I am required to add this disclaimer: The following information is meant as an educational aid only. It is not intended as a medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Speak to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.
Step 1: TREATMENT
Remove all jewelery. Trim fingernails and toenails short. Clean underneath them thoroughly to remove any eggs you may have scratched at. Brush the medication thoroughly under the fingernails. (you can use a toothbrush for this and then discard toothbrush)
Treat the ENTIRE body with 5% Permethrin lotion. This is available over the counter in most countries, (any Wal-Mart in Canada) but in the USA a prescription is needed. Unfortunately, the "natural" treatments you may find online DO NOT work...Cover the entire body with lotion, from head to toes. Pay particular attention to the scalp, between the fingers, the navel, under the breasts, the entire genital area, the area between the buttocks, between the toes, ear crevices, every inch of the body, including face and head (but do not get in eyes or mouth). Cover the head/hair with a plastic cap. Some instructions out there still say scabies affects only from the neck down, while most of the new packaging says to put the medicine from the head down..I WISH they would correct this (If the mite can live in the skin on your wrist, then the skin on your face & ears would be no different) This is why i think people remain infected, they do not treat properly the first time, and most patients say they have the mites mostly on the face, ears, scalp, and shoulders.
Medication must be kept on the body for at least 24 hours before taking a shower. If you must wash your hands during this time, you must reapply the medication to these areas. (again, some Permethrin pamphlets say 12-14 hours, some say 18-24 hours. So many variations on treatment methods & mis-information out there. Each country seems to have their own different procedures for treatment of the same parasite.
VACUUM! VACUUM! VACUUM! Everything like you are working for C.S.I.... Thoroughly vacuum all carpets, sofas, furniture, mattresses, car seats, every corner, chair, table-top, bathroom area, etc., then discard the bag outside so the eggs don't hatch inside. Pay particular attention to disinfecting bedding, pillows, mattresses where these mites live. Scabies mites are pin-sized/microscopic (not visible to the eye) so they are easily missed. (i replaced all my pillows)
Clean showers, tubs, sinks, floors with bleach and hot water. Either discard used brushes, combs, hair accessories, or treat them in boiling hot water. Don't forget your car!
Treat all members of your household and anyone you have been in close contact within the last 3 months. Chances are, they've been infected. Treat all exposed individuals whether obviously infested or not. Incubation time is 6-8 weeks so symptoms may not show up for a while. By that time they may have infected 10 others, and so on and so on.. If you do not treat everyone, it is as if you were never treated. Getting rid of the mites is critical in the treatment of scabies. Everyone in the family or group, whether itching or not, should be treated at the same time to stop the spread of scabies. This includes close friends, day care or school classmates.
Step 3:
Launder ALL clothing in VERY hot water. Most household washers will not be hot enough, it's best to use a commercial washer and dryer at the laundromat which have higher temperature settings. Dry all clothing in a HOT dryer. Put non-machine-washable quilts, blankets, jackets, hats, children's toys inside large plastic bags and seal tightly. Leave it sealed for 4 weeks. (some articles say mites will only survive 48 hours without a human host, other articles say 7 days, 14 days, or 30 days) I'm going with the longest & safest bet!
Step 4:
If you have a large freezer, you may freeze some items... This may also kill scabies.
If this is epidemic in your area, then stay away from trying on clothing in stores where others may have been infected, (i've added a link below to a store which was closed down twice due to a Scabies outbreak) Spas/salons which might not launder their towels in boiling hot water/bleach, facial places or massage tables which might not be completely disinfected, hairdressers, or any places you may come in contact with towels, sheets, robes, linens which may have been next to an infected person.
*Actors/Entertainers; Alert your wardrobe people, maids, nannies, person who does your laundry.. This is super easy to catch, and very, very hard to get rid of. The mites often lay eggs in the seams of clothing.
An additional problem is that there are so many different versions out there of what you should and should not do.. Some product pamphlets recommend putting the lotion only from the neck down, while others say to treat the entire body, including the head/hair. Some say to keep it on for 8 hours, some say 12-14 hours, and some say 36 hours. Some say that mites die after 48 hours while others recommend sealing clothing in plastic bags for either 7 or 14 days. Now; from my experience of not being treated properly so many times, please read my recommendations rather than "guessing" which instructions on the pamphlets are correct.
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