, similar to scabies mite moves, and is not contagious to other people. Ticks that parasitize animals do not reproduce in humans.
Routes of infection
It is very important to study the photo of scabies on the skin, as the disease can be contracted through contact with a sick person. Therefore, long-term interactions with people who have unpleasant symptoms should be avoided. Sexual transmission is the most common, as there is a long contact of bodies in bed, but you can also get infected from a banal handshake.
Transmission of the parasite through the use of the same household items is unlikely. Ticks have low activity during the day, they are introduced to a new organism only after half an hour, they quickly die in the external environment. Therefore, infection with a jointuse of household items occurs in no more than 1.5 percent of cases. However, with Norwegian scabies, this risk increases significantly.
Symptoms
You need to know what a scabies move looks like and what signs are characterized by the presence of a tick under the skin. Only in this way can a disease be detected in a timely manner.
Penetrating into the skin, the tick immediately begins to move in the stratum corneum. The resulting scabies course has the form of a straight line of whitish-gray color. A strip slightly rising above the surface of the epidermis can be seen already a few days after infection. It occurs in the interdigital spaces of the hands, on the wrists and penis, every day it lengthens by 0.5-5 mm, it can reach one centimeter. At the end of the strip, you can even see the tick itself. Under the epidermis layer, it looks like a black dot.
Swarming move, the parasite leaves in it waste products, to which the body reacts with a small scattered allergic rash, which gradually turns into a multiple bubble. First, it is localized in places of scabies, then it spreads further. Thus, from the interdigital spaces, wrists, penis and scrotum, it passes to the elbows, feet, armpits, abdomen, back and buttocks. In young children, the rash can affect the face and even the scalp, in adults these areas are usually not affected.
If scabies is not treated at this stage, secondary signs will appear. A purulent rash will appear on and around the elbows andbloody crusts. The rash can also be localized between the buttocks and go to the sacrum.
Diagnosis
You should consult a doctor at the first sign of scabies (the photo of which is presented above). The doctor will assess the clinical manifestations and give the patient a referral for a laboratory examination. The disease is confirmed if it is possible to remove the tick from under the skin with a needle and examine it on a glass slide under an optical microscope. The task is greatly simplified by the video dermatoscope, which gives an increase of six hundred times. However, if only old dilapidated papules remain, the method will be practically ineffective.
More complete information not only about the parasite, but also about the presence of eggs laid by it is given by thin sections of the skin in the area of scabies and their observation under a microscope. More material can be collected by scraping the skin until blood appears, or treating it with an alkaline solution.
So, any of the methods involves opening the scabies on the skin. The most reliable result is obtained if the move is on the interdigital spaces and is not combed. The procedure is most often performed with a scalpel coated with an oily substance.
A variety of substances can be additionally used to detect parasites. So, mechanically strong proteins, under which the mites themselves and the eggs they lay, can be hidden, are successfully dissolved by potassium chloride. The disadvantage of this method is the destruction of the waste products of the parasite, which may be needed for a more complete diagnosis.
Besides, itchy movesvisualized with ink. They stain the skin, so that dark stripes become clearly visible. Another way to detect scabies is iodine. The principle of its action is similar to ink: he althy skin is painted in a light brown color, disturbed by a tick - in a darker one. When stained, most often scabies move in the form of a dotted line.
Despite the wide variety of diagnostic methods, scabies can not always be detected. Therefore, she is immediately suspected when she complains of a rash, itching that worsens at night, when similar symptoms appear in family members or the patient's work team.
Treatment
Treatment of scabies is carried out with the help of special medications. Sulfur-containing agents have the highest efficiency, Benzyl benzoate, Lindane, Permethrin and other drugs are also used.
Before resorting to the use of any of the listed products, you need to take a hot shower and use detergents and a washcloth. This is necessary for the mechanical removal of mites from the surface of the skin, complete washing off of sweat, loosening of the surface layer of the epidermis for deeper penetration of antiparasitic agents. These measures are not needed only in case of purulent diseases.
Preparations with sulfur and tar
Ointments containing 20-30 percent sulfur or tar are vigorously rubbed into the skin for several minutes. At the same time, attention is paid not only to the places of scabies, but also to the whole body except for the face and scalp. Especiallyit is good to rub the ointment into the stomach, elbows, wrists and hands. The delicate skin of the genitals and breasts should be lubricated carefully.
The procedure is repeated every day at night. During the treatment period, you can not take a bath or shower. You can wash off the ointment only on the seventh day, while you should use soap. After water procedures, you need to put on clean linen and clothes, remake the bed.
Benzyl benzoate
Despite the high effectiveness of sulfur-containing ointments, their use is limited due to the duration of treatment, the unpleasant smell of the product that cannot be washed off, and unhygienic. Therefore, instead of an ointment, a 10-20% benzyl benzoate emulsion is often used to speed up the duration of treatment.
