Scabies!

[Blanket26]

We've been struggling with scabies for weeks. Several rounds of cream and it keeps coming back on my 1 year old!
I've bought some Derbac M to try. Has anyone had more success with this?
And if so how do I keep it on my 1 year old for 24 hours as he eats with his hands and puts them in his mouth. Can I use derbac m on his body and cream on his hands overnight.

Please help! I'm desperate and this is really getting me down now. Dr's are useless

Are you sure it's scabies? What washing protocol have you followed? Unlikely that if your one year old has it that he wouldn't pass it back to you as presumably touching / grabbing / close contact?

My partner was the one first diagnosed 3 months ago. All of us have been itchy after treatments which I've read can be due to the cream itself too. Im itchy and flare in red spots but can go down quickly. My partner is still itchy but says not like before diagnosis and treatments but my boy is the one who keeps getting the distinctive burrows. I think my older child has been the only one that hasn't caught it

Also following the washing protocol but been using the tumble dryer first on all contaminated clothes/bedding/towels as I read that dry heat is actually better to kill mites with as it gets hotter than when wet. Plus bagging things and wearing gloves etc

Cream treatment worked on me and DP but DS had to take a tablet for his to go. If you've followed cream/washing protocol then I'd go back to GP for the tablet, I can't remember it's name sorry.

Thank you. I went 2 weeks ago for his third round of treatment and the GP said to just keep treating until its gone and that's all they can do. I've heard about the pill but I think he's too young

I’m suffering the same with my 3 yr old. Tried permethrin no longer itchy but red spots keep appearing on me and my son. I don’t know what to do as the cream isn’t effective and nor is derbac m. Washing everything on hot wash and tumble try, bedding and clothes each day. Doctors won’t prescribe tablet as it’s not an fda approved drug and not licensed in the uk for human scabies even though it’s used in other countries and they use it on pets in the uk. It’s judicious! Drs are rubbish and clueless about scabies and keep saying to use the cream. Also it’s all well if you can get someone to prescribe it but they won’t prescribe a toddler with it only the cream. So you just keep getting reinfected. My son came out with it first so I treated us both with permethrin and two days later I came out in sports like my son when I was clear previously. I’m getting new ones everyday. Any advice would be most welcome. Can anyone who does have it and has got rid of it please let us know what they did as most people post and once they get rid of it (or not) don’t follow up I’ve seen on here. It would be good to know what they did and how long it lasted so I can know if I’m doing anything wrong.

Horrible things. So itchy. Sorry as I can’t remember our treatment but the doctor said it can take 5 weeks until the irritation stops. It certainly took a couple of weeks for us to notice any improvement. We were convinced the treatment hadn’t worked but it had - could that be happening?

Tinydancer1234

How many times have you been the drs? So sorry you're dealing with this too. I have read up an awful lot on scabies and after care. Although the nhs website says no new spots means you're clear ive found alot of research that suggests this is incorrect. There is something called Post scabies syndrome. I've read alot of posts online about it and peoples experiences (there are alot of scare stories out there so please don't read too much!) I have read that the permethrin cream can cause spots and itchiness itself. Alot of people say to ignore spots and itching unless it spreads rapidly and to only repeat treatment if you see the burrows as your skin needs time to heal after treatment.

I find the washing and cleaning so draining and overwhelming. Don't forget shoes, car seats, pram if you use one, cushion covers, teddies, i even bought new hairbrushes etc. I actually found it easier to take out some clothing to wear for the next few days after treatment, tumble dry it so it's decontaminated and put them in bags and just live out of the bags rather than bagging up things you don't treat if that makes sense. But honestly I don't know how you are meant to do all the washing without touching the clean and dirty, yes i use gloves but also hold washing with my arms. Although I've read it's very rare to spread through fabrics you become so desperate to try anything!

