Natural Approaches for Scabies: Exploring Effective Remedies

I'm still waiting to hear from my doctor about my culture, but after extensive cleansing, and diligent treatments, I believe I have killed off all signs of scabies.

I am a 20 year-old diabetic, who thought the constant itching was a result of my new insulin prescribed...wrong. I went to the ER due to severe itching which scabbed over and even infected certain wounds. They prescribed benedryl, claritin, and a steroid, which only made things worse for my auto-immune disease. Itching still going on full-throttle.

Finally went to my derm, who checked my body and saw the scabbing all over. She took a culture of my dead skin flakes, and microscoped these little suckers - scabies. I was disgusted, and mortified. However, I am one of the cleanest people I know. I am a huge believer in medicine, and doctors, as I am a healthcare professional myself. But it doesn't matter how clean you are, you ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO SCABIES regardless of your circumstances.

I used the permethrin 5% cream, prescribed to me, which seemed to immediately work overnight, however, that kills the first generation of scabies. They are constantly laying eggs, which are the little bumps all over your skin. I still kept itching, which is normal, due to the allergic reaction your body has to foreign mites in your system.
I was eager to rid them completely, so I created a super intense killing process...if you want to kill these pests, you MUST follow this extensively.
I'm only on day 2 of my process, and I'm already feeling and seeing the results. NO MORE ITCHING, and all of my scabs have healed.
First, I have access to a sauna and pool. Yes, you can use the pool, even though it's public, the chlorine in the pool will destroy them before they can access another person. I've already asked my doctor. Scabies HATE heat, so I'm sauna-ing every day for about a half hour on HIGH, changing my clothing after each thing I do. After the sauna, I immediately jump in the pool. After the pool, buy the original kind of dawn, (it's blue) with concentrate. Lather BEFORE you get in the tub all over your body to exfoliate the skin with the dawn.

Put Petroleum jelly on your neck so the scabies can't get past your neck and infect your face. I take an extremely HOT bath with about 2 cups of BORAX, 1 Cup of Bleach, a handful of sea-salt crystals, 100% orange peel essential oil and clove oil.
Rinse off with a HOT shower after.

DO NOT USE A TOWEL TO DRY. Use the hair dryer to dry yourself off, AFTER you lysol it.
If you put on clothing, make sure it is either steam-cleaned before you put it near your body, or in the dryer for 30 minutes.
I like to add Diatomaceous Earth to my dryer for each load. Sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth daily to all bedding, pillows, carpets, and furniture, and vacuum daily.
When finished with your bath, I suggest you make a paste of diatomaceous earth and coconut oil, with a couple drops of clove and orange peel essential oils.
Dust DE on top of your paste when finished.
I've also made a spray that I use throughout the day consisting of 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup of bleach, 1 bottle of water (Distilled ONLY), clove oil, orange oil, and 1/2 cup of borax...which will dissolve.

I sleep on a tarp, which is a dollar at your local dollar store, and wrapped my pillows in garbage bags. If I use a blanket, It's dried 30 minutes while I bathe, and if used, I throw it in the wash every morning. Never use or wear the same material twice...always wash.

I steam all of my clothes daily, wear a mask and gloves when doing laundry and vacuuming the DE because it is very bad to inhale.

Also, if you can, there is a bug fumigator you can buy for your house, 1 per room. It's about $10 for 4. It contains the same ingredients as the cream prescribed by my doctor, and though it's not for mites, it will help kill them if they're in a house...just make sure you're gone for 4 hours while you fumigate. PLEASE comet your tubs and sinks after use, and scrub the heck out of them while wearing gloves.
I suggest shaving with disposable razors, and throwing away with each use.
Please be diligent. It's worth taking a week to do all of this, in place of having these pests for 10 years.
Like I said, I'm on day 2, and no itching, no bumps, and scabs are healed....AND I have diabetes...meaning I heal much slower than your average joe.
I also will note, I'm drinking DE (doesn't matter how much) in every drink, and I take 2 TBSP. of ACV daily to start my day.
This is not to be taken lightly. Do your research, be careful, and get rid of this!

My heart goes out to anyone who is suffering from any skin issues especially scabies. I just wanted to leave a comment to those franticly and endlessly up in the middle of the night searching the internet for a cure or treatment.

1st of all, the permethrin is not really that toxic. Fake sugars are more dangerous than permethrin as your liver is involved with metabolizing in the food or beverage you may repeatedly consume rather than the permethrin you just wash off. Sure a small amount is absorbed through the skin but it's a substance your body can breakdown easily. Don't be afraid of it. It's a plan analog of pymetherin made by a flower that acts like a nerve exciter and mini stun-gun to insects. They die after to repeated shocks to their nerves, you just feel a slight harmless tingle.

The pill, ivermectin, is a bit more serious though, all healthy persons can well handle it but not those with liver issues. It may cause liver damage if too much is ingested. It is a bacterial analog of a soil microbe that paralyses insects and especially larva. When consumed with a fatty meal, it is better metabolized and makes its way to the skin from the inside out. It works but only if you take care not to re-infect.

I really do believe some of you out there may not actually have scabies but some other skin issue and those that do, may think their scabies is still active due to the itching that remains after treatment. I have found that the skin reacts to things you are doing to it. Looking back, the itching with no visible rashes that was waking me up and causing so much anxiety was coming from the bleach baths.My skin was trying to heal.

Also, save yourself the trouble of daily washing of bed clothes and buy 8 bedsheets, towels and cheap blankets to spare yourself the time and energy of daily washing. That way, you only have to wash every seven days with one day with of bed linens to spare. Cover beds with venal covers and spray with bleach water after changing each night through the duration of your treatment.

