Scabies again, sorry!

[Snoopypie]

Am I being defeatest or realistic?

Still struggling to get rid of this vile condition, not helped by a visit to a dismissive dermatologist with a rather unpleasant manner.

I’m really low, seeing a psychologist next week and now have a mental health care plan in place to help cope with the impact the condition is having on my mental health, relationship and quality of life.

DID ANYONE ELSE MANAGE TO GET RID of it AFTER HAVING IT FOR OVER 2 MONTHS?

I feel defeated by it, along with my husband’s refusal to believe he had/has it and the post scabies diagnosis I’ve now been given from lovely gp despite new itchy bumps appearing daily and raw skin on my groin where I have not even scratched, despite the temptation.

We’ve got relatives wanting to stay with us in September, love them to bits, but feel we won’t be clear or safe to have in the house.

Yes, persistent little buggers, I had to cover myself with the cream head to toe twice weeks apart to get rid of them and also get rid of all bedding as washing didn't seem to help get rid.. My sister brought them home from school when staying over.

Thank you for replying @Homewoes22thank you for replying, glad you are rid of them.

Sorry to hear what you are going through. My DS has had it for almost a year. He is under the impression it’s gone and it’s now in the stage where it needs to heal, but he is still itching and scratching constantly so I’m not sure it has gone. The NHS has been so unhelpful, no help at all. He’s done the full cream treatment at least 3 times (2 times, a week apart each time). None of us have caught it so I’m not sure about the risk to your visitors. Could you see a different dermatologist? My DS couldn’t even get an in person appointment - they just got him to send photos. We just keep buying the cream. He’s also trying anti-histamines for the itching. It’s made him very stressed, he can’t sleep and he’s constantly irritable. I’m disappointed the NHS don’t take it more seriously. My DS GF got given a tablet from her dermatologist which seemed to help, so if you could get that it might be better? Good luck.

Thank you for replying @nagnagnag,fingers crossed that your son is clear and good to know he didn’t pass it on.
I’m from the UK, but now in Oz where much of the health system is private, so there are plenty more dermatologists to choose from, at a price.
Thank you for the time you spent replying to this post.

Hi! Scabies is just awful! i am so sorry you are going through this. We had our dd bring it into the house. dh , dd and i - in a 5 person household had the endless horrific itch. We had it for a few months before we figured out what it was ( 1st gp was like that is a rash just change washing powders...) then several rounds of the cream/ endless washing / bagging of bedding/ dryer, with no change. i lost my sh#*!t at the gp's and they prescribed ivermecton pills. Killed the buggers. I made the whole household take it in a militant and timely manner- even if they did not want to or had no itch(bribed the 18yearold). Honestly took 2 weeks for itch to start reducing and then longer for us to trust it. Probably itched for a couple of months after and still panic it has come back at a small itch a year later. Honestly it was the being unable to sleep at night that was the worst. Seeing dh itch still makes me feel stressed. Anyway good luck - ask for the ivermecton and be kind wih your self while you all recover.

Ivermectin (e.g., Stromectol) requires a doctor's prescription in Australia. But totally worth it. The itch does get worse (can you beleive) when they are dying, but is some comfort to think of them finally on thier way out... good luck

GP gave me one prescription, but husband didn’t have it then, so only I took it. GP doesn’t want to prescribe it again so he wanted a second opinion off a dermatologist, which was the biggest waste of $600 (both husband and I saw him).
Did the one prescription of 2 doses work for you @Pastatonight?

What did the dermatologist say? Why was it a waste of money?

Yeah it did, we all took 2 lots of pills . I think a week apart, even the unaffected teens. it means that your whole body is treated rather than with cream, you can miss spots like soles of your feet or someone does a half arsed job (looking at you, dd..). With the cream just one little bug needs to survive and they are back up reinfecting you all soon enough.... Be mad specific with gp and take a long boring list of everything you have done already so that the gp knows that you have a household that is reinfecting each other and you are struggling to reinforce good cream application. Basically leave them no choice. I used to live in the UK and i absolutely miss the NHS. I cant believe they made you go get a test at a dermo, scabies is about as throughly a general practice task as you can get, but private health care systems do love a income generating referral................ We knew it worked after the second and final pills a week later, because we did not get any NEW spots (old ones still itched like mad for a good bit though before they faded). I am currently in the same part of the globe as you- hello neighbour!- i hope you get to enjoy the sun a bit more soon...
Good luck, scabies suck.

