Last Updated on June 4, 2020 by Nancy Carteron, MD, FACR
STD Symptoms – Scabies
If a person has never been infected with scabies before, symptoms appear approximately 3 to 6 weeks after infection. If a person has been infected with scabies before, they will begin to experience symptoms within 1 to 4 days after infection because of previous exposure to scabies.
Some people will not have any visible signs or symptoms at all, or may not be aware of them.
Often the symptoms of scabies are not visible.
Signs and symptoms are the same for both men and women.
When there are symptoms, they may include:
- Itching, especially at night or which becomes worse in bed at night or after a hot bath or shower
- People with a weakened immune system may develop severe infestations, which produce large areas of thickened, crusted skin
- Presence of lesions, such as brown nodules, rashes, or pimple-like irritations
- Presence of the mite burrow(s), often in a zigzag or ‘S’ pattern
- Rashes, especially between the fingers
- Scabies mites are very tiny and impossible to see with the naked eye. Fine silvery lines are sometimes visible in the skin where mites have burrowed.
- Small bumps or rashes that appear in dirty-looking
- Sores (abrasions) on the skin from scratching and digging
- Thin, pencil-mark lines on the skin
Common sites of infection are:
- Armpits
- Bends of elbows and knees
- Breasts
- Lower portion of buttocks
- Navel
- Penis and scrotum
- Pubic and groin area
- Rarely, they are found on the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet and the neck upward
- Waist and abdomen
- Webs and sides of fingers and toes
- Wrists
Sometimes the diagnosis can be difficult because the rash can look like other itchy conditions, such as eczema.
Scabies can be noticed during a routine genital or medical examination even if a doctor or nurse isn’t looking for it.
A person is considered infectious from the time they becomes infected until treatment is successfully completed. Linens and clothing are considered infectious until treatment or until 2 weeks after the last exposure.
After treatment, a person may unknowingly become reinfected through exposure to the primary source of contact or contact with a different infected source.
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Did this help you identify your STD Symptoms? Do you still have questions about your STD symptoms or would you like to share how your symptoms were similar/different? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
