To want to just burn everything we own

[Livelovelaughfuckoff]

Scabies. DS first brought it home from uni last year and he has suffered for 9 months (doctors missed it for the first 3 months and took them another 6 to prescribe the correct dose of Ivermectin. This only happened because eventually (no idea how the rest of us swerved it for so long) DS then caught it at Xmas but they wouldn’t give ivermectin first had to try permethrin. Whole family treated washing and tumble drying everything or bagging it for seven days, hoover everywhere, steam cleaning furniture. Repeat the process a week later.

As expected the permethrin didn’t work for DS2 but the ivermectin has worked for DS1 so now DS2 has ivermectin and again the rest of us are having to do permethrin. So another two weeks of changing beds and towels every day for three days, bagging, washing, tumble drying and steaming. Tried to push for us to all have ivermectin but no go from the doctor.

So stressed and overwhelmed keeping up with the washing and bagging clothes. Have spent a fortune on extra clothes, bedding and towels as jus can’t get it all washed and dried for everyone to have a clean set of everything 3 days in a row and the repeat a week later.

DH is fucking useless at remembering to bag his stuff and refuses to buy more work trousers and I suspect is re wearing things rather than changing and bagging (he has no symptoms at all never had to be fair but still follow the bloody protocol to be safe!)

I’m feeling murderous right now. Please tell me anyone who’s had to do this that it goes eventually. Aside from the washing and cleaning nightmare DS1 has really suffered over the last 9 months mentally and DS2 has scratched his legs to the point of bleeding and looks so down.

It has really worn him down. He’s normally so resilient but I think the lack of sleep has been a real problem. You wouldn’t think it would have such an impact but after doing a big of Googling it seems to be a common problem for many. The NHS make light of the recovery time and the fact that it can go on for months.

We had this. Tried pretty much every remedy you can find online, both conventional and unconventional out of sheer desperation.

Everyone in the house needs ivermectin, 2 doses 1 week apart.

I would see if you can speak to another GP and get it. I think the guidelines advise treating the whole house.

Failing that, we found derbac much more effective than permitherin which did literally nothing for any of us, may as well habe smeared ourselves in sour cream.

I feel for you. The washing, the hoovering, the bagging is relentless and it's all so psychologically invasive!

I found some GPs at oir surgery very reluctant to do much other than permitherin and others incredibly sympathetic and helpful. You can buy dermac without prescription.

I’ve heard derbac m is more effective. We’ve used permethrin this time and DS2 has taken his 2nd dose of ivermectin tonight. If it comes back or is still an issue I won’t leave the GP surgery without ivermectin for all four of us!

Here's a good guide for day-by-day management.
Best resource I've found
www.rivm.nl/sites/default/files/2023-01/75469_RIVM_014537_Stappenplan%20Schurft%20permetrine_EN_TG.pdf

I think (hope!) we’re just at the back of this after being infected for about 7 months. Firstly we thought it was bed bugs so I boiled everything, dp sprayed the room etc etc, countless times. Then we were diagnosed with scabies and used permethrin 6 times (and boil washed everything each time), and then bought dermac m over the internet - which actually appears to have done the job.

hated the washing, hated the smell of the cream… hated the bloody itching - especially dp scratching his arse everytime I looked at him.

hated the washing, hated the smell of the cream… hated the bloody itching - especially dp scratching his arse every time I looked at him.

Are you sure he wasn't using it as an excuse?😂

Oh God. I have a friend who had bed bugs once so I’ve been paranoid about them ever since. Now I have to add Scabies to the list too. Perhaps I will tell DS not to go to uni!

I found this list last week it’s very good. Wish GP’s handed it out. Ours just tells you to change the bed after the first night of treatment didn’t even mention all the other things you are meant to do.

Owenspannas I'm sorry to say that it looks exactly like my skin when I had it! You would be in no doubt though because the itching is next level - I ended up with my hands peeling from in between my fingers. The marks get darker as the mites die. It takes around a month for your skin to replace itself and my marks disappeared completely.

I have somewhat had a meltdown tonight and he is off to a self serve laundrette tomorrow with half a dozen bags of bedding and towels and is not to return until they have all been boil washed and tumble dried

impressed. I had multiple meltdowns but as I wfh I was just left with piles and piles of laundry to feed into the washing machine and tumble drier at 3 hourly intervals.

This is such a useful thread! I hope it helps anyone else who's also in the midst of an infection. Scabies is pure hell, I got it at uni many many years ago (gf at the time was doing a very hands-on caring type degree which we think is where she picked it up) and was utterly tormented by it. Good luck, OP, and anyone else battling with this.

