Itchy red bumps

About 3 weeks ago my husbands head started to itch him so bad it kept him up. He felt little bumps but when I looked I really couldn't see anything (lice or redness). After about a week he broke out with little red bumps on his wrist that itched too, then he got them in the groin area and around his pant line and belly button. After a week it was clearing up a bit but now the bumps are showing back up as well as on his forehead around the hairline. Any ideas what this could be?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For these symptoms, scabies is an important possibility and the second possibility is of body lice. Scabies is characterized by intense itching, usually at night and by small insect-type bites lesions on the skin. Diagnosis of scabies is made by scraping the skin and viewing the material under a microscope to see the characteristic mite or eggs.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.