Over the years I've kept an eye out for the things that people say works best.

1. Clove oil (can cause pin prick sensations next day)
2. Bleach baths (ditto)
3. Arm & Hammer for sensitive skin laundry detergent (one scoop in a long hot bath)
4. Kleen Free enzyme based soap soak in bath or sprayed on skin.
5. 100% pure tree gum oil of turpentine
6. Sulfur Soap (can cause itching and dryness)
7. Peroxide and Borax (may cause pin prick sensations after the bath)
8. Diatomaceous earth (strongly made me itch when used daily on skin after a while)
9. Tea Tree oil
10. Neem oil.

I'd say in that order, according to what I read, worked best for people. I also see a lot of people who say they have scabies but then mentioning being able to see them coming out of their skin, flying around them, describing puss filled blisters and other non-scabies serious skin conditions. Remember the more fear you have in your consciousness, the less likely you are going to see clearly, so calm the anxiety and don't imagine the worse case scenario is going to happen to you.

This whole mess back in 2012 took such a toll on me emotionally, looking back I see I was the case of most of it. The strange skin condition I had then was only an activating catalyst for my nerves and anxiety. Please don't make the same mistake. Go to bed and get the sleep your body needs. If you are up late reading this with fear, the best thing at this moment is to go to bed and give your body and nerves the rest. Tomorrow you can resume your quest for knowledge and get closer to solving your problem which you eventually will.

WORKED TEMPORARILY

My boyfriend and I have been attempting to treat scabies at home over the past 2+ months. We have tried borax and hydrogen peroxide baths, borax scrubs, benedryl, and topical hydrogen peroxide, hydorcortisone and witch hazel. All of these may bring some sort of mild, temporary relief, but definitely not a cure. We are still suffering with the underlying symptoms and signs of small red and clear fluid-filled bumps, intense itching that is often worse at night, and even open sores and bruising likely from incessant, mindless itching.

I have researched and would be open at this point to prescription medications, but most resources state that complete recovery is not often achieved even with repeated doses and I am not willing to use pesticides without the guarantee or even a high chance of success. Please help us find a way to put this misery behind us; we welcome any advice, tips and hope from your own similar experiences.

For starters, I would like to thank everyone who posted material. Knowing I was not alone was the only thing that kept me and my family from quitting this earthly existence. The tips helped me craft the all out war I waged to get my life and household back. Some links I had found, though I digested it all and incorporated it into this posting. Http://www.earthclinic.com/cures/scabies4.html Http://www.topix.com/forum/health/scabies/TS4TUAOIOMU0HFANQ Http://mypreciousthingz.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-deadly-scabies-experience.html (excuse the errors in ingredients caused by iPad auto complete spelling. The amount of info I am entering is a lot) Also excuse the possible repeat of paragraphs, Or minor organization problems, I am not able to re-live this experience as long as it would take to properly edit this entire write up. I organized this as best possible in 2 writing sessions.

Materials (things I used, for methods/application see detail below or look at posts from others)

