[Abdulina]

YUCK!!!! I still can't stop itching at the thought of it. Okay, took Nik in today for his rash. Think it's eczema. Got another child w/ eczema so kind of know. Yes, it IS eczema AND a viral rash all over his stomach and back. He has a few spots all over. Doc thinks it's those to things but is treating him for scabies as he had to hang out w/ a kid on the airplane ride home who had scabies. Doc said there's a few spots that might appear to be scabies. I don't think so, but then I don't know. We have prescription cream for Nik to have on him tonight and then a week from tonight. What else should I do??? Doc didn't give us anything to treat us so I don't think he's too worried. I can't stop itching now though b/c of the thought of it. Any of you have experience w/ scabies and what did you do to treat? What did you do around the house?? Thanks in advance for all the help. Do I keep him away from others? Advice??

one itching mom,

[DoreenG]

The older brother of a child in my daughter's special needs class had this over the summer, and *sigh* the idiot mom brought that kid into our classroom exposing all our special needs kids (who have enough issues already, thankyouverymuch) to scabies.

My ped told me...21-30 day incubation period. No signs at all during that time. Treating someone without signs is a waste of the cream, although it will not hurt you if you do it.

Wash hands like mad, keep the skin covered (where the outbreak is) and keep your eyes peeled until the New Year. If you see nothing on anyone at that time, you should be in the clear.

Upside is the cream you use to treat it is like 100% effective as long as you use it correctly. And you don't sound like someone that does anything incorrectly! LOL

Good luck, and don't scratch!

[KimOH]

I got them from DS when we adopted him. They swore to me in Russia that it wasn't scabies -- it was an allergy to egg. (It *was* scabies, and he's not allergic to egg.)

I agree with everything Doreen said. We also washed all of DS's clothes and bedding in the hottest water we could.

I did not realize (for about 4 months) that I had caught scabies. First, I didn't realize it because it didn't show up right away. By the time I started itching, I didn't put two and two together. It was also in the fall/winter when I often get itchy "winter skin" so I thought I just had a particularly bad case of it. Thirdly, my scabies didn't look that much like my son's. DS had a dry red rash all over his body that was almost "tracks." I got little blisters on my hands (between fingers, etc) and then they started to spread. They would only turn red if I would scratch them. I finally went to the doctor about the blisters and she said, "That's scabies." Ugh.. It took us two rounds with the cream to take care of them on ourselves. (I, of course, had given it to DH, too. Blush!)

Good luck... Keep an eye out.

[Kasey]

Alek had it when he came home, the cream works well and none of us got it either. Just wash your hands like crazy.
Best wishes,

[ndkaff]

Our ds also had a severe case of scabies when we brought him home in 05.
He was 14 mos. old when we brought him home.
He was covered in a rash from his scalp down to his feet, ears included.
They told us also "an allergic reaction rash" Even the Embassy doc. said this he even said "This is NOT scabies".
I think they say that so we don't have any trouble bring our children home.
Thank goodness a good friend of mine is a derm. doc. and came over too see him. She took one glance at him and said "OMG, your poor baby has scabies". She pulls out her ptd(or whatever you call it). and prescrib. the cream and zyrtec syrup. It took probably a good month for ds to clear up. dh or I never got it.
My friend said to wash all bedding, coats, etc in hot water after every treatment.

[LouLouBelle]

I was afraid Katie had it when coming home. She had an awful rash and open sores where she rubbed her feet on the carpet (poor thing). We had two doctors look at her...the first couldn't decide but in the end said no. I still wonder if she had been treated for scabies in the orphanage (and for lice) because her skin and scalp were in such poor shape when coming home. I know of children in her orphanage that have come home with scabies.

I understand the itching...I was paranoid for weeks! Good luck!

[rejola]

Our son had it when we picked him up from the orphanage. I think it kind of funny hearing others be told it was an alergy. That's what we were told; however, the embassy Dr. knew is was Scabies and prescribed a spray for him while we were in Moscow. We stayed 5 days in Moscow before coming home to bond with him. Anyway, the spray worked and we didn't have any more trouble with them. He had some spots that took a while to disappear but he's fine now. Poor little guy would stratch the top of his head and his shoulder while asleep. I felt so sorry for him. We didn't get infected at all. The embassy Dr. said we were so thick-skinned that we wouldn't get it. He said children are prone because of thinner skin????

We really liked our embassy Dr. and he gave Alex a thorough exam.

Hope all goes well with the Scabies. (We were a little red-faced to tell people what it was. We didn't want anyone to be afraid of being around him.)