Please keep in contact

Robinbobbing

Thank you so much for responding. I was praying that was the case. My partner looks so much better and for 3 and a half weeks after 1 of the treatments my son was completely clear.
I believe we were reinfected from a close contact as he started getting spotty and itchy again on week 4. After the next treatment within 10 days I found about 4 new burrows on his hands so I know I need to do another treatment but I worry about how much cream I'm putting on his skin so young. It's a never ending cycle

So I had scabies once before 7 years ago and I’d rather not say how long it took to get rid of it. I ended up seeing a dermatologist in London who prescribed me ivermectin twice and then it cleared up. Never had it since and my skin was perfect. Never suffered with spots not even acne or any skin problems. I’ve always had berry good skin so when something like this happens I notice it as not normal. As I’m in the early stages I don’t want to go to the dermatologist yet as unless you have a big break out they fob you off also. They don’t appreciate the mental effects of it and I don’t understand why they don’t just wrote out a precautionary ivermectin prescription. I have not seen any burrows on me or my son this time just the spots and feeling itchy. It’s heartbreaking when you see them appear on your child and then you start seeing them on your arms, buttocks around the boobs and torso. My spots are still quite little so to a dermatologist I know they would brush it off as it took me ages to get it diagnosed last time and it was moderate then. I had burrows and so did my eldest son but they would brush it off as scratch marks. It was exhausting. As for post scabies I can’t find anywhere where it says new spots can appear after treatment. It just seems to say itchiness can persist. Everywhere says if new spots appear then the treatment has failed. It’s so confusing and I remember this last time. It was literally only until no spots reappeared did I know I was free of it. The problem is because you do the treatment and clean everything immaculately and it doesn’t work you start thinking your doing something wrong or it turns you ocd. This is what the doctors don’t understand how much it plays on your mental health if they brush something like this off. I paid over £1000 seeing 3 dermatologists last time and I’m trying to avoid that at the moment. One prescribed me e45 cream can you believe. Please let us know how you get on and if you have had new spots appear and if you’ve ignored them. Sending you the best of luck with this.

Hi Robbinbobbin Do you remember getting new red spots after treatment when you thought it had failed or just itchiness?

My son had it and was prescribed oral Ivermectin and it got rid of it quickly. Had to take a second dose to catch the next lot of eggs that hatch.

DS was 14 btw.

How old was your son as I don think they will prescribe for a toddler

An yes 14 probably ok. But infants there is only the cream

Tinydancer1234
Id love to go to a dermatologist but so tight on money atm. Spent quite a bit on the treatments already.
I come up in red itchy spots but they fade quickly and disappear. Both my children suffer from eczema as it is so that adds to the unknown as I know the cream states it can make eczema worse. I had no burrows but I did see 2 come up after treatment that were visibly dry and healing.
I've been reading a website where people discuss their experiences and alot of people agree that the medical websites can be quite misleading and spots after treatment are actually common as long as they disappear quickly. It is very confusing isn't it! It is such an awful thing for mental health, and the isolation adds to it with not wanting to risk infecting others but not knowing if you're actually clear.
Wow drs really are clueless. The first prescribed a steroid cream for itchiness and the second Dr said not to use it as it can make scabies worse and harder to treat! Plus when my partner first got diagnosed they said no need to treat the rest of us and can't use cream on under 2s unless drs orders!
I do get spots and ignore them for now. The only reason I want to retreat is my sons burrows otherwise id hold off with the spots and itchiness for a couple of weeks.
Can I please ask how you keep derbac m on your child for so long? I worry about his hands or how dirty he'll get at tea time as he has a bath every night. The cream is OK as I use socks on his hands at night and shower straight away In the morn.
Thanks you for making me feel I'm not alone in this awful battle! My partner just thinks I'm over paranoid haha. Sending you the best too

OrderOfTheKookaburra

Thank you. Did he have to try the cream treatments first along with the household?

How long would you say the spots take to disappear once they pop up if just left? Is it next day or 3-4 days or week? It’s just so I have an idea. Mine don’t seems to be going away. I’m not itchy in the day and haven’t been to bad but last night I was. My son isn’t itching just the spots appearing. Can’t see any burrows this time compared to the first time I had it. If you have seen new burrows since treatment does that mean they are still active? Do you hoover sofas if so how often? And how often do you change your bed? I’ve been doing daily and it’s killing me. I don’t know if this is overkill? As you said it’s good to have someone else to talk to about this as it makes you feel like you’re not alone. Keep us updated as I will

Some can go down within hours my sons can be a few days. I get spots on legs and arms so i think tighter clothes like jeans make me itchier or if I get hot, i use eurax if i really need to but says not for under 3s so im stuck there. My scalp is itchy but i dont know if thats from so many treatments making it so sensitive. Did you get any blister looking spots as this is what my sons look like on his hands and then a couple pimples around his body and I'm so unsure on them.
Honestly I don't know about the burrows but I haven't seen this many on my son in weeks. I have read the treatment can make burrows more visible as it drys them out but there's so much conflicting information out there.