Drop cloths (plastic) for furniture (pack of 3 best value at Walmart) Tape to secure drop cloths on furniture Tack mats (use shelf paper upside down, taped to floor with blue tape) Clean room tack mats avail online, but sometimes hard to get quickly delivered. Swiffers Bleach wipes Clorox cleanup Latex gloves, disposable one use only Ziplock bags Marker Towels small (Walmart has 12 for $15 in the car wash isle, I used these for the showers instead of washing lots of large towels after one use Towels, medium ( hair, showers) Bleach for laundry wash Scotch packing tape to collect bugs (clear is good for microscope review, can bring samples to doctor) Lice gel treatment - took to using this on whole body, then shower. Walmart had large bottles. Cleaned and reused combs, was nice to have a stable of clean combs to grab. Rx permethrin RxTriamcinolone. 1% Rx Hydrocortisone 2.5% just caused caking of cream on skin and caused patient to just feel hot. Sarna skin original cream (normal has like. Cooling camphor in it, sensitive has no cooling gent. Cooling gents like c phor in creams are not well tolerated by kids, they tend to get cold and cannot tolerate term until bath, even warm bath water is colder when the creamed skin hits the bath. Sarna skin sensitive cream, better for kids. Sulfur soap. Sulfur soap felt nice on skin, but scaled up the shower door with residue. Hand sanitizer Orange oil Tea tree oil Coconut oil Sulfur cream 10%(best was de la cruz sulfur ointment posada de azure 10%) best cost was Walmart or cvs. Mothballs or moth ice Vacuum bags or space saver bags Trash bags Foot powder borax bran iodide ( Walgreens) Walgreens fast acting odorless analgesic crime, trolamine salicylate 10%, inactive ingredient aloe barbadensis leaf extract, Cheryl alcohol, glycerin, mineral oil, potassium phosphate, propyl paraben steric acid, triethanolamine, water, (did not work as well as muscle rub to quit the bug skin sensation) Muscle rub ultra strength Walgreen s brand (active ingredients: camphor 4%, menthol , methyl salicylate 30%', inactive ingresdientss: carbomer, dis odium EDTA, glyceryl lstearate SE, lanolin, ploys ornate 80, potassium hydroxide, steric acid, trolls mine, water Concepts This is ALL OUT WAR. It will have costs, waste generation and some casualties lost. Get a calendar, note dates of treatment, doctor visits, any other details of the day: what treatments were done This will help you remember ( this situation often feels like Groundhog Day, lonely, hard work, volume of things to do) Note any creams used on whom and number of times per day of showers, creams, oils, etc When something changes for better or worse or to show progress the calendar visual is very helpful It also helps as a communication tool with doctors who do not know how you feel and do not understand the depression, manic feelings and urgency that the patient feels. It helps guide the discussion. It helps they understand you situation timeline. Push for immediate appt s with dermatologist or other doctors, the delay in a dermatologist appt caused some of the explosion of this population after the primary doc timed the treatments wrong. Dermatologists like the easy schedule of their practice (primadonas) , often they see no urgency (until of course you are in their office and they see you then they act ingratiatingly urgent. Otherwise be prepared that most doctors don't care or get it or understand the disease. They are detached and just following a script, despite very contagious and the need for the patient to stay away from work and daycare. If you don't get the treatment right the first time, permethrin treatments Rx is expensive because the pharmacy coverage is considering one tube per month. Despite requirement to use it in one day and then a week layer again all one day. There are a lot of out of pocket expenses here. Minimize your costs by managing the care provider, be firm, tell them what you need don't expect them to know or understand the strict all-out-warfare protocols. Make sure doctor knows to prescribe one tube for each person in house, even if the other family members are not seen. All housemates need treatment. Rx only covers a tube per person. Get greedy to request or force another tube, if you spill it, you won't have enough. If they won't prescribe for a spouse, call the spouses doctor immediately, tell the doctor what was diagnosed and what you were prescribed and get them to call in a prescription for the other family members. There are different permethrin manufacturers. The Targets pharmacy permethrin (Actvis mid atlantic llc brand) was more liquidy and easier to spread. Cvs (Perrigo brand) pharmacies have more creamy, thicker application. Harder to spread and cover everything. Disability coverage by employer for adult is helpful to cover child care issues. Child cannot mix with other kids when infected. Dermatologists charge to complete employer forms for disability coverage. My child and I had scabies, she could not go to school. At least I got the doctor to understand that I should be kept home with scabies and not impact my coworkers. Being able to care for my child when no other care was available was helpful. Did not have vacation available to use. Dermatologist do not know how to fill company disability forms out. Ensure you carefully check the paperwork. Ensure they know they cannot charge you for incorrectly completing the paperwork. Do not let them go or leave their office until you submit the paperwork via fax or make them fax it, look it over for correctness yourself, and get your company nurse or hr rep to approve the paperwork. Dermatologists take their time correcting their errors and it can affect your employers system, discipline tolerance, etc. Nurse practitioners at work who know your case through hr can help prescribe follow ups if needed because of a negligent Dermatologist. The disruption of sleep during this infestation also affects your mind and mental state. Realize that you are the only advocate for your child. No one else cares about your kid unless you make them act. Dermatologist just want you and your infested cloud out of their office. You are there because you are sick, they would rather have patients with appointments for Botox or other high dollar treatments. General actions: Couches & mattresses & seats wiped with bleach wipes Heat treat everything in dryer Everything in bags (all toys, all clothes, rugs, pillows, blankets, ) Vacuum bags (space saver bags) with moth balls Full utilization of washer /dryer, use and schedule with little down time. I even woke up through the night to do another load. All toys that cannot be wiped need to be put away in bags for 1-2 months or more. Kid won't miss it. Kid to take a bath, with three oil treatment Keep asking them if they are itchy Bleach garage floor, entry steps Bleach driveway or other approach Control areas of clean laundry, everything is one way, if it falls on the floor or touched some untreated thing, it goes back to the beginning of the treatment process. We had one bedroom for washed clothes, stuff. Treatment bags or toys in bags were in garage Furniture use was managed to minimize cleaning certain areas everyday. Laundry baskets were either wiped or if collapsible, they were placed in dryer then post treatment used for clean clothes. Collapsible laundry baskets from ikea were more durable than 99cent store. Both fit in Dryer. Clean treated Laundry baskets did not touch floor where dirty laundry or other infested area They would carry clean clothes sheets then collect the sheets the next day and go to garage and get treated. Garbage bags also were used for collecting laundry in waiting. My thought was that critters that could weaken and drop off would then attach to feet, socks, other items and cling to life. If they were stuck in a bag waiting for washing the. They were contained. Always think CONTAINMENT, LIKE OUTBREAK! Stay away from used areas +3 days (most info says these things die in 24 hours without a meal, but I have experienced different and some web info cites studies where female mites lived 96 hours! ) Razors and Luffas one use or bleach treat Combs bleach treated. Pillows mattresses covered in plastic cases. (bed bath beyond) Furniture contained in plastic drop clothes. Car seats had to be treated or quarantined to stop bug life cycle. Car seats that could not be left for a week without use has to be covered. Plastic Drop cloths were disposable, or beach towels one use cover and wash in hot. All day work agenda is to tackle the mountain of household items to clean, treat, heat treat, bag and wipe. And swiffer at least 3x a day Replace tac mats, use tac mts to wipe feet, deduce floor debris, tracking, travel of bugs. Wash clothes in very hot Increase water heater temp Wash clothes inside out many times. Wash all socks and underwear in hot with bleach or agents Contain shoes in bags with moth ice Heat treat shoes as possible Shoes and clothes may shrink, casualties of war. Contact potential affected people: hotels, baby sitters, schools, close family. Tell them what to watch for so they can act on treatment. Stay away from hospitals, eldercare centers, scabies is very contagious and tough to manage in those facilities. Protect your loved ones by keeping away from them. Keep samples each day of anything found. Mark in dated bags, location taken from This also helped gauge when things get better. Our experience was many relapse episodes unfortunately. After fighting the initial time it got better but then the backlash of not properly containing clothes, hair, etc. Caused a relapse. I realized after doing everything the doctor said for weeks, that I felt bites on feet and back where my hair had just been combed out. My scalp was not itchy, but whatever was dropping onto my back in microscopic size was a vector. Plus my husbands shirts might be dropping mites who then lived. We found the vectors to be hidden in our hair, scalp, floors. Once we attacked the scalp spot on top of the kids head and the hair bands and the increased frequency of swiffer (so glad we don't have carpet! ) Treated hair Contained dry cleaning shirts Swiffer until the swiffer sheets are clean Tied hair in buns for over 8 months Then final change toward recovery and improvement was when contained hair and floors and clean room criteria. Meds or skin treatments Rx: Permethrin 5% a tube per adult, some left over from kids tube apply for neck to toes, get under nails and in ALL spaces, cracks. They say 8 hours, but in one treatment towards the end of many unsuccessful treatments, we left it on for 24 hours. Permethrin also had Cooling tingly affect, unsure if this was nerve response or the meds acting. We also did lice body shampoos Lice gel treatment - took to using this on whole body, then shower. Walmart had large bottles. Cleaned and reused combs, was nice to have a stable of clean combs to grab. Dermatologistskept trying to soothe skin with Rx for: Triamcinolone. 