@Pastatonight do you think it was the ivermectin as opposed to the environmental measures that finally did the trick? I just can’t change the beds every day- I do for treatment though.

Also I don’t have a dryer, as I have never needed one before , but do wash at 60c.

@CapybarasAreJustGuineaBigs
Firstly he only looked at my hands and the original site of the rash , no tools used , just naked eye.
Secondly he said with 6 lots of Lyclear and 2 x5 pills of ivermectin the mites should be dead- didn’t take into account reinfecting going on.

He denied dogs can get the human variant and carry it on them for a few days, contrary to what the specialist dermatologist vet (who was excellent) told me .
He had no empathy, not a listener and wasn’t open to many questions.

Dismissed photos of bites/bumps/rashes as possible insect bites…I’m in my 50s - I know insect bites by now.

He didn’t suggest we can temporarily present as clear so close to having just done a treatment, my husband just got the ‘all clear’ he believed he’d get, for him that’s a definitive diagnosis.

DD's bf brought them home from uni.
I fortunately didnt seem to catch them but both DD and her bf have been itching for almost a year.
The gp finally prescribed ivermectin for them both and his mother and I set out our plans like a military operation.
Pills taken and everyone in each household creamed up on the Monday.
All clothes, bedding including duvet and pillows washed at a high temperature. Then tumbled dried. Mattresses and bedrooms vacuumed thoroughly making sure not seams etc missed.
All sort furnishings like sofa cushions washed at high temps.
Anything that could not be washed was placed in airtight plastic bin bags for 7 days.
After 7 days, the whole process was repeated.
Seems extreme but they have both been living with it for almost a year now and are getting getting down about it.
We are now keeping everything crossed that it has worked.

Also to say, anything that cannot be washed that has been worn or sat on.....coats, shoes, sofa cushions needs to go into an airtight bag. They cannot live without human contact after a while.
We were also advised that cars seats should be vacuumed too.

I know someone who suffered for over 12 months. What sorted it was doses of ivermectin. They were broken from the experience and it has taken a lot of time to recover from the mental toll it took.

I think mostly it was but cleaning is important. You dont want a random bug reinfecting you all after all that work of you taking medicine and killing them all. I hot washed at home and then ran through a commercial dryer. I also chucked a couple of pillows that were older and washed the rest ( or the pillow protectors). On both days of treatment. But did not clean bedding on other days. Get it out of your skin then dont reinfect yourself from clothes/ bedding. I even hoovered my couch where the head.rests just in case😂🤣 but not sure that was strictly needed.
. A bit like you i had few slap dash household members. I stood over everyone when they took it so i knew our timings were right. I just got super controlling about it , which not usually how i roll but it was absolutly affecting us. it is exhasting and overwhelming and awful. I would have done nearly anything lol. i can't tell you how good it was to be able to turn to dh eventually and say i dont think i have scratched all day. Good luck let us know how u get on :)

It doesn’t seem over the top @Btrsun10, and I hope you’ve been successful.🙏

OP you've started 15 threads about this.

Have you actually been diagnosed with scabies via a skin scraping?

What did the dermatologist say to do?

Have your family contracted it as well?

Are you getting any help for your anxiety?

I completely understand how they would have been broken, but so glad they are on the road to recovery. ❤️‍🩹

Hi @wandawaves, thanks for your keen interest in my posts, and the answers to all your questions appear in this or the other 14 threads.

I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced Scabies, particularly whilst living in an abusive relationship, I truly hope you haven’t, but if you have experienced scabies then I’m surprised by your attitude.

Please feel free to scroll on when you see Thread 16- I don’t want to talk about it too much in the real world , whereas I feel safe discussing it in this mostly supportive online community. Naturally I’m comfortable talking to my GP about it.

Actually, I have a lot of experience with scabies treatments, and which ones tend to be more successful, which is why I asked the questions I asked.