Treatment for Crusted Scabies

Crusted scabies is a severe form of traditional scabies, caused by failure to treat the initial disease. Scabies is caused by mites that burrow into the skin, causing severe itching. This itching is generally worse at night. Below is a list of a few common treatments that you can undergo to rid yourself of scabies. Always consult your doctor before undergoing any treatment.

Mite Killer

Mite killer comes in a cream, and is applied from the neck down. Leave the cream on overnight, and then wash it off in the morning. The application process is generally repeated every seven days for best results.

Oral Medication

An alternative option to messy cream, is taking an oral medication, ivermectin. Although more convenient, ivermectin can be more hazardous to the body, and should be taken only as a strict alternative to the cream. It has also been shown to be less effective. Dosage is generally taken every two weeks.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines, like Benadryl, can be taken to alleviate the aggravation of itching. However, these will only reduce the discomfort of the mites, but not get rid of them for good.

Wash

Mites don't survive long when taken away from the body. Washing your bedding and pajamas in hot water can be an effective way of killing mites, and removing any chance of infection. It is generally not necessary to wash all of your clothes or rugs, as chances are any mites that may have found their way on these things are already dead.

Family Members

If you find you have been infected by the mites, it is recommended that in addition to yourself, anyone you commonly come into contact with should also undergo treatment. Eliminating the mites will be worthless, if they can easily be contracted again by anybody you may have passed them to.