The Facts About Scabies

My church took a missions trip to Costa Rica a few years back and I was privileged enough to go. We traveled around the country doing assemblies for elementary and high schools. Our typical day consisted of about three assemblies followed by a night gathering between all three schools. We also brought a team of doctors and nurses to set up a free medical clinic wherever we went. The medical team gave shots and checked for disease and especially for lice in the kid's hair. Our drama team finished a skit and went to greet the kids. As I walked around I noticed many of the kids had a rash on their wrists that looked kind of painful. I was curious as to what this is so I went and asked a doctor. He replied as if it was a normal part of his daily routine, "oh that's scabies" he said. I thought that scabies didn't sound too fun to have, and wanted to find out a little more about them. I was kind of worried that I might get them too.

Scabies is a very contagious skin condition that is caused by a single mite. Anyone is at risk when exposed to scabies. It does not matter what age, race, or gender you may be, you can still get scabies. Many people think scabies are the same as lice but this is not true. The mite that infects the skin is called sarcoptes scabiei, this might can be barely seen by the human eye. It may appear as a small white dot. The scabies will dig a tunnel and burrow beneath the skin. After in the skin it can cause an allergic type reaction. Scabies is contracted by close human contact. A mite that is not on a human can only survive about 2 days.