[adoptiveparentblogger]

Scabies tends to show up in children in the webs of fingers/toes and wrists... warm moist places. Its hard to diagnose but its highly contagious.

Put all stuffed animals & non washable stuff into a garbage bag and seal it for a few days. This will kill them if your child does have it.

Vacume the mattress & couch

Its yucky and you can pass it around easily

good luck

[PamelaC]

Our daughter came home with a very bad case. We were told also to wash everything she had touched in very hot water and if it could not be wash to use the iron on the hottest setting.

[pequele]

the mites need a host...HUMAN host if found on the human (animals can get it and it is VERY rare for a mite to cross species hosts...ie humans can't spred it to animals and animals can't spread it to humans). they typically will not live off the host for more than 2-3 days so bagging up items like stuffies and bedding that isn't easily washed for a few days will take care of that.

Since you are a family in close contact, it IS recomended that you get treated! The WHOLE family! It CAN me transmitted by simply holding hands! If your MD says he doesn't think you need to treat the family until signs that the other member is infected, then I'd run and run fast to a new doctor! Think about it, you said your child maybe caught it from some other kid on the plane (if by chance it is scabies) that is how quick it can be passed!

[ndkaff]

My derm. doc. friend also had us get an old toothbrush and put the cream on the toothbrush and get under our ds's fingernails...due to all the scratching.

[amyfk]

Hi Stephanie

I can relate. Our daughter came home with scabies. Supposedly there was an outbreak at her orphanage. The other baby who came home from her orphanage had it as well.

There must have been a long-term thing going on at her orphanage becuase she looked awful all over and was itching like mad in the beginning.

The first night we got home we called the doctor and explained the situation.

Both my husband and I got cream for ourselves and the baby got cream as well. Our cream was called Permethrin and i believe the cream for the baby was called Bactroban.

You put the cream all over your body and inside the crevices of your body as well. Then within 12-14 hrs of applying the cream you take a shower. Put on the cream well as after you apply it, youre not supposed to reapply it for another week-two weeks.

Also, once you have a scabies infestation, you have to wash all of your clothes/bedding in hot water. Basically I was at the laundromat for three weeks after we came home washing everything as I dont know if we get too much hot water here.

I think if there's any suspicion of scabies ask your doctor for the cream. supposedly scabies can cycle back and forth again between relatives until it's finally eliminated.

Good luck,
Amy K, NJ

[sak9645]

... scabies is very common in Chinese adopted kids.

First off, don't freak out. Scabies is not a serious illness. It is actually easier to deal with scabies than it is to deal with lice -- and, believe me, once your kids reach school age and go to a fine upscale American school, they will get lice! (I know; my daughter, who had mild scabies when I adopted her in China, picked up lice in fourth grade at her expensive American private school. With her long hair, getting rid of the nits or eggs was an ordeal.)

Scabies (pronounced "SKAY-bees") is infestation with a parasitic mite called sarcoptes scabei. A female mite burrows under a person's skin and lays eggs, which hatch and mature into adult mites. These new mites continue the cycle.

A person who has never had scabies before will usually develop symptoms about 4-6 weeks after exposure. A person who has had scabies before will develop symptoms within several days.

The reason for this disparity is that a person's symptoms are actually an allergic reaction to the body and secretions of the mites. Allergic reactions usually take longer to develop if you have not been exposed to an allergen previously. So don't assume, if you suddenly get symptoms four weeks after you arrive home with your child that you can't POSSIBLY have scabies, since you didn't have symptoms right after you got home.

The scabies mite is found all over the world, and people of all economic and social classes can and do get infested with it. The mite is most commonly found in places where people live, work, or study in close proximity to each other -- places like schools, day care centers, orphanages, army barracks, nursing homes, etc. Although scabies is similar to mange in animals, animals do not get human scabies, and the mite that causes mange cannot live and reproduce on humans.

Scabies is highly contagious. People get it by skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies, or by sharing linens, towels, and clothing with someone who has scabies. Orphanages are perfect for the scabies mite, because clothing and bedding is often shared among the children, and because the children play together. New adoptive parents often get scabies from their children when they do the very things that are essential to promoting attachment -- like letting their babies share their beds, holding their babies a lot, bathing with their babies, and so on.

The main feature of scabies is that it is intensely and maddeningly itchy. If a new adoptive parent is constantly scratching, or has a child who is constantly scratching, it is wise to think about the possibility of scabies, no matter what the itchy skin looks like.

