Scabies facts for kids
Scabies is a very itchy skin condition caused by a tiny bug called the Sarcoptes scabiei mite. This mite is an ectoparasite, which means it lives on the outside of your body. The female mite burrows into the top layer of your skin to live and lay its eggs.
The main symptoms of scabies, like intense itching and a rash, happen because your body has an allergic reaction to the mites, their eggs, and their waste.
Scabies usually spreads when you have direct skin-to-skin contact with someone who is infected. This contact often needs to last for at least 10 minutes for the mites to spread. Someone can spread scabies even if they don't have symptoms yet. Living in crowded places, like child-care centers, group homes, or prisons, makes it easier for scabies to spread. Areas where people don't have much access to clean water also tend to have more cases of scabies.
The mite that causes scabies is very, very small. You usually can't see it with your eyes alone.
How Scabies Spreads
Scabies is mostly spread through close, personal skin contact. This means touching someone's skin for a long time. It's not usually spread by a quick hug or handshake.
Sometimes, scabies can spread through shared items like bedding, towels, or clothes. This is more common in severe cases, like with a type called crusted scabies.
Places where many people live close together, such as schools, dorms, or nursing homes, can have outbreaks of scabies. This is because the mites can easily move from person to person.
The Scabies Mite Life Cycle
The Sarcoptes scabiei mite has a special life cycle. The female mite burrows into your skin and lays 2 to 3 eggs each day. These eggs hatch in about 3 to 4 days.
The tiny larvae (baby mites) then move to the surface of your skin. They grow into nymphs and then into adult mites. The entire life cycle, from egg to adult, takes about 10 to 14 days. Adult mites can live on a person for about 1 to 2 months. If they fall off a person, they usually die within 2 to 3 days.
Images for kids
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Commonly involved sites of rashes of scabies
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Crusted scabies in a person with AIDS
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Life cycle of scabies
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A photomicrograph of an itch mite (S. scabiei)
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Wax figurine of a man with Norwegian scabies
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Public health worker Stefania Lanzia using a soft toy scabies mite to publicise the condition in a 2016 campaign
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Scabies of the foot
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Scabies of the arm
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Scabies of the hand
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Scabies of the finger
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Day 4
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Day 8 (treatment begins)
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Day 12 (under treatment)
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Healed
See also
In Spanish: Sarna para niños
