Prevenative Treatment for Scabies

I feel for you. Sometimes I get myself so worked up over these types of things, I start losing sleep and it is all I can think about.
Try to start by putting it into perspective. It is only scabies. Yes, it would suck if you or your kids got it. It would itch. However, it would not be the end of the world. Nobody is going to die.
With that being said, I honestly would go with your doctor's opinion on this one. If he thinks you should go ahead and give it, do it. If he thinks you should wait, then wait.
Good luck.
(By the way, thank you for your family's commitment to our country and to us. I could not imagine how hard it would be to make these decisions on my own, without my husband. It is a huge sacrifice that your family has made. Thank you.)

We had a scabies outbreak a couple of years ago from a playgroup member. They didn't know they were infected until a couple of days later when they showed symptoms and also found out that the grandma had been exposed. We got it from a group picture and the exposure wasn't prolonged.

I showed symptoms, but my daughter who was the one with contact to the other child did not. I immediately started putting tea tree oil on the itchy spots for a huge amount of relief. It actually prevented the scabies from spreading. If you don't want to use the scabies medicine, try washing everything as previously suggested and then everyone take a bath with tea tree oil. You will need enough to make it strong enough in the tub with water. Or you might just coat yourselves, head to toe with tea tree oil. I had read that tea tree oil was supposed to help and in my case it definitely did.

Good luck to you and you might as well treat with something and eliminate the possiblility.

D.

Did the doctor suggest that you treat for scabies before your children have the symptoms of scabies? It's my understanding that the treatment for scabies does not prevent scabies.

I've had some experience with scabies tho I've not had them myself. I also read several web sites about scabies tonight.

The only prevention is to not be exposed to someone who has scabies or to their clothes, bedding etc. The way to get rid of scabies in a home is to wash everything in hot water. Your family may be reinfecting itself because the scabies are still present in the home.

I suggest that you do not let your children have close contact with any family member or their home until everyone is well. I know this will be difficult. It sounds like you have family members who are not taking this infestation seriously. I'm glad that you wanat to prevent your children from getting it.

Scabies is a very uncomfortable. Itching can last for several weeks after the scabies themselves are gone. The reason for this is that the scabies burrows under the skin along a nerve pathway. The nerve has to heal too.

You definately do not want a scabies infestation. This includes keeping them out of your house. If someone with scabies spends time in your house and has not washed their clothes after starting the treatment, mites can drop off their clothes onto your furniture. Mites multiply quickly.

This sounds cold but to prevent your children from contracting scabies you'll need to keep yourself and your children away from family members who have scabie or who may still have scabies mites in their clothing and their home.

Your post sounds like you care for other people's children as well as your own.
Have you thought about the fact that if your children or you get scabies you will not be able to care for other children in your home?

You have every reason to be paranoid. Scabies are terrible.

You can get more information from your county's health department.

I feel for you! My family had an outbreak of scabies recently. Here's what I can tell you about our own experience... We did not know we had it, because my husband and I thought we were suffering from hives:( But now that I look back, we had this problem for at least 3 months. Our kids were exposed to us the whole time and never showed any symptoms. We treated them anyway, because the doc recommended this action for all household members. I do not know if you need to worry about people outside your home. The CDC says that it usually takes prolonged, skin-to-skin contact, or prolonged contact with a person's infected clothing, bedsheets, etc... Scabies cannot live off of a person's body for more than 3 days. So, I would say stay away from infected people for 3 days and (if your worried about your own family) wash your bedsheets/clothes in hot water, then dry in a hot drier. Place any clothes/ bedsheets/ stuffed animals that can't go in a hot wash, into plastic bags and leave for 3 days.

You're correct that the meds are bad stuff (they are insecticides). So, in your position, (and just in my own opinion!) I would take the precautions above and wait for meds until/ if a problem shows up.

Ugh, We had this problem about 8 years ago...and it's still fresh in my mind.

The itching isn't the worst of it. Having to tear up all the carpet in the house, rent 3 deep-freezes for all the stuff you cant boil for a LONG period...having the grill going with the stove and having to buy lobster/crab pots in order to boil them in the first place, having to (airtight) seal furniture in plastic bags (and then not use them, for fear of ripping the plastic), bleaching everything in sudndry, and having to throw out sooooo many things. That's the worst of it. Hundreds of hours worth of work.

FORTUNATELY, it's one of those things that certain jobs will use L&I for, others will use sick leave, etc. We didn't own our own house at the time, but I would be willing to suspect that Homeowners Insurance might even cover some of the cost.

Gawd. What a PIA.

The thing is...if you dose them now...it doesn't prevent it, UNLESS they already have it. We had to get dosed multiple times (and switched to flea shampoo :P), and finally ended up doing that gawd-awful freeze/boil/suffocate/remove/sterilize procedure. Like you, it kept being passed from extended family & friends...and after a couple months of it...we all sighed & gutted our houses. Signs DO take awhile unless someone is very allergic to the bugs...and during that time...your whole house is being infested.

Ugh. There's a reason why scabies is known as the 7 year itch. Unless you get lucky with a reeeeeeeaaally mild infestation, you have to upturn your life to get rid of them (as does everyone else, or you might as well not do it at all. Blighted things. Give me lice ANY day of the week.

What I would personally do, having been that road before, is wait. If any signs develop, the do the total immersion & overhaul all at once.

However, if you watch other people's children, you would ethically have to either a) stop during the window, or b) dose and overhaul.

My sincere condolences.