A mixture of benzyl benzoate with boiled water and green or laundry soap is rubbed into the body in the following sequence: hands, arms, chest, abdomen, back, buttocks, genitals, legs, feet and fingers. Children can apply a light layer without strong rubbing of the suspension on the head and face, but in no case should the medicine get into the mucous membrane of the eye.
You need to carry out the procedure twice a day for two to three days. After that, the patient should wash and change underwear and clothes.
Against the background of the undoubted advantages of benzyl benzoate in the form of accelerated treatment and a slight anesthetic effect, one drawback stands out. This is a strong irritant effect on the skin, due to which the application of the product may cause pain.
Lindane
Another quick remedy is lindane 1% lotion. Also, this substance can be in the form of a powder, cream, shampoo or ointment. The uniqueness of the drug is that its keeping on the skin for six to twelve hours is enough for a complete cure for scabies. In addition, it has a fairly low cost. But its widespread use is also impossible due to the identified negative properties.
"Lindane" is toxic, accumulates in fatty tissues and persists for two weeks, penetrates into the white matter of the brain and can irreversibly damage a person's mental activity, cause epilepsy and schizophrenia. In addition, some mites are resistant to Lindane.
Permethrin
Effective and safe remedy against scabies mites is "Permethrin". The drug is applied at night, aged eight to twelve hours, and then washed off with soap. For ninety percent of patients, a single such procedure was enough for a complete recovery. But if a live tick remains in the skin, the treatment with Permethrin can be repeated after a week.
What else needs to be done
Avoiding relapses after recovery is possible only after a full treatment of things, clothes and rooms in which the patient spent time. All items resistant to water and heat must be boiled. The linen is then carefully ironed and aired in the air for one to five days.
Other things and objectshousehold should be treated with drugs in the form of aerosols that affect the nervous system of insects. Esdepalethrin and piperonyl butoxide are most effective.
Folk remedies
The photo of scabies on the skin clearly shows how unpleasant and ugly the problem is. It is necessary to consult a doctor with it, but the prescribed drug treatment can be supplemented using traditional medicine recipes.
There are several dozen remedies that help get rid of the unpleasant symptoms of scabies and kill its pathogens. Mustard oil is highly effective, in which crushed garlic was boiled for 20 minutes in a ratio of 5: 1.
Another way involves lubricating scabies with birch tar, which is kept on the skin for 3 hours, and then washed off with water or a decoction of herbs. Efficiency is greatly increased when using marshmallow root infusion at the end of the procedure.
A very simple method is to lightly rub crushed chalk into the places where the mites are introduced. In addition, the parasite does not tolerate lavender oil. If you rub it on the skin three times a day, the tick will be created unbearable conditions. The great advantage of this method is the pleasant smell of the oil, which will be felt on the skin. This remedy is significantly different from traditional sulfur ointments.
Fans of herbal and herbal recipes that not only expel mites, but also have a general healing effect on the skin, the following remedies will come in handy:
- Aged for a week and thenstrained tincture 15 g of ivy boudra in 100 ml of table vinegar.
- Boiled for 15 minutes and infused for an hour, a decoction of 25 g of juniper berries and branches in 2 liters of water.
- Ointment mixed with 25g dried bay leaf and 100g softened butter.
- Juice from cranberries, fig leaves or milkweed.
Tinctures and decoctions can be used for wiping or make them in large volumes and take therapeutic baths. Ointments should be applied to the affected areas 2-3 times a day. The juice of useful plants should be lubricated with scabies as often as possible.
Complications
Everyone needs to know how scabies look in the photo, especially parents of young children. A child under 3 years old who has scabies can get severe complications in the form of purulent skin lesions (pyoderma) and an inflammatory syndrome that has developed in response to an infection (sepsis). In advanced cases, these pathologies end in death. After looking at the photo of the scabies mite moves and knowing what they look like, you can seek medical help in time.
For adults with normal immunity, scabies does not pose a threat to life and disability. The exception is the advanced forms of the disease, when there is no treatment for a long time and there are complications in the heart and kidneys. This is due to bacterial infection of combed scabies, due to which a purulent disease of pyoderma develops. Inflammation can affect internal organs.
Bhalf of the cases, this manifests itself externally in the form of boils and suppuration of the tissues. Because of this, the lymph nodes increase and the vessels become inflamed. More rare are complications in the form of inflammation of the lungs and tissues of the fingers.
More dangerous is Norwegian scabies, which is practically untreatable, leading to severe intoxication and affecting the patient's heart activity.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to 100% insure yourself against the appearance of scabies. Contrary to popular belief, its occurrence is in no way connected with the cleanliness of a person, since ticks are not susceptible to water and detergents. Therefore, at the first signs of scabies, you should consult a doctor and, if necessary, undergo treatment.