Did anyone get random itchy and non itchy red or flesh coloured spots on body when healing?

@OneMintWaspDid you get any non- itchy bumps come up following your successful treatment?

@Livelovelaughfuckoff
How are things now?
Are you all clear yet? 🙏

Touch wood but I think we may just may have got rid of them all. DS1 says his skin is feeling the best it has since last April and DS2 doesn’t appear to have any new burrows or bumps. He says his skin feels a little dry but I’m crossing everything that we may finally be scabies free!

@LivelovelaughfuckoffThat’s great to hear.
i keep getting told I’m clear then little new red bumps appear, mostly non itchy.
I don’t know if I am healing or being misdiagnosed by medics- taking my last pack of Ivermectin this week. 😥

DS1 kept being told he was clear and told it must be an unrelated skin issue 🙄 they referred him to dermatology months ago but no appointment has ever come through. We had booked him a private dermatology appointment for February but after DS2 caught it in December we were pretty sure ds1 still had it and managed to get him another round of ivermectin and he’s also done permethrin again in January when we had to do a second load of treatment for ds2 (I think that’s the timeline I’ve genuinely lost track of who got treated with what and when!)

Hopefully if yours are non itchy that is a good sign. For DS1 the itching never really went away.

I just spent ages typing a long reply and lost it, will have to reply later . 😥

@Livelovelaughfuckoff
I feel it will take my husband to get a really bad outbreak or my son to get it until someone believes me.

whenever we’ve seen the dermos it is always 2 days after treatment, they aren’t interested in photos, see I’m anxious immediately so that gets held responsible and claim I have no burrows….but I did have one detected by GP initially with big outbreak!

My biopsy of an incredibly itchy pimple like legion was inconclusive, but came out as possible arthropod bite, a scabies is a bloody arthropod.

I’m on my last pack of Ivermectin, let’s see what happens when I stop taking it each week(I’m terrified).

I’ve tried so hard to seek help, tried so hard to protect children I work with and my son, but I can’t do it when the medics insist I’m clear which gives husband green light to continue ignoring any spots he gets and to keep just blaming my anxiety.

Feel like my life is over! It’s like I had a before scabies life and the rest is just a black hole that keeps getting deeper.

Why on earth would I want to convince people I have it? If it’s definitely not scabies , great, but wish they could prove what it is or isn’t. Months of extensive research, it’s scabies!!!!!

Tne old cliche, “ You’ve had so much Ivermectin nothing could survive” , not true and what about reinfection?!!! No one says to a cancer patient “ You’ve can have another tumour as you’ve had a course of chemo”.

Facebook groups were full of useful information, but it was overwhelmingly black for me - and felt bad for not going to all the measures people listed! It took away any hope.

I’m a homesick pom living in Oz and this forum is so ‘real’ and is something I’ve used since son was a baby, I feel more at home here.

Thank you for replying and just being there.

I’m seeing a psychologist for impact it’s having on mental health with an emotionally abusive husband only making the situation worse- I’m scared I’ll have it forever and never be able to return to my uk friends.

I’ve irritated several members of Mumsnet with my many posts on scabies, but it isn’t a quick fix and the impact on mental health is huge.

Thanks for being so kind.

I really feel for you as the impact it had on my eldest was huge. I admit we were also a little dismissive after so many months but it felt impossible that he could be the only one with it for 9 months with no one else affected. I do feel awful for him that it took ds2 getting for the doctors to give him the right treatment.

@Livelovelaughfuckoff

Please tell us which uni

@Crwysmam

Agree washing bedding at low temps in a hotel is vile.

I’m a vet and am really surprised to hear they’re still plugging away with ivermectin and permethrin for human scabies.
The isoxazoline class of drugs (eg fluralaner, trade name Bravecto) have significantly improved treatments for scabies and demodectic mange in my world - persistent activity really helps.
I had a quick Google and looks like this drug class is used occasionally off licence in people.
Disclaimer - I am in no way suggesting you treat yourself! Just an observation, hope you get some relief soon.

Well all DS’s old school friends went to different uni’s and one weekend all met up and stayed in one student house. So really it could have come from 4 or 5 different sources (a few of them ended up catching it) but maybe avoid anything north of Coventry 🤣

You have to really fight to get ivermectin unless you do two rounds of permethrin first (family have to do derbac M) then when that fails it’s Ivermectin for the one showing symptoms and permethrin for the family. I’m sure if they went straight two rounds of ivermectin for everyone at the first sign on one family member it would help. Initially they would only give ds one round of ivermectin and the when DS 2 got it we had to really push for two rounds for both.

I do think the GP’s are not great at managing and treating it. They didn’t give us any advice other than change your bed sheets after the first night