Kill Scabies At Home

Scabies is caused by a specific mite called the "itch mite" that makes burrows beneath your skin. To get rid of scabies, one must get rid of the insect as well as its eggs. Scabies can get transmitted from the skin to clothes and thus is harder to eliminate compared to other skin infections. The mite rapidly spreads from person to person via touch, clothes and sharing of personal devices, affecting entire families at one time. It can be very unpleasant, but it can also be treated quite easily. You can rely on the verified remedies without question; unverified remedies (popular, but lacking in research) may or may not work for you. Luckily, you have plenty of options — all starting with Step 1 below.

Steps

Using Verified Home Remedies

1. Experiment with sulfur. Add one part sulfur powder to 10 parts cream to make an effective body cream. Apply the cream to the body as stated above. Sulfur is toxic to the scabies’ mite and can kill the mites when applied thoroughly.
   • Most creams prescribed contain sulphur and it is the most common ingredient for itching and killing scabies mite. Though it does not suit everyone; it should be used as a trial on a small surface of the skin to rule out allergic reactions.
2. Use neem oil. Neem has been used in Ayurveda medicine as an astringent and antiseptic for centuries due to its antibacterial and healing properties. When treating scabies all medications should be applied on all parts of body, including between the fingers, toes, gluteal region, behind the knee and even soles of the feet.
   • The cream should be left on for 8-24 hours. It should be reapplied every time you wash your hands or face. It kills the mite but may also soothe the skin, numb the pain, relieve the itching, reduce the inflammation, and heal any secondary infection. The research is a little preliminary, but it looks good.
   • Alternatively, take 5 fresh leaves of this plant. Crush them up using a mortar and pestle and apply the resultant squashed up mixture directly to the part affected by scabies.
   • Thirdly, you may also take this paste and put it in a small muslin or cotton cloth. Place the paste in the centre like a ball and tie up the ends and squeeze them in opposite directions to get a pure "juice"-like extract. This juice can be applied directly to the lesion or it can be consumed every day morning on an empty stomach.
     • You can also use this mixed with your usual shampoo, shower gel solution or bathwater.
3. Get started on Ivermectin. Your doctor or physician may prescribe oral Ivermectin. It is an anti-parasitic medicine that kills the mite and swiftly gets rid of scabies. You'll likely see improvements within a couple of days.
   • However, the oral treatment may only be prescribed to immunocompromised or people who cannot comply with strict treatment regimen of the topical treatment.
4. Look into using lotions and creams (permethrin). In most cases of scabies, patients who seek treatment are prescribed a cream or lotion of 5% permethrin, which is an anti-parasitic agent. Talk to your doctor about this option.
   • It should be applied on all parts of body and left on for 8-24 hours.
   • Reapply it every time you wash your hands or face.
   • All persons in the family should be treated.

Using Unverified Home Remedies

1. Take a cold shower. The itching can be taken care of with cold shower for immediate relief. Just stepping into a cold shower for less than 10 minutes will provide relief to your itching for approximately 2 hours as the body and skin sensations will be numbed for that time.
   • Another option is to apply ice to the affected parts. Wrap a pack in a towel to keep the temperature from freezing your skin.
2. Try tea tree oil. Tea tree oil acts as a pesticide and kills the scabies’ mite, much like sulfur. Concentrated tea tree oil is available in store at your local pharmacy as well as naturopathy stores.
   • Add ten drops of tea tree oil to 100ml of lotion. Apply to the body as you would a normal lotion, making sure to get every nook and cranny. You can also add tea tree oil to your shampoo to treat scabies mites in hair.
   • About 20 - 25 drops of tea tree oil can be poured into a bathtub to soak your complete body in the medicated water, too.
3. Consider using calendula. For all the open wounds and sores where it itches and bleeds, a locally procured ointment or liniment of calendula can be applied to reduce the itching and improve the healing. The ointment must be applied only after cleaning the surface with a good soap and warm water. This should be done up to thrice a day.
   • Calendula is famed for its antiseptic properties and will help secondary bacterial infections of the wounds and burrows with other opportunistic bacteria. It will also sooth the skin and reduce the itching.

