Why scabies seems more 'gross' than it is

It's an infection caused by tiny insects that crawl under your skin and lay eggs.

It can cause lesions under your armpits and on your genitals — and it'll itch like crazy.

But scabies may not be as bad as it sounds.

"Usually people find it a little bit distressing to be given a diagnosis of scabies," said Dr. Catherine Rodriguez, a Charlottetown dermatologist.

"They'll tell me, 'Oh it's a little bit gross to know that you're infected with this little insect,' but it's actually a very easy condition to treat. I try to reassure them and I tell them there's worse things."

Rodriguez said in the last year, there have been more cases of scabies than usual on the Island. Last month, there was an outbreak at two Charlottetown hospitals. And earlier this week, there were cases at a Charlottetown elementary school.

Here are some things to know about scabies.

It's fairly common

Rodriguez said she usually doesn't go a month without seeing a case of scabies at her clinic. But every 10 or 15 years, there is usually an outbreak on P.E.I.

It's the type of itch that you can't sleep. It'll wake you through the night.— Dr. Catherine Rodriguez

"The female will burrow under the skin so it will create a little tunnel under the skin and that's where it's going to start to lay eggs. Usually it'll lay between three and four eggs a day and these will kind of hatch to the surface."

Once the mites become adults, the cycle repeats, she said.

You'll tell by the itch

We're not talking about a little itch.

"It's the type of itch that you can't sleep. It'll wake you through the night," Rodriguez said.

The most common places are between your fingers, on your wrists or ankles, breasts, genital area and armpits.

Mercifully, the mites don't usually target the face.

It's contagious

The mites don't jump or fly from person to person, and they can only crawl about an inch per minute, Rodriguez said. That means to catch scabies from somebody else, you need to be in close contact.

"Usually you have to live together or sometimes it's sexual contact or sharing of clothing, sleeping in the same bed, those are risk factors for transmitting scabies," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said clothing worn by a person with scabies should be washed in hot water and dried on a high-heat cycle. If it is clothing that can't be washed, like shoes or winter clothing, Rodriguez suggests putting them in a sealed plastic bag for about 10 days.

"After 10 days anything that's in there potentially, is dead."

It's easy to treat

It can be treated topically with a cream medication called permethrin that can be purchased over the counter at a drugstore without a prescription. You apply the cream everywhere except your face, leave it on overnight and rinse it off in the morning.

Then repeat the treatment seven days later.

"Doing the cream treatment twice is considered to be 100 per cent effective," Rodriguez said.

But, she added, you should see a doctor if the treatment isn't working, there are unusual side effects, or you have other concerns.

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With files from Island Morning