1% Hydrocortisone 2. 5% just caused caking of cream on skin and caused patient to just feel hot. Dermatologist office also tried to sell Saran for double the Walmart cost. $20 a bottle, I returned it, I would have guessed then that they resell possibly used and returned bottles. They were not surprised I returned the bottles or that I was angry at the rip off. Sarna skin original cream (normal has like. Cooling camphor in it, sensitive has no cooling gent. NOTE: Cooling agents like camphor in creams are not well tolerated by kids , they tend to get cold and cannot tolerate term until bath, even warm bath water is colder when the creamed skin hits the bath. Sarna skin sensitive cream, better for kids. Sulfur soap felt nice on skin, but scaled up the shower door with residue. Multi layer treatment, (recommended by web folks who said permethroin did not work. ) made black things come out of skin. Put in layers over whole body. Get help, for your back. Hand sanitizer Orange oil Tea tree oil Blue magic Coconut oil Left these on for about an hour then showered and sometimes followed with sulfur cream It is killing these bugs but also Both oils and sulfur creams caused the skin to expel black stuff. I agree this must be the bugs dead and leaving. I Liked tea tree oil and it soothed the skin. Orange oil smells nicer, bugs did NOT like orange and tea tree oils. Enjoyed the thought of winning small battles with orange and tea tree oils. Also the sulfur cream. Felt like they were suffering. Some of these smell bad, segregate clothes you will wear with these creams and oils. Eventually the sulfur smell and tea tree smells go away, after many washes, but the relief is worth the smell. Sulfur cream, get help for back. Some blogs said to put on for a hour. In some cases I got desperate and left it on all day. Again calendar helps keep facts straight. At some point my trusted doctor and my replacement good dermatologist agreed that the mites were likely not there and I was dealing with nerve sensations. Long after the initial scrapes of diagnosis, and treatments, I saw bumps and lesions. I had 3 biopsies, each time they cut 3 spots, 9 cuts and none showed infection. I paid a lot for the biopsies and their analysis. Learned eventually that skin healing response can produce these bumps. It is part of the response to the medicine and also the bugs. Also going bck to work, some of my clothes were tight and the skin response to tight clothes was to create its own lesions nd bumps. At this point I resorted to treating the sensations. Some of the web posts stated: kill scabies in five minutes..... So I tried it. Rub down with muscle rub and then go take a bath with foot powder. Materials listed below: Foot powder borax bran iodide ( Walgreens) Walgreens fast acting odorless analgesic crime, trolamine salicylate 10%, inactive ingredient aloe barbadensis leaf extract, Acetyl alcohol, glycerin, mineral oil, potassium phosphate, propyl paraben steric acid, triethanolamine, water, (did not work as well as muscle rub to quit the bug skin sensation) Muscle rub ultra strength Walgreen s brand (active ingredients: camphor 4%, menthol , methyl salicylate 30%', inactive ingresdientss: carbomer, dis odium EDTA, glyceryl lstearate SE, lanolin, ploys ornate, 80 potassium hydroxide, steric acid, troloamine, water Notes on kids Sarna skin cream (normal has like. Cooling camphor in it, sensitive has no cooling agent. ) Cooling agents like camphor in creams are not well tolerated by kids , they tend to get cold and cannot tolerate them until bath, even warm bath water is colder when the creamed skin hits the bath. Kid management: explain bug infestation Ask if they can help, kids love to help swiffer. Set standard that the "doctor says" must do medicines, creams, baths, cleaning, toy a quarantine time, etc Buy them a swim cap for hair treatments, character caps help too. They can use wipes to help clean while you use Clorox wipes They can help clean bathtub No stuffed toys for a while, they are " in the laundry" Use google images to demonstrate the sickness. Notes: on additional controls and responses. Known to infest just skin, not scalp, however, I found an infestation on my daughters scalp (3 yo) only infants supposedly get scalp infestation....... Hmmmm..... We had scalp stuff. Also noticed that it felt like critters on my back falling from hair. Like biting on my back immediately 10 mins post shower and lice treatment on hair. Felt like these had gotten into our hair by retreating to un-permethrin treated areas also hair bands/ scuunccii on floor had collected and harbor end critters. Mom Treated scalps of mom and daughter with permethrin, told doctors, although we were told it was not needed. Shortened daughters hair to minimize combing about shoulder length. Pediatrician Rx sklice for scalp treatment, new technique and was $80 with prescription coverage. Also felt like critters on floor from clothes, skin, wherever, and they keep cycling onto person Noticed that doing laundry, I felt bites on my feet start when I got near laundry pile. Contained husbands dry cleaning inside large plastic bags so no critters could drop and move. Quarantined this clothing in garage with more tarp underneath. Purse and gym bags with cleats, heart rate straps, watches, etc all infected. All isolated, treated, etc. Sensations Felt itchy, crawly, ears, top of head, nose, toes, armpits, waistband. Bra bands, etc. Permethrin felt cooling when applied. I felt it more than husband. The relief sensation was comforting and addicting. This may be caused by nerve agent nature of the drug. As nerves healed over time, tingling and bug sensation would occur. When done, wear loose clothes for 6-8 months or tight clothes will cause skin response similar to scabies, lesions that is simply an immune response. Took months for sensations to stop. The muscle cream and foot soap bath really worked like a switch to stop the tingling buggy feeling. It was terribly uncomfortable to be so cold and wet, brutal treatment, but worked. Root cause investigation thoughts: Unsure if we only had scabies or a multi infestation with other mites. Massage June 6, 2012, then went to work out. Masseuse was rookie, concerned about transfer to heart rate monitor. Possible June infection from hawaii trip Possible gym infection, possible daycare route, Daughter and mother worst infected Daughter and mother waking up all night when sensation and biting occurred. Also think there were body lice in play here Daycare friends had traveled possibly infected us, but not honest enough to alert others to the risk, No one in our house got any infection here by visiting. Baby sitters were fine. Daycare provider had heavy pubic scratching and also hospital astray hospital cancer. Also worried about work chair, put raincoat over chair and switched chairs. Bart train seats, infidelity, all possiblities that were considered. I think there was scabies, plus some other mite from the driveway fir trees. Used to get bites when sitting in pickup truck bed that has fir tree cones and debris from trees. Twice found visible bugs, not ants coming from driveway toward garage and laundry, liked sweaty clothes. Scabies are not visible, so these were other mites. Once floor controls and hair scalp was addressed, all bites stopped. Sensations continued, but camphor creams helped stop brain response. Mental Dermatologists smug over initial first treatment by primary care doc because it was a 2 week treatment, Corrected with 1 week treatment, but they also refused to accept there was another reinfection. Bites on back and feet, they said, it's not scabies, cannot help you. Second opinion dermatologist said scabies. Also other bugs were on driveway and floor, and scalp, initial dermatologist and other doctors seemed hopeless that they could not help.. This is when I realized it was all out war to quarantine everything's movement more tightly than the TSA at the airports. Doctors Refused to consider scalp, until pediatrician saw what I saw. So we switched to sklice Rx. Pediatrician was helpful and had really seen scabies so follow up bumps were discounted and patient at ease. then dermatologists were bullish when not considering the comfort level of patient, excreted bugs appearing were dismissed as dirt/debris. Bully doctors would discard the patient, prescribe more creams, just to make more money, don't care about patient. They left patient to mentally suffer. Sometimes felt like there was no future life away from scabies condition. Hopeless, very suicidal and very risky. As if they did not understand this was skin expressing the bugs out. Black things appear on these patients as commonly anecdotes on the Web, people don't all have the same story by chance. This phase exists. And the doctor treats them as crazy people. As if these black things are in their minds only. As if derms don't get that there is stuff and cannot explain what it is to a patient. They need tone able to understand and help the patient brought. Now I clearly know more than any dermatologist about scabies. That first derm office should be disciplined by the med review board. Skin issues also followed with fungus or other immune response lesions that were scary to experience as a potential comeback of the bugs. Web logs were helpful. Felt not alone. Good tips Some people wrote what their experience was as opposed to actual science, but it was helpful. ( e.g., one post said they saw moving black bugs under microscope. I found this questionable. The debris was likely bugs but they were only coming out because skin was expressing the debris. I never saw live specimens. )

