If you have had Scabies, how did you catch it?

[Noddytime]

DH has it. We were on holiday a couple of weeks ago but I am sure the sheets were clean, and I haven't caught it though we slept in the same bed.

I can't understand how he has caught it, he says his GP says even a handrail on the train would be enough but NHS website says it's rare to catch it unless via close prolonged body contact with someone/through sexual intercourse.

[bakingaddict]

I caught it aged 16 after sleeping in my friend's brother's bed and no he wasn't in it at the time. My friend only told me he had scabies after i'd slept over as she knew I obv wouldn't stay. I remember having to apply a thick pink lotion like calamine lotion called Quinoderm I think. Itchy as hell between my fingers and around my torso but it went after a few days of using the lotion

[slartybartfast]

www.google.co.uk/search?q=scabies&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=HKfOU5a8KPCy7AaEl4CoDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=663#facrc=&imgdii=&imgrc=X-iF2EcuyPdU6M%253A%3BlMbS8CxLgurplM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimages.medicinenet.com%252Fimages%252Fdtarticleplayer%252Fscabies-what-are-risk-factors-s5.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.medicinenet.com%252Fscabies%252Fpage5.htm%3B400%3B400


this is useful

[BetweenDogandWolf]

I had it as a late teen when my brother came back from staying in a squat and spread scabies, impetigo and headlice through a group of about 30 people! Mine was mostly on my hands and feet and madly itchy. I don't remember any white heads on the spots like you describe your DH having though.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Dh caught it from our dog who we think caught it from regularly being walked in long grass populated by some very scabby looking foxes.

[SuperConfused]

I've had it. I got it shaking someone's hand in a developing country who I later realised must have had Norwegian scabies (don't google unless of strong constitution)

Essentially, regular scabies is quite hard to catch as you've said, Norwegian scabies means the person has like 10 x the usual no of scabies mites and it's way more contagious. I was totally confused as I was on a work trip and deinitely not sleeping with anyone or in dodgy sheets! You didn't say where your holiday was, but did he remember having contact with someone with a skin condition? Say buying from a street vendor or something? I would strongly recommend sleeping with a fan in this weather: I didn't sleep for a month when I had it.

[EhricLovesTheBhrothers]

I got it from holding a baby with it, then passed it to my friend by accident before I was treated. Not sure exactly how that happened, I stayed overnight in her room so we had casual contact but no sex, promise!

[figgypuddings]

Scabies are itchier at night when the mite burrows to lay eggs. We had to roughly scrub the skin until it bled then cover ourselves in benzyl benzoate. They took ages to go as nobody realised the nurse was spreading it.
They appear in the webs of the fingers first and you can see the burrow lines. Maddeningly itchy but scratching (until it bleeds) can spread them.

[Methe]

I've had it twice both from working in nursing homes.

It itches like an absolute bastard. The worst place for me was the top of my legs but my hands were awful.

I'm sure I read somewhere they it's really unusual to get scabies on your trunk or face unless you have a compromised immunity.

[reallywittyname]

Caught it twice, worked on a supermarket deli at the time so always handing out lumps of cheese to people. It itched like crazy and yes, started in between my fingers and made its way up my arms.

It doesn't have an incubation period, it's tiny mites that burrow into your skin. I believe it's their waste that causes the itching

[Tapirbackrider]

My neighbour (and his best man) caught scabies from the kilts that were hired for his wedding - the hire shop wasn't cleaning them properly.

[theladywiththelamp]

Definitely not scabies if not between the fingers, or on the head or face.
Did you say they were itchy or sore? Shingles can be painful, and if he had CP as a kid, that makes him more likely to get shingles, however, as they 'track' nerves, they generally appear in a band-like pattern, not generalised all over the body. Google pictures of it - they tend to be vesicles - as in fluid filled, not just sores.
Maybe he has just picked up a weird exotic rash on hols. Either way, I would safely say you can rule out scabies. Try an antihistamine for a few days if itchy.

[FryOneFatManic]

It sounds like shingles to me. Which you can only get if you've previously had chicken pox, because it's a reactivation of the dormant virus.

A friend of mine had it last year and she was left with complications afterwards. I think it was a form of neuralgia, she had a lot of pain across her torso.