Scabies etc?

[Gentleman]

For a while after summer I had very itchy legs, localized to below the knee, and I thought it was poison ivy or something as I had been outside a LOT.

I was given steroids by a clinic and it got worse, lots worse, and turned out to be scabies.  I guess the worst thing you can do with scabies is take steroids.

I used Lindane and now it is back to being localized and small areas of itching mainly at night and sometimes in the morning.  

This is typical, I'm sure.  I am unsure how I got scabies, I have had a few sexual partners over the summer.  Should I be worried about other STD's?  Should I be worried about the recurrence of these scabies?

[gracefromHHP]

You can pick up scabies almost anywhere - it doesn't have to be involved with sex at all. You might never figure out where you got them from.

I'd follow up with a dermatologist if you are still itching.  Also did you thoroughly treat your house and bedding at the same time that you treated your skin? If not you might have to do the whole shebang all over again to get rid of the little suckers :(

grace

[Gentleman]

Thank you Grace.  Can you enlighten me briefly to the things on the top of the list that might contribute to scabies?  The only thing I have in mind is the amount of time I spent in the woods with legless pants on, but the period of presentation dates to too many weeks after my woods exposures.  

[gracefromHHP]

You might never figure out where you got it. People scabies are transmitted from person to person - not something you'd pick up in the woods or from pets/animals.

grace

[gracefromHHP]

oh and how did they diagnose you as having scabies?  

[Gentleman]

Well at first the clinic diagnosed exposure to irritants and gave me steroids.  After that I developed scabs and the itching increased dramatically.

As soon as my PCP saw the then-recent scabs on my genitals he was "in no doubt" - then I visited a dermatologist and he reacted the same upon seeing the leftover scabs.

He took a scratch but it was inconclusive (he was also rushing and late, he admitted) but he was 99% certain.

I tell you, after I got "crusted scabies" (which is what I'm assuming they were after the steroids) I was convinced it was due to a lowered compromised immune system. Blech. Where the mind goes...

[gracefromHHP]

I hear ya on the mind - when my son was a baby he had diarrhea all the time - I thought for sure it was time to pay the piper and that I had contracted hiv back in my "wild oats" sowing days and given it to my son. Went for hiv testing thoroughly convinced I had it. Turns out he was allergic to apple juice and we were all fine....he he he

Sounds like they did a decent job of properly diagnosing you for the scabies. Did you treat your house at the time though?  Definitely go back to the dermatologist and find out what is going on.

grace

[Gentleman]

I treated my bed and bedroom, which is where I had spent most of my time, it doubling as my office.
I did not however treat any other part of the house, and none of my roommates have contracted anything in the four months since my exposure.  

Is that weird?

The itching has been going down incrementally, I have no more bumps or spots, just the occasional broken skin from over-itching.  I have terrible skin this time of year anyway, and I've always itched seasonally, so it's tough to tell.

I have a derma appointment in January.  Is there anything I should definitely ask?

[peekawho]

My sister's kids contracted scabies after spending the night in a motel room while they were on vacation.  Apparently, the bedspreads and blankets are not always changed between occupants.  

[gracefromHHP]

Have you ever tried any tea tree oil containing lotions? I've found that they work well for my seasonal itchies. I like the products from the body shop but there are many companies that sell them - check the "natural" section of your bigger grocery stores or any natural stores.  

Also are you moisturizing daily?  

Breaking the itch/scratch cycle can be very hard sometimes.  Have you tried things like taking a benadryl before bedtime or anything like that?

It sounds like you treated enough for this not to still be scabies though.

grace

[Gentleman]

I am using regular soaps and shampoos - Head and Shoulders for my ever-present dandruff!  I had a scratch-test done years ago and I was allergic to everything from molds and dusts to all sorts of dander.  I was told to get hypo-allergenic stuff, take Zyrtec and not go outside in the summer.

I ignored it of course, itched like CRAZY that year, and then it didn't bother me beyond a few weeks of sporadic itching.

The scabies "hot spots" still itch mostly at nighttime (which is when I understand they're supposed to) ... I should maybe try Benadryl.  The doc gave me these anti-itching pills to take only as needed.  Maybe at night I'll try them out, but I hate to cauterize over an infected wound, so to speak.  I want to know when the itching stops, and to stop it.  Not just feel it go away temporarily.

[gracefromHHP]

go to walmart and pick up a bottle of tea tree oil ( under $5 for 2 oz in the bandaid section ).  Take a cotton ball, wet it and put a few drops of TTO on it and apply it your "hot spots" ( I feel like I"m at the vet with one of the dogs...lol ).  I get great relief from TTO when I use it like that.  It has anti- inflammatory properties to it which help a lot.  

Also I've been told you have to change up you dandruff shampoo's periodically for them to keep working.  might be time for you to do that too.

The things we go thru just to be asethetically pleasing to others eh?

grace