Sorry this is a long one guys, but I really hope it helps. I don't have a clue as to where I got Scabies from but it really irritates me. I know it was an accident and no one is to blame, but I hate those little mosters! I was able to catch them early on and went to the interwebs to find out why the area around my ankles were so damn itchy and found out that is was scabies. I was not a happy critter and wanted then gone. Now. After reading all of the horror stories with doctors misdiagnosing and things getting worse, I went the natural route. That first day I stripped all of my bedding and threw it in the sanitary cycle in my washer then filled a bottle with bleach and water to spray down the matress, box spring, and bed frame. I let all of that dry and used a spare bed set to cover the bed, just the fitted sheats and a blanket along with the pillowcases so I wouldn't have so much laundry. I dried everything on high heat and set them in a plastic tub to alternate with the other bedding and changed it every morning, spraying down the mattress again each time.

I've been showering everyday and using a borax scrub in the shower along with a tea tree bar of soap and then a lavender bar of soap. I air dried and then spray myself with a borax/water/peroxide mixture and then let that dry. Before I got into bed, even just sitting down, I would spray it down and let that dry before doing so and also sprayed the pillows on both sides. After getting bedding into the laundry every mornig and spraying down the mattress I would vacuum the carpets very well and use the bleach spray on doorhandles that I've touched before jumping into the shower as described and then putting on the alternate bedding.