So I wash bedding the day of treatment so we get into clean beds and then the day after. I tumble dry towels after every use to kill mites. Maybe i should be tumble drying bedding everyday but dont know how I'd keep up with that with the day to day cleaning and washing that builds up to so well done you for doing all that so far! I wash the sofa covers but can't do a hot wash as they'll shrink so I use a big blanket that I tumble dry too. I Hoover mattresses, rug and car right after treatment and I spray them with watered down tea tree oil, no idea If it's actually effective though.

I tried all the natural stuff first time around and it didn’t work. It also dried my skin out so not bothering with that. I didn’t treat me hair but I did several times the first time I got it years ago but it still went on for a very long time so as you said not sure if it’s drying out your scalp and making it itchy? I only did the first treatment last week so due second soon. If that doesn’t work I will do a further treatment. And if that doesn’t work I will try and contact the dermatologist that I used before who prescribed me ivermectin. He was the only knwledagaboe person about the subject back then and it seems people are still clueless. In the papers there’s been a huge surge in scabies cases in the uk and I just don’t know why the government don’t stop all this nonsense and licence ivermectin as the go to treatment NOT premethrin. They use it in other countries with great success but Britain is way behind. It would save so many people sanity and it’s crazy that STILL it hasn’t been approved by the nhs. The nhs use it in hospitals when there is severe cases so why not use it as a go to? Why let it get to the point where it’s so bad everyone around you starts getting it and it makes it even harder to treat because of reinfection. I think if I were you if it doesn’t get better in the next few weeks I’d see the dermatologist and request it. If they say no ask why.

Did your scalp itch the first time too? Did it just go away after a while?

It is surprising the lack of info out there and how they make it sound so easy to get rid of. Kids definitely make it more difficult.
Yes I may try treatment again but do it an extra week or after a couple of days to ensure anything I missed is caught.

I also had no side effects from ivermectin whereas like you I’m unsure if it’s permethrin that is also causing spots as an allergic reaction to what’s in it. I actually don’t think there has been enough research into permethrin as only now are they realising that scabies could be coming resistant to it as mentioned in the press. Exactly what happened to headlice and hence why there are better alternatives now for that also. It’s just crazy and then on top of that you have to fight with the healthcare providers while they don’t believe your symptoms. I paid for a top paediatric dermatologist in London and he dismissed scabies but said it could be an ectopatisite like bird mite etc. it was ridiculous. I had not been anywhere near birds nor did I have any infestation of the sort. Another dermatologist said it’s foliculitis but couldn’t explain why both my son and I had it if it’s harmless and not contagious. I had a hell of a time until I found one that believed me. It paid a real toll on my mental health. I’m a lot cooler about it this time around as I know that eventually I did get rid of it but it took well over a year of utter hell. All when they could have just given me ivermectin at the start. I’m just hoping my eldest son doesn’t get it. Another problem I found was because mine was never full blown the drs etc were fobbing me off saying it was just pimples and scratch marks (burrows). I suppose the good thing is is that yours sons burrows are in the palm of his hand which is very obvious as opposed to the leg or somewhere they could say it’s just a scratch. Also you said he has a few of them. Fingers crossed for you. Please let me know if you get cured as I think we all need help with this. I will post when I’m clear also and explain what I did and my process of symptoms to help others. X

The first time I was itching everywhere really badly. My scalp first and I thought we had head lice at first then my whole body began to itch including my privates which I knew then something was 100% not right. Again doctors fobbed me off despite doing a prem treatment and it relieving me by 50%. So it did help. This time my scalp hasn’t itched at at all but I think I’ve caught it really early whereas last time I had it for months before I realised what it was. I had terrible lesions on my left hand eczema also which wasn’t eczema. It was scabies as that too cleared with prem. I had photos of progress back then and even the. That wasn’t enough evidence for the dermatologist as to that fact it was doing something and clearing it but I was either being reinfected or it wasn’t killing all of them. Which made me think they were resistant.

