few months ago, my toddler daughter developed red itchy bumps under her
armpits. I took her to the hospital thinking that it was just a fungi
infection. The pediatrician agreed with me and gave me a cream-
xtraderm. It did work. But only for a short while. The minute I stopped
applying the cream, the bumps were back, only this time, they were more
aggressive and spreading fast. Scabies in toddlers in something I had
never heard of. As a matter of fact, I had never heard of scabies
before.
Could It be Protein Allergy
took her back and this time, I was given yet another cream and
anti-histamine. I was told that she had a protein allergy. We were
therefore to ensure that she did not take eggs and daily products like
cow milk were taken in moderation.These measures did not help the
situation. The rashes became more and continued to spread. She now had
them on her palms and both of her hands. They were also extremely itchy.
The Itch Turns Contagious
straw that broke the camels back came when all of us in the house
started feeling very itchy. That is when I knew that what she had was
contagious. I scratched so much on my hands, wrists and legs. The itch
was worse in the evening just before we went to bed.I felt really bad.
As bad as I felt, I could not imagine what my daughter was going
through. And her rashes looked far much worse than anybody else. I had
to take the bull by its horns and look for a solution myself.A quick
search online brought forth a number of options, but the one that
matched our case to the T was scabies in toddlers. This option was
however the one that made no sense to me at all. I could not begin to
think where she could have contracted it from. No one I’ve ever known
has suffered from scabies infestation. I did not even know what scabies
mites were at the time.
What is Scabies?
are tiny mites that bury themselves just below the skin where they lay
their eggs. The mites are accompanied by extreme itch and scratching the
areas results in bumps. Using hot water to clean the skin does not help
the situation. A special cream has to be applied twice for the mites to
die.
How we Contained the Situation
Containing
the scabies infestation is a little tricky since anything the affected
person has touched can increase the spread. A scabies cream should be
applied twice by every member of the household, the second application
being done twelve hours after the first.
Every part of the body should be covered from the face to the areas between the toes and the fingers.
First take a shower before bed, then apply the cream and go to sleep.
After twelve hours, apply the cream again without taking a bath and let
it sit for another twelve hours. This should be repeated after five to
seven days.
The hard part is ensuring that you kill the mites and the eggs in
cloths and seats and the carpet. Vacuum the carpet and clean the seats
and other surfaces meticulously. All the cloths that have been worn in
the last week should also be cleaned in boiling water.
Another alternative is to iron all the cloths and bedding thoroughly
or to put them in a tightly closed polythene bag and leave it alone for
at least five days. By then all the mites should be dead.