The other night I realized how dry my skin was getting and it was only making the itch worse so I ran into the bathroom and took a quick shower with my lavender soap to wash off the dried spray. Instead of using the spray on my skin I only use it on the bedding and use a coconut oil/tea tree/peppermint oil for my skin right when I get out of the shower, whenever I feel an itch and before I go to sleep. I have hardly had any problems with itching since switching to the coconut oil. Make sure to get it all over the place and maybe keep a separate jar for your face with more coconut oil in it so it's not as potent, don't get it in your eyes of course. I've only got them on my outer forearms and inner ankles up to about mid calf. I've only had it for a week or so and it's already starting to get way better, the bumps are going away and it's not nearly as itchy as it had been before. I was super lucky that I caught it so early and was able to keep the little bastards from spreading. Good luck everyone who has these monsters and I hope you get rid of then soon, they're awful and I havwn't even had them for very long! I used a 24oz spray bottle

Bleach spray: 1Ts for every 12oz of water

Borax/peroxide/water spray: 2Ts of each for every 6oz of water

Coconut oil mix: I did about 2c of oil and 50drops tea tree and 25drops of peppermint. I would add 1/4c of coconut oil if you're goin to use a different jar for the face and ears.

I have had the scabies mess for three years. My daily routine has been to

1. Wash with coconut milk soap. After I shower rinse my body with 3 or 4 cups of (half a cup of salt in water and a cup of apple cider vinegar) mix and then I air dry (sleep like a baby).

2. In the morning rub Tea Tree oil on wait 20 minutes and rub Coconut Hair Dressing on in the morning.

3. Wash your hair with Denorex and then Coconut shampoo. Lastly rinse your hair with the same mix above (do not rinse it out- leave it in your hair - the vinegar smell will go away). Style your hair however you like after that.

I hope it helps someone.

Scabies: Infrared heat lamp, poke root, sulfur cream/zinc oxide cream

I had this for two months thinking it was herpes given the location! And all those cures were not working. I was taking lysine, gave up coffee and nuts and it got worse and more rashlike until it finallly showed the tail tale signs of scabies (red rash in lines)

so I had some compana cream (zinc oxide iron oxide in petroleum base). I put that on it and if felt great! so then I got some sulfur soap (it was designed for acne) and bathed with that. I would let the soap sit there for a few minutes before washing off. I also happened to have black walnut powder, poke root, and cloves so I made a tea and splashed that on after the sulfur soap bath.

Then I used the infrared heat lamp on the spot. This felt great and I think helped considerably. I then covered it with coconut oil 3 days in a row. then I would put the zinc oxide cream on it every night. the last few days before it was gone completely I added some flower of sulfur powder to the zinc oxide cream. (you could use petroleum and sulfur, and you can find sulfur at a pharmacy or garden supply. It must be pure sulfur and is also called flower of sulfur, it is a yellow powder)

The first day it was more red but no pain or itching so I kept going.
The second day it was much much better.
I stopped with the tea mixture after 3 days (I made one batch and used it 3 days). it was almost gone for 4 more days (it kinda had a few bumps and they seemed to move to different area each day) so I mixed some flower of sulfur I had for my garden in with the zinc oxide campana cream. and kept up with the 5 minute DAILY infrared heat lamp treatment. My reasoning to try this was that someone said here that the mites died at 120 degrees. This is a spot heat treatment. and I am happy to report after having it two months once I started this treatment, after ONE WEEK it is completely GONE! Just in case, I also moved my sleeping area about have way through this process I slept on a couch one night and on a different couch the rest of the time. And also made sure I did not leave dirty cloths in my room.

Thanks everyone! And Thanks earthclinic!

I just would like to say thank you sooo much I scrolled threw alot and looked at several websites and remedey and this site and remedies was a Godsend. I was freakeed and ashamed and at my witts end. I strip ouir bed eveyday and spray it with bleach water. Sprinkle borax on all carpet let sit half hour then vacum. I spray lysol or bug spray daily on furniture. But inmportantly the deal with taking a shower with half olive oil and dial soap everynight air dry or use a blow dryer they hate heat. Then spray with peroxide blow dry and spray I mean soak your body from neck to feet with tea tree oil and jergens original lotion put clothes to cover frm head to toe. Sleep. Day take a bath wth borax hydrgen peroxide and epsom salt then spray entire body with citrus listerine and dress repeat for atleast two weeks. This came from a combo of others info on here. thanks soo much to all for there info. Hop e it works for you. Jen

Story: First all thank goodness for your website I honestly would not know what to do without this site. I took a mixture of different treatments and methods found all over this site and used a mixture of them. I believe my Boyfriend contracted scabies first. It all started when we went on a road trip to Los Angeles in Aug 2012, he reported being extremely itchy that night but I told him he must be allergic to the soap from the hotel (it was more like a motel). Over the next month he complained of being extremely itchy especially at night although he had no rashes , bumps and etc. I wasnt itching so I thought it was sensitive skin , eczema or a reaction to a new soap or shampoo we were using. The itching wasnt extreme at that point just a minor nuisance, tried creams and etc but did not work.

Then in October (2 months later) I started having some red spots on my stomach which later started to itch. I tend to have sensitive skin so I just rubbed some lotion and hydrocortizone which did not help. Over the next week the rashes and red spots started to get extremely itchy and spread to my lower back. At this point if I scratched them they were small welts similar to that of a mosquito bite. At that time due to the Los Angeles trip the one thing that went to my mind was bed bugs. I went crazy cleaning the house and even wore a long sleeve shirt and tight leggings to bed to see if they would bite on the covered areas. I then started to have more rashes and bumps. For some reason when I was searching for information on bed bugs, scabies came up. All the symptoms lead up to scabies. I was mortified with all the information I was finding. There was a ton of information I didnt know where to start , in fact I went crazy purchasing any type of oils, borax, hydrogen peroxide, grape and coconut oil, acetone, sea salt. I first went to the doctor and she seemed like it wasnt important in fact I told her I felt it was scabies. She simply prescribed the permethrin cream 5%. I went out and got the cream but had my boyfriend use it since he has less patience than myself. I wanted to use the all natural treatment. Here is what I did:

In addition I took tumeric supplements and drank 1 teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar (diluted in water) twice a day every day for 2 weeks. Supposedly this will adjust your bodys ph level/acidity and make your body not pleasing to the mites. Also refrain from eating sugar and chocolate, try to eat healthy.

