Guide to Scabies Home Remedies
This page on scabies home remedies introduces you to the scabies mites and proposes home remedies for scabie treatment and scabie cure.
What are Scabies?
Scabies is a skin condition caused by a microscopic mite called Sarcoptes scabei. The mite burrows into the skin and within several weeks, causes an allergic reaction and severe itching.
Scabies Infection on Arm
The Scabies Mite
Sarcoptes scabiei are mites that infest mammals, including humans. Several types of scabies mites exist, each having a preferred host species on which it reproduces. For example, in dogs, mites cause mange and in humans, mites most commonly cause scabies. Unlike other mites, mites that cause scabies burrow up to 3cm deep into the skin to lay its eggs and feed on skin and secretions. The entire life cycle of scabies mites that infect humans is spent on their host, usually 10-17 days. Without a host, they survive only a few days. If a person has never been exposed to scabies mites, it is possible that scabies can attach and infest a person without being noticed for more than a month. Eventually there will be extreme irritation and severe itching.
How does a person get scabies?
Scabies are highly contagious! Although scabies mites can transfer from animals to humans (vice versa), humans typically get it from contact with someone who is already infected. It usually spreads between sexual partners and household members through intimate contact or can be scratched off the skin causing infestation onto another person. Mites can live in bedding for more than 24 hours and therefore be transferred through bedding, clothing, and towels.
What are the symptoms of scabies?
Severe itching! This is the result of an allergic reaction when the
female mite burrows into the skin, lays eggs, and produces toxins.
Small red bumps that look like tiny bug bites or pimples can form on
the skin. See scabies
pictures home remedy.
Scabies usually develops on warmer parts of the body, like skin folds
near the buttocks, groin, armpits, between fingers/toes, and around
breasts. Try to wear loose fitting clothing and keep body areas that
tend to be moist as dry as possible.
Beware that if you already have scabies, excessive scratching may lead
to bacterial infections of the skin.
See our scabies symptoms home remedy checklist.
Diagnosis
Your doctor may be able to tell just from looking at your skin, or s/he might conduct a skin scraping to look for mites, eggs, or mite fecal matter.
Scabies Home Remedies
- Leaves of the Margosa (Neem) tree.
Boil fresh or dried leaves in water and mix. Add an equal amount of turmeric powder and create a paste by adding mustard oil. Apply the paste to the affected areas with your hands (we recommend using gloves) or a cotton ball soaked in the boiled water. Let the paste sit on skin for about an hour and then wash off. You can continue to apply the paste until the rashes have healed or disappeared. The leave's medicinal properties can help kill the mites. If no change occurs after a few days of trying this, see a doctor. - Juice of drumstick leaves.
Take 400-500 drumsticks and extract their juice. Mix it with an equal amount of sesame oil. Then boil your mixture until the water dries up and you have a thick paste. Apply the solution to affected areas for a few days. - Onion peels.
Take 5 to 6 onions and boil their peels in water for about 20 minutes. Let the water cool and then apply it to affected areas. - Essentials oils.
- Mix a few drops of clove oil with honey and water. Apply to affected area.
- Lavendar or tea tree oil can be used to relieve itching.
- Naturasil
Apply the Naturasil Scabies Liquidas directed to affected areas. This powerful lotion can help stop itching and even kill the mites and their eggs.
If the above scabies home remedies do no alleviate or eliminate a scabies infection, visit your physician immediately. Wash all clothing, bed sheets, towels, etc and make sure anyone you may have been in close contact with during the infection is also examined and treated to prevent re-infestation.