Scabies swim worries

[WatchingAnxiety4]

Probably as much of a physical health thread as a mental health one.

My DS had a private swimming lesson yesterday. His usual teacher was on holiday so he had a different one.

All good until I went to collect him and the teacher had a few words with me and I noticed he had what looked like a scabies rash around his wrist.

It was a very quick interaction so I couldn't see much more but I have a lot of anxiety around contamination/infestations so I am really spiralling.

DS is only 6 so the teacher would have been holding his hands, helping him float etc.

Does anyone know how likely it is he may have caught scabies this way?

I have been googling all day trying to figure it out and my anxiety is the worst it has been in a while. We are visiting family next weekend and I am thinking of cancelling just in case.

Let me know if I am right to be worried or need to get a grip or both. Thank you.

I assume you've already come across this in your Googlings, but I find the only thing which alleviates my anxieties about such things is to do the preventative treatment/actions for everyone in the household. Google suggests:

"Apply 5% permethrin cream from your neck down to your toes, repeat it 7 days later, and wash all bedding and clothes at 60°C or higher."

I assume that's only clothes that you've worn since the contact with the person who potentially has scabies. I'd do any sofa/cushion covers and car seat cover too to be safe.

I doubt the mites survive in chlorinated water. It is mainly spread through soft furnishings, shared towels and bedding etc.

I have but also read that the medicine is really harsh on the skin and causes rashes and itching in itself so I feel like I can't put DS through this based on a quick glimpse of a wrist. I am stuck 😑

I think so but the risk still isn't zero so my anxious brain interprets that as an almost 100% guarantee that he was infected...

Scabies generally affects the skin between your fingers and toes, the groin and weirdly the belly button. You would definitely notice it more on the hands than around the wrists.

There are a lot of conditions that produce a rash and scabies is actually quite distinct from most of them.Lichen planus would probably be the closest and is most commonly found on the wrist area producing a lace like silvery rash. Eczema is another one and of course dermatitis.

Scabies is actually more like eczema when well established and the skin is often red raw from the intense itching. You would probably notice the person itching rather than the rash.

I know all this because my DS, a uni student has had a chronic scabies infection that took months to clear because his household kept reinfecting themselves. The summer holidays have been the firebreak they needed and they have all agreed to retreat regularly and again before they return. They are now experts at identifying it and have a hotline to the online pharmacy to get the lotions and potions needed.

I now wash everything at 60deg, scabies cases are probably increasing because of the wonderful green credentials most hotels now boast about. By washing towels and linens at 30deg they are promoting its spread. So if you’ve travel abroad or stayed in a hotel or any accommodation over the summer where they boast about their green credentials expect special visitors 6-8 weeks later, just in time for the start of the autumn turn.

This is your anxiety. I have awful rashes around my wrists at times. I have eczema. If he had scabies I’m pretty sure he would not be working.

I am just wondering if maybe he wasn't aware it is scabies (so many horror stories of people being misdiagnosed for months) or maybe he thought he'd only be teaching older kids that he doesn't need to get in the water with. My child was a late addition to the schedule and at that point maybe he didn't feel he could say no. He was a young lad and probably needdd the money too.

I have not slept well and it was also the first thing I thought about when I woke up. Everytime I cuddle my child it is all I can think about.

Sorry about your DS. I think the rash looked quite flat and patchy rather than raised red angry spots and papules, and I wouldn't call it red raw, just red. Hopefully that is a good sign.

Every time I cuddle my child it’s all I can think about.
That is a symptom of severe anxiety. You need to seek treatment for this. It will affect your child.

The guy probably has eczema. Wrist is a common place for it. Are you receiving help from the GP for anxiety because it’s really not normal for this to be all you can think about when you hug your kid?

Thank you, I hope you are all right and I am just being anxious. Now to find a way not to obsess about it for the next 6 weeks....