Preventing the Spread of Scabies

1. Vacuum everything vigorously. All carpets, upholstery, fabrics on the sofa and in the car must be steam vacuumed vigorously and the vacuum bag must be tied up well and disposed of immediately.
   • If the kind of device you are using has a container instead of a bag then the container must be washed well with soap and hot water.
   • Clean and swab the floor, especially corners, with a good medically proven disinfectant. Bleach is also effective as a disinfectant.
   • Dust your entire house before you begin vacuuming.
2. Wash clothes, linens, and all fabrics. All the upholstery like curtains, pillow covers, comforters, bedsheets, etc. and your clothes must be soaked in boiling hot water (around 100°C) for half an hour. Then use the washing machine along with a hot dryer for around 30 minutes at the highest temperature.
   • If there are other people who live with you, their clothes must be washed equally vigorously, but separately, in a different tub and at a different time in the same machine. This must be continued for at least a week after you have noticed no new lesions on yourself.
   • If something cannot be put through such rigorous routine, put it in an airtight container for two weeks to ensure that all mites have died and there is no chance of recurrence.
   • Use gloves while handling these clothes and discard those gloves after use.
3. Stay out of the kitchen. During this time, you should not enter the kitchen; have someone else handle the chores in the kitchen and the cooking duties, etc. Not only is it hazardous to you, it poses a big threat to your family.
   • All utensils must be sterilized with boiling water before and after they have been used by you.
4. Disinfect all surfaces. This is especially true for the bathroom. All hard surfaces -- countertops, tiles, sinks, bathtubs -- need to be disinfected. Spray down every applicable area with a disinfectant and scrub it clean. Use gloves that you can throw away afterward.
   • And when you use areas, if your case is still potent, they need to be disinfected again. Keep this in mind every time you shower or use the bathroom.
5. Go to public places responsibly. Any environment you're in while you have an active case of scabies will likely become infected. Because of this, it's best to avoid going out if at all possible until treatment is complete and the scabies is gone. However, if you must go out, do so responsibly. Cover your skin and avoid touching other objects and people.
   • Avoid going to swimming pools and other group areas. Scabies is highly contagious and can spread in seconds of contact. Do those around you a favor and wait until your case is gone.
6. Don't worry about your pets. There is no treatment required for your pets. If you are still wondering whether or not they will suffer with scabies owing to your infection, the answer is a resounding no. The insect is the human itch mite; scabies in humans cannot survive on animals.
   • It should also be known that the human dust mite cannot survive without a proper host for more than 2-3 days. So even if it does get transmitted to your pet via your clothes, it will die within 2-3 days without producing any symptoms or trouble for your pet.

Understanding the Symptoms, Complications, and Treatment

1. Know what scabies actually is. Scabies is a contagious infection that manifests as intense itching. It caused by a small mite called Sarcoptes scabiei, or the itch mite. It burrows into the skin and causes itching. Here are the symptoms:
   • Intense persistent itching that has lasted for weeks and is worse at night
   • Tiny red bumps which may be connected with each other with pink or grey lines
   • Burrows (visible as lines) between raised bumps
2. Know how it spreads. Scabies is spread via human-to human contact. It can also spread by sharing clothing, bedding and towels. Because of this, take care of who you come into contact with and who comes into contact with you.
   • Immediately adopt preventive measures like washing yourself with a good anti-bacterial soap and warm water with vigorous scrubbing if you're exposed to scabies. You may want to wash your clothes as well.
   • Avoid contact with people if you have scabies and/or if they have scabies as much as possible. Even shaking hands for a short duration of 5 seconds is often enough to pass on this highly infectious mite.
3. Know the complications if left untreated. If left untreated or treated poorly scabies can manifest as severe itching that may be worse than the previous episode. Scabies can also recur easily and care should be taken to avoid recurrence.
   • Scratching of scabies infected skin can lead to development of open sores which can lead to introduction of pathogens into the body leading to serious secondary infections.
   • Scarring is one of the common complications of scabies infection, which results from excessive itching of the skin. To prevent scarring scabies treatment should be started immediately and should be followed to the T.
4. Know that you must complete your treatment even if symptoms subside. Disappearance of the itching alone cannot be taken as a sign that you have been cured of scabies or have managed to become completely clean of the mite. The itching is what disturbs the people most and once they are relieved of itching they tend to take it lightly. Unfortunately, this is not how it works.
   • Quite the contrary, there is a strong possibility of re-infection immediately after you have managed to kill the current crop of mites residing in your body at that time due to the still unruptured eggs of the mite residing in the burrows in the skin. When they rupture and the new crop of mites is born, itching shall restart. Thus, completing the entire course of treatment is essential.

Tips

• If neem leaves are not readily available in your area there are plenty of stores that would stock neem paste or neem juice or neem extracts which can be used accordingly.
• You can add 25 to 30 ml of tea tree oil or neem extract when soaking the clothes or even while washing them.
• While these are a few things that will help in killing the scabies mite, you will have to keep repeating these regularly till you destroy all the eggs that remain in your skin otherwise every 2-3 days you shall have a new lesion or spot of infection and the cycle shall begin all over again.
• Do not hesitate in treating your domestic help or visitors at your home too, for their good is yours too.
• Scabies is more prevalent hot and humid environment with insanitary conditions.

Warnings

• Do not use any cleanser, detergent, soap, or insecticide on your body that you would otherwise use to clean floors or disinfect any other items believing it to be able to kill these mites. For one, they might not really be effective on the human dust mite, but more so they can cause more harm to your body and skin than benefit.
• While often believed to be an insecticide, using tobacco directly on the skin must be avoided at all costs as it can lead to an overdose of nicotine.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Care for Your Face (Males)
• Heal Raw Skin
• Use a Glycolic Acid Peel
• Know if Sunscreen Has Expired
• Heal over Exfoliated Skin
• Wear a Face Shield
• Stop Hard Water from Ruining Your Skin
• Choose a Natural Sunscreen
• Wear Makeup when You Have Eczema
• Make a Charcoal Peel‐Off Facial Mask

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