As far as cleaning I did not go crazy like all the other posts suggest. After I did steps 1-3 I took all the bed sheets and washed it in hot water with my regular detergent and a cup of borax. I then put it in the dryer for at least 45 minutes in high setting. Washed all the clothing that was worn in the last 2 weeks (not the ones in the closet). Anything that couldnt be washed I put in garbage bags and made them air tight. I put those in the garage for 1-2 weeks. I sprinked borax all over the carpets, floors, and mattresses for 24 hours, then vaccuumed everthing. Before going to work in the morning I took a regular spray bottle and diluted 1/2 of hydrogen peroxide, 1/2 water, 50 drops of clove oil, lemon grass oil, orange oil, neem oil. I sprayed the mattress, pillows, couches, and everything I can I sprayed with the solution. I washed towels, clothing, and bedding used everyday for 5 days straight. After 5 days I sprayed the solution and vaccumed once a week. I did spray the solution on everything every 3 days and will continue to do so for the next 30 days. Large bedding and comfortors that could not be washed , I sprayed with the solution and put in the dryer for 45 mintues.

The aftermath and still hoping I am 100% scabies free. I started treatment/cleaning on Oct 23st, as of today it will be 3 weeks. The itching drastically went down after 1 week just out of no where it subsided but did not completely stop. The second week it gets better but you may think nothing worked but it actually is. Now into my 3rd week the rashes have started to almost completely disappear and the ithcing is at a bare minimum. The itching and rashes will continue in weeks 1-3 but dont freak out thinking you are reinfested as long as you keep with steps 1-3 and cleaning every couple days eventually the mites in your skin and surroundings will die off. Also be aware your skin will be extremely sensitive in some parts (for me my arms, legs, and neck) after 1-2 weeks from the natural oils ( I applied directly in many areas). ANytime I saw a new red bump I rubbed hand sanitizer and the oils directly on it. I thought I as reinfested but I got some form of eczema or skin irritation ( I just used plain coconut/grape seed oil with hydrocortizone in those areas and used a lesser concentration of oils).

By the way my boyfriend did the permethrin 5% treatment, he did it one time and I chose the all natural way. He had extreme itchiness the night he applied the cream, almost unbearable itchiness for the next 2 nights. On the 3rd night it subsided. I had him do steps 1-3 as well after the permethrin treatment just to be sure and his itching has greatly decreased. He isnt as diligent as I was with steps 1-3 but I know he is closer to being 100% cured as well. In addition I had my son who did not show signs of itching or rashes use the sulphur soap once a day and apply the oil in step 3 (minimal treatment just in case). In my 3rd week I dont see any new bumps, still random itching in certain areas but I think its from my skin getting sensitive with all the treatments. I only shower once a day in the sulphur soap, scrub with sea salt once a day, and apply the oil mix 1-2 times a day. I will continue to do this till all the redness/rashes/and itching disapear, I plan for 45 days as a precaution.

The biggest thing whether you are religous or not is to pray /pray/pray (trust me on this) ; stay diligent on the cleaning and treatments; just wait as you have no control over time. It will start to get better after 7 days. Goodluck, this thing can be beat, stay positive!

If you're looking here, I don't have to tell you, the conventional treatment for scabies is very toxic and should be avoided; in addition, there are permethrin-resistant scabies, but no essential-oil-resistant scabies. I just wanted to add my experience, because this website was such an incredible blessing at a very scary time. It took a week or longer to identify the scabies on my 6 y.o. daughter; intially, we thought chiggers, misquitoes or fleas. Then, the trails showed up and I knew (I direct a residential placement and shelter for homeless/runaway teens, so I am familiar with scabies--still, it took a while to identify! ). She NEVER got them between her fingers or around her waist; instead, behind her knee, around her neck, behind her ears and on one hip.

The first day was 16 hours straight of deep cleaning (instructions follow). Normally, only bedding and clothing is washed, but I had one day off of work to knock it out. I used the collective wisdom found here and on other websites, and this is what we did:

for my affected daughter, I rubbed her down with the following (each seperately, in this order):

* Alcohol-based hand sanitizer;
* Lavender oil;
* Extra Virgin Coconut oil (edible, not a beauty product)--into which I mixed lavender oil and tea tree oil;
* Tea tree oil;
* Let sit x 30 min, then had her soak in a hot bath with Borax (in the laundry detergent aisle).

For the rest of my un-affected family, I rubbed us down with the Coconut Oil/Lavender oil/ Tea Tree oil mixture, let sit x 30 min. , then soaked in the Borax bath.