I feel for you with the itchy scalp as that sent me over the edge last time as I can only liken it to having lice which I found really distressing after a while as I felt I couldn’t help myself itch in public and like you said it isolates you. I felt like I couldn’t hug my son properly as I didn’t want to reinfect him when his was starting to clear. It was a vicious cycle and hence why I’m mad with the nhs to this day.. Doctors anrent educated enough on it and nor are the majority of dermatologists. They know about it but most haven’t seen a case of it and if they have it’s extreme so they prescribe but who wants to get to that point. I was very depressed last time and still angry that I was brushed off and left. There was a mother in the paper recently who was left for 14 months before they took her seriously.

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/24446867.mum-accidentally-given-family-scabies-clydebank/

⬆️ It disgusts me how she was left like this where it’s a severe case. Mine was never like this. Just had red spots pop up and burrows that was it. I was never willing to let it get this bad just to prove to them that I had it as at this point you would prob be throwing your furniture away! This poor woman obviously wants to spread awareness but no one will do anything about it you watch. Failed system.

Wow 14 months is a long time!
Ours clears and then comes back which is why I think they don't take it seriously.

My sons spots that were itchy a few days ago have all disappeared with a few new ones on his chest but sont appear to bother him so it has made me very unsure on what to do and maybe it is just his skin healing. However the spots and redness on his hands are really concerning me. I must say the treatment isn't too much of a bother for me, it's the washing that really overwhelms me as I dont have time for it all and really worry about what I will miss. Scared to see family but also desperate for the distraction. Its a horrible thing.

I totally understand how you feel. That was me years ago. Even now our spots go and new ones come up. As you said it’s very confusing. I also know what you mean about the washing. My machines have been on constant and it’s exhausting. You almost go into an ocd mode. I was feeling pretty good last two days and today I feel itchy again and a few new bumps have popped up. My son’s the same too although he’s not itching at all. I think you need to tell a dermatologist all this that you ohysocally can’t do all the washing and this really needs to stop and that you would really like to try ivermectin (if you do want it). I’m seeing one this Tuesday as I’ve had enough. Our skin is pretty good but we have about 4-5 spots each now so I’m thinking they may just brush it off and that’s the problem. They don’t take you seriously and believe everyone has spots. I used to say my kids have never had a spot on there bodies and they would shrug it off as well now they do. I don’t have a partner so at least I don’t have them to sort out either as the last time we had it I had and treating him was difficult as he was brushing it off as not a big deal. I felt very alone. I do now but I suppose it helps that I’m not majorly itchy this time. I can’t work out if I’m getting new sports from reinfection or the fact I hadn’t got rid of them all on my body first time or whether like you said it’s part of the process. I never got to the bottom of it the first time, just one day they stopped coming after countless use of permethrin which like you said isn’t good. It paid such a toll on my mental health and felt scared to even touch anyone. I suffered with such anxiety about it but I think you have to keep telling yourself to relax and that you will get there in the end. All you can do is do what you can. Remember your not alone. I have been spot treating. my spots and they seemed to get better but today I came out with a couple more 😩 I did buy some fabric spray for mosquitos that you can spray on any fabric and it’s got permethrin in so I hoovered and sprayed the sofas in that. You have to remember that you only have 10-15 mites on you and so your not riddled. I’m sure I’ve got down to the last few and that’s why I’m still getting a reaction. But like you said how do we know it’s not the permethrin use? I’m too scared to just leave my skin in case it gets as bad as it was the first time and before you know it you’ve made an even bigger mess of things :( Do you think the skin clears as you’ve killed the surface mites and then you get the next load of spots when the eggs hatch? The prob is unless a dermatologist has had it themselves they don’t really understand. My poor clothes have taken a bashing being washed on high heat. I also iron everything except towels and I’m shattered. You can only take one day at a time and try and remain positive that it will go but I think maybe if you and your partner took ivermectin it could help. There is also an ivermectin cream called Soolantra but I didn’t rate that that much. Eurex cream is good but you can’t use it under 3s. That will help you with the itch also. Let us know how you get on next week. I will keep you updated too. Stay strong x