Beware of scabies in babies, this is the characteristic

Scabies or scabies can occur in children and babies. Apart from infected family members, transmission of scabies to infants can occur in closed environments such as schools and day care centers. In fact, based on data from the pediatric department at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, scabies in the United States affects the most infants in the 2015-2017 period.

It is very important for parents to recognize the form of scabies symptoms in babies and how to treat it. The reason is, the characteristics of scabies in babies have different symptom characteristics from the symptoms of scabies in general.

The difference is the symptoms of scabies in babies

Babies can develop scabies through close and prolonged physical contact with a person infected with the mite that causes scabies.

Mite Sarcoptes scabiei move to the skin of the little one then hide and multiply in the skin. As a result, reactions such as intense itching and skin rash occur.

In infants, the symptoms of scabies usually appear after 3 weeks of mite infection due to the mite incubation period. Unless your baby has been infected before, symptoms appear much more quickly in a matter of days.

The shape of the skin rash shown has a clear difference with the symptoms of scabies in children and adults.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, signs and skin health problems that are likely to be shown by babies when they have scabies are:

Red, bouncy spots on the skin that fill with water (pustules or nodules).
Pustules spread widely to other parts of the body.
The affected part of the skin looks blistered.
The skin is thickened, crusty, and prone to irritation.
Your little one feels uncomfortable at night due to the itching that gets worse.

Symptoms generally also do not focus on one part such as scabies or scabies in adults and children.

Not only the appearance of symptoms, the location of the appearance of scabies in babies is also generally centered on certain body areas such as:

hands and feet, especially between the fingers and toes
the inside of the wrist and crease of the hand
waist and groin or groin
the scalp, palms and feet, and face

Complications of scabies in children that need to be avoided

Babies less than one year old can experience various skin problems at the same time. When the baby has other skin diseases besides scabies, for example dermatitis or eczema in babies, the condition of the symptoms can get worse.

What is more worrying is the emergence of complications such as impetigo. This disease is caused by bacteria that infect the skin that is injured due to skin irritation in babies.

As mentioned in one of the studies published by Emergency Nurse, it is known that the activity of mites that cause scabies on the skin of babies can trigger skin inflammation or eczema.

The development of scabies is also related to the appearance of impetigo symptoms in infants.

How to deal with scabies in babies

If your little one has skin problems whose signs are similar to the symptoms of scabies, then what kind of handling steps do parents need to do immediately?

Medical scabies treatment is the most needed effort. When a rash appears and the baby is easily fussy due to discomfort with itching, immediately consult a doctor.

In the process of diagnosing the disease, the doctor will identify symptoms and take samples of the affected skin (scraping) to then be analyzed whether there are mites or not.

After it is confirmed that the baby has scabies, the doctor will prescribe anti-parasitic drugs that aim to kill the germs that are lodged in the skin and at the same time relieve symptoms. Some drugs that are safe for treating scabies in babies are:

Phermethrin ointment

Although there are various types of ointments for scabies, the only ones that are tested safe for use by babies under 2 months of age and pregnant women are those who are pregnant permethrin.

Content permethrin is a synthetic insecticide that functions against microscopic insects that develop in the body.

The correct dose for adults is usually 5 percent permethrin. Although this medication for scabies in babies hardly triggers an allergic reaction after use, the minimal side effect of this drug is in doses of less than 2 percent.

This scabies ointment is usually recommended by doctors to be used at night once in 1-2 weeks. The use of ointments is not only prioritized on the parts of the baby's skin affected by the symptoms of scabies such as red spots alone, but also needs to be used on all parts of the body.

For optimal absorption into the skin, try to keep the scabies ointment protecting the skin surface for up to 8-12 hours. The most common permenthrin ointments are Acticin and Elimite.

2. Ivermectin

For the more common treatment of scabies, the use of permethrin ointment is usually combined with an oral drug, ivermectin pills.

This oral medication for scabies does have high effectiveness in curing scabies. However, the safety of using this scabies drug is still in doubt in infants under 2 months of age weighing 15 kg.

The type of antibiotic drug that is given by injection may be necessary if the affected skin has a skin infection caused by bacteria.

If you follow the doctor's instructions for using the drug, the symptoms of scabies in babies should gradually improve until they disappear for 2-6 weeks

Can scabies in babies be prevented?

Scabies is a skin disease that is easily transmitted from one person to another. However, the transmission of scabies can be prevented. Parents need to take precautions both when the baby has been infected and is at risk of infection.

For babies who have scabies, prevention is taken to eliminate the risk of recurring mite infections. During treatment, you will certainly continue to have close contact with your little one every day.

This condition increases your chances of catching it. Furthermore, mite infections on your skin can also re-infect your little one.

When this happens, scabies in babies can develop into crusted scabies, a skin condition that is hosted by thousands to millions of mites. This skin disease is very dangerous to the safety of your little one's soul.

The following are efforts to prevent scabies in babies so they don't catch scabies:

Check with other family members to the doctor for treatment to prevent scabies, even if they do not show symptoms at all.
Wash baby clothes, blankets, and bedding separately using mite detergent and hot water.
Make sure you either dry them on high temperatures or iron on high enough to make sure the mites are really dead.
Keep the environment clean by cleaning clothed items that your little one uses vacuum cleaner.
Maintain optimal humidity by making sure the air in the room circulates smoothly.