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Written by Emily Perrault
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Friday, 11 April 2008 |
Recently here at Lake State, cases of scabies have been found at some of the schools residents. Scabies is common this time of the year, and has also been found at other schools. About 5 people here at LSSU have been reported to have it. It is not a serious condition so there is no need for others to panic. Scabies is caused by an infestation of the skin most commonly caused by a tiny mite called the Sarcoptes scabiei. It produces intense, itchy skin rashes when the impregnated female tunnels into the skin and deposits eggs. The mites do not transmit any other diseases when in the skin. However, they are very contagious. It is most often passed from person to person through close and prolonged physical contact of an infected person such as bed partners, schoolmates, day care, and is sometimes considered a sexually transmitted disease. Scabies takes about 4-6 weeks to develop its symptoms. Symptoms include intense itching, usually worse at night, small red bumps, pimples or lines on the skin. In more severe cases of scabies, the infected area may appear crusty, become infected and discharge pus. Most of the infected areas are in the webs of the fingers, wrists, elbows, armpits, the areole of the breasts, and on genitals of males. A D tower resident commented that “to prevent myself from getting scabies, I have been using hand sanitizer like crazy!” Sarah Gaudes, the D tower RA said that “all of the residents in my tower, who had it, have been treated and now are cured.” She also goes on to say that “washing clothes and hot water, and the heat from the dryer will kill the mites.” Treatment for scabies is a cream that is applied from the neck down. The medicine is then left on for a few hours and then washed off. Treatment takes about 1-3 days for the scabies to disappear. You may also be recommended for a check up a few weeks after treatment. If you think that you or someone you know has scabies, you can contact the health department at ext 2110 or 635-2110. This information was used from the webmd.com website and the LSSU website.
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