Scabies is hard to diagnose, even for doctors, on the basis of appearance. There may be pencil-thin "track marks" showing the path of the mite as it burrows under the skin. There may be a rash composed of tiny bumps. The rash or tracks may be more prevalent in "skin fold" areas, like between the fingers or at the bend of the wrist, as well as around the genital and anal area.

But especially with children, scabies may look different. It can be anywhere on the body except probably the face. And its appearance can be totally changed by all the scratching that is done to relieve the itch. Many people scratch so much that they create open sores, and sometimes these sores get infected.

As a result, a doctor may decide to do a test for scabies. He/she will do a gentle scraping of the skin, and look at it under the microscope to see if mites, eggs, or mite feces are present.

In general, a local pediatrician or internist will be less likely to think of scabies, or to recognize its appearance, than a dermatologist. So if a person keeps itching, and his/her local doctor's treatments don't seem to work, a trip to a dermatologist may be in order. An adoption medicine specialist may also be a good person to see in the case of a child with severe itching and skin lesions, since scabies is very common in internationally adopted children.

The treatment for children and adults with scabies is surprisingly simple. The doctor will prescribe a medicated cream or lotion, such as Elimite, that kills the scabies mite. The cream or lotion is applied to the entire body, except for the scalp and face, at night, after a person has bathed. Particular care should be taken to apply it to the skin's folds and creases. The cream should be left on the person all night, and then thoroughly washed off in the morning.

One treatment is almost always sufficient. Some doctors will prescribe a second application to be used a week or so after the first one, to kill any newly hatched mites.

Unfortunately, itching may continue after the Elimite treatment. This causes some people to assume that the mites weren't killed and that another treatment is needed, or that the mites are resistant and a different medication is needed. In fact, this is usually not true.

While there ARE some resistant mites, they are not all that common. And the itching is usually the person's continued allergic response to the dead mite's body parts and secretions, which are still around. The itching can last for several months.

No one should use additional applications of the mite killing cream or lotion, especially on children, without a doctor's recommendation. The medication is too strong for casual use.

If itching persists, the person can take antihistamines. Over-the-counter Benadryl is fairly effective in stopping itching, but is very sedating. The doctor can also prescribe less sedating antihistamines. In extreme cases, he/she may prescribe topical or oral corticosteroids.

If the person has scratched so much that he/she has gotten a bacterial skin infection, the doctor will also prescribe an appropriate treatment for that infection.

With regard to other steps to eliminate the scabies mite, it is a good idea to wash all recently worn clothing and recently used bedding and towels in hot water and dry everything in a hot dryer. Dry cleaning also works. Vacuuming of carpet is a reasonable step to take.

It is not necessary to be fanatical about cleaning, since the scabies mite cannot live away from a human host for more than 2-3 days. So, for example, if a parent puts a child's stuffed animals into a plastic bag, closes the bag tightly, and leaves it in the garage for a week, any mites that were on them should be eliminated.

It is a good idea to treat everyone in a household for scabies if one person gets it, and to do all the treatments at the same time so that the bugs don't just go from one person to another and back again.

There is a lot of good information on scabies, which is put out by organizations like the CDC. If you do a search, you will find delightful pictures of the eight-legged mite, as well as some helpful information about scabies and its treatment.

Sharon
Who was very lucky, since Becca had scabies and I didn't get it from her.

[randytenn]

We had our son examined in the orphanage, and the doctor said, "It's not scabies. Because if it was scabies, the government would come in and shut down the orphanage, move the kids elsewhere, and not allow them to re-open until they were inspected. So, it's not scabies"

It was scabies. But, I understood why they would deny it, now. So, don't believe them when they say it's not scabies.

Plus, I got it from my son. Yes, it itches horribly, but the cream works.

[RussianJen]

absolutely right. According to law if the kids have scabies the entire orphanage has to be quarantined for a month, and that's something the caretakers and director are not willing to go thru. THerefore, it's never scabies. Also by law (Russian, not American) kids can't go thru the adoption process if they have a communicable disease. Again - that means all docs in Russia will tell you it's NOT scabies.

It's definately made the rounds in our orphanage - our 3rd graders had it terrible last year. Kinda like lice - you always dread it and get itchy just thinking about it, but, when it happens, you wash everything and do what you can - and life goes on.

I'd highly suggest (especially if your kids are a bit older - 6 months and over) bringing cream from the US with you and using it on your munchkin, even if there are no signs. It doesn't do any harm, and as a precautionary measure - just to save everyone possible grief!

My 2 kopek...hope it helped!