For my affected daughter, I treated her 3 x the first day (I only used the hand sanitizer the first time, as I am not a fan of this stuff). I let it soak over night. She was scrubbed down the next morning. For days 2-4 she was treated morning and night, but I no longer scrubbed her down. I added orange oil on the 2nd day (didn't have it the first day). I put tea tree directly on the affected areas, then covered her with a Coconut Oil/Tea Tree/Orange Oil/ Lavender mixture. (My husban is a functional medicine doc, and said there is no advantage to the seperate layers--he says folks just buy into more complicated procedures! )

In addition, Day 1: I vacuumed all soft surfaces, washed all bedding in the household, swept and vacuumed hardwood/tile floors, used bleach-water on all hardwood/tile floors, wrapped my affected daughter's matress in heavy plastic sheeting and duct tape, put all soft toys/pillows through the washer/dryer OR through a hot dryer OR in a bag in the freezer. Also, I set my vacuum out doors x 3 days (after I emptied it at the outside dumpster), changed my affected daughters bedding nightly for 4 nights, frequently put tea tree oil on the affected sites (on my daughter). In addition, I frequently sprayed pillows, soft furniture, curtains and matresses down with a water-based solution with approx. 30 drops each of lavendar, orange oil, and tea tree oil--put with 16 oz. Of water in a spray bottle, shake before use. (I've been asked if it stained--I did not notice any stains.)

The itching does continue for a while, but the 'sores' looked better by the 2nd day. I did let my daughter use benadryl nightly for itching x 3-4 days. She liked being rubbed down! We talked about it being like a spa. Note: the only places I did not rub her down were her face and the soles of her feet! I wish you all the best!!!

I have read through the posts on earth clinic about treating scabies and their has been a lot of good info. I would like to add my story that ends with a happy ending. I was fighting these biting bug mites, call it what you may for two months when me and my husband finally left the house after spraying it down heavy with insceticide and drove to the beach for a week. I swam in the ocean every day sometimes twice a day, washed all the sheets clothes towels what ever I touched every day. I also rubbed myself down with coconut oil twice a day and put clove oil in it also. Every time I felt an itch I put coconut oil on right away. I sat on a towel in the car that I washed at the end of the day and was taking two showers a day. First thing in the morning and last thing at night. I also used tecnu in the shower. When I was at the ocean I scrubbed with the sand to kill the mites. They don't like salt at all. I went from like a hundred bites to 20 to 10 in a matter of three days. This is day six and I don't have many places that bother me. I am praying that the lord heals me completly soon and hope that I can help someone else that maybe going through this. It is awful... But I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Keep your eyes and God and let him give you wisdom and healing through this.

Scabies: what I did was bathe in borax 1 cup and hydrogen peroxide 1 cup, also made a paste of borax & h.p. and scrubbed my whole body in hottest water I could take. After reading everythig on this site I compiled my own attack. After the bath in about a cup &1/2 liquid soap add approx. 7-10 each drops peppermint oil teatree oil clove oil any citrus oil eucaliptus oil lavender oil, oregano oil. Take soap-oil mixture rub it ALL over body, sit in tub for 5-7 minutes ( no water in tub ) Do the face and scalp also. Filled tub up to rinse off and shapoo hair After drying off applied mixture of all the oils mentioned above with coconut oil all over. Thanks all you were a tremendous help. God bless P. S. This was a full frontal assault.

I am fully cured now! Here's an update on how I did it. I found that using sulfur daily decimated my skin. So, I mixed sulfur powder with vaseline and applied it from the neck down and then hung out, on a sheet, in front of the tv for an afternoon. I probably left the sulfur mix on for 4 hours or so.

I bought some diatemaceous earth which is a natural insecticide. I dusted my mattress, area rugs, couch, and my car with that.

I washed my linens daily and placed all of my dirty laundry in a plastic garbage bag to keep it seperate from everything else. I washed my clothing in hot water, adding borax to the wash.

I showered or bathed daily. I used Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Oil liquid soap. I kept a small container of a mix of borax and sulfur next to the shower. I mixed it with the liquid soap and used it as a scrub.

After showering I would use an oil mixture of clove, neem, orange, and tea tree. I used vitamin e oil as the carrier oil and found that it worked better than coconut oil because it is thicker and therefore coated my skin better.

I took a hot bath in salted water every other day instead of a shower. I noticed that the salt water bath did wonders for any bites I had. I used sea salt. The improvment over the course of a week was dramatic!

I have not had any new bites in over a month. I will continue with the oil treatments and the tea tree oil soap, but have stopped using sulfur and borax as a scrub.

It is such a relief that I am cured. However, my skin is scarred and ruined from their bites. This has been such an awful experience, but I wanted to let everyone suffering know that there is light at the end of the tunnel! You can beat this!

Good luck and keep at it.

WORKED TEMPORARILY

I just now used the peroxide/borax solution and itching has let up. The most recent 'cure' was supposed to be clove oil - it stuns them into a stupor and they DO come back.

The silica powder, DE, just cannot accomplish the job, yet I go back to it over and over. Bleach has dessicated my skin... so there's that right along with the burrowing itch! Torment, torment, driving me to the edge.

Shocking to read of bleach or clove oil working for some and yet not for me.

It breaks my heart to think of children itching that bad.... if adults are unable to stand it - nearly going mad, ohhhh the children.

I'd like to read up on its life cycle: if we walk here, there in the house would it be their eggs we pick up on shoes/feet? How long can an egg on floor survive? Does the adult fall from our bedding and stay alive without me, the host, for days, weeks?

The Lab People who have had to get so up-close to do the studying - didn't they get the heebeejeebies figuring there's no way they're not going to get infected? Brave souls...

We had a recent scabies scare from my sister's daughter. Once we received the news that everyone in the home had to be treated, I started researching to find out what can I do to get rid of these things or better yet, do not let my son get infected. It was hard work and expensive, but it worked so far. NO ITCHING, NO RASHES, NO SCARRING, NO MORE PANICS! Here is what I did: FIRST, I PRAYED TO GOD FOR HEALING. Then I did all the rest of this stuff.

Night 1: I used the Permathrin that the doctor gave my sister to give to the family. I used it from neck to toes. I also used it on