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Scabies treatment for all age groups
Although you cannot cure a case of scabies without prescription medication from a doctor, there are certain things you can do at home to prevent reinfecting yourself or your family.
- Wash all clothing, towels, and bed linens in hot water. Do not allow air drying. You should use the dryer.
- Use the medication as prescribed and instructed. Do not use it more than instructed because you risk causing chemical irritation of your skin.
- You can also treat itching with antihistamine medications such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl).
- Cut your nails and clean under them thoroughly to remove any mites or eggs that may be present.
- Many different anti-itch medications are available in the antihistamine class. The most common is diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Other medications used aretriamcinolone 0.1% cream, hydroxyzine (Atarax), cetirizine (Zyrtec), and promethazine (Phenergan).
- All family members and close contacts should be treated. If a child with scabies attends daycare or a person is institutionalized (such as in a nursing home or prison), then staff in contact with the person as well as others should be treated. It is best to treat everyone at the same time to avoid reinfection.
- A variety of effective topical treatments are available to treat scabies, including permethrin, benzyl benzoate, malathion, lindane, crotamiton. The treatment you select is determined by factors such as local epidemiology of resistance, drug toxicity, and (particularly in underdeveloped countries) cost and availability.
- Two medications commonly prescribed are permethrin (Elimite, Acticin) and crotamiton (Eurax). Although these medications kill the mites promptly, you may find that the itching doesn't stop entirely for several weeks.
- Wash all clothing, towels, and bed linens in hot water. Do not allow air drying. You should use the dryer.
- Use the medication as prescribed and instructed. Do not use it more than instructed because you risk causing chemical irritation of your skin.
