For those who have had scabies…

That is just not true. Scabies mites can't survive off the body for more than 48 hours. The only exception is in the case of crusted scabies where they could potentially live for up to a week, but only if they were inside a larger crusted flake of skin that's been shed. There is absolutely no way they could survive for 6 months in a bin. It's completely impossible.

I had this in student halls. Painted myself yellow with my mum's help, washed clothes and got a new mattress. I don't recall it being a big deal, dealt with over a weekend

Scabies cannot live off a human host for longer than about 72 hours. They suggest bagging up clothes for a week. Your bin is not a risk.
There is a lot of misinformation being pedalled on social media etc.

I remember reading scabies can live in a bin outside for up to six months. We had to throw away shoes and although everything was in a carrier bag I did not disinfect the black bin for six months!

I am a bit anal and disinfect my black bin regularly ...

We seem to be clear. The oral meds plus cream sem to have done the trick (plus all the laundry and cleaning). DS under strict instructuions not to come home again if it comes back! But he knows what to do now. Its just over 2 weeks since 2nd dose and his itching is calming down slowly.

@Snoopypie yes thanks. It really properly worked. Some itchiness for a while after (some of us more than others) but all clear still. Have you seen the dermatologist yet ?

I worked in a care home and got it (and husband at the time) Benzyl_benzoate helped for our residents and us.

I had it years ago when I was in 6th form, it’s awful and the itching was so bad at night that I was losing enough sleep to affect my schoolwork and had one of my teachers asking if everything was ok because I didn’t seem myself lately!
It took about two weeks to improve after the treatment.
It’s definitely not something you live with!

This is probably going to cause some angry replies but in my experience the best (temporary) relief from the between-finger itching, whilst waiting for proper treatment, was very hot water! It kills the itching for a couple of hours.

Re: fabrics like bedding & clothing etc, It would’ve been so much easier to all have left the house for 72 hours (hotel?) as scabies mites cannot live more than 72 hours off a body!

I have taken 2 doses, 7 days apart, once. Will not be repeating, as it cost us a fortune. It is supposed to be the gold standard. Did permethrin cream on the same days too. As advised by private GP.

I have just done 2 rounds of ivermectin, and i am still itchy and have red lumps in new places. Esp my arms..But this is common after treatment as the body rids itself of dead mites slowly via skin shedding. I think a lot of people think treatment has failed when actually it has worked, and the itching is a result of the treatment having worked. I am waiting 2 plus weeks to see if it subsides, before re treating..and warching for new burrow sites.

We all treated but my DH doesnt seem to have ever caught it, despite sharing my bed! (Alth we have deliberately not had skin to skin contact).

This should say you and your dog ARE NOT going to pass it back and forth. That is NOT POSSIBLE.

I cannot reiterate strongly enough how real I know scabies to be, I am not for one minute suggesting it isn't real - but the "specific scabies support groups" you mention are almost certainly absolutely full of people with uncontrolled health anxiety feeding each others irrational fears. I've been in some of them and had to leave because of the absolute batshittery going on. Imaginary scabies infections are verging on becoming the next incarnation of Morgellons tbh.

Being in those groups is not going to help you. Seeking real life medical advice for both your health anxiety and your skin complaint are the only things that will help you.

I'm not saying scabies isn't real. I've had it. I know how real it is!

However one of the main causes of "scabies treatment not working" is that scabies was never present in the first place... Hence asking how the diagnosis was made.

The scabies rash is actually a generalised allergic reaction to the mites, and isn't just present where mites are located on your body. Unless you get the extreme crusted scabies, you've probably got less than a dozen mites present over your whole body - each spot doesn't equal a mite location. So looking at spots isn't a reliable way to diagnose at all, as the vast majority of spots won't have anything to see in/under them. Have actual burrows been found in the key locations like between fingers?

Human scabies and pet scabies are different species. Whilst it's not impossible for them to pass from pet to owner and cause temporary itching, a) its uncommon and b) it cannot lead to true infection as they can't reproduce in a different species. So you and your dog are going to pass it back and forth and reinfect each other. That's not possible.

@Snoopypie one of the things yhe consultant told me was that nothing survives iverectin.

He also said that if you have none on your hands and feet then you do not have it.

Id be very surprised if you still have it any more. It will still be itchy as it takes a while to calm down and the scratching that you are doing will be causing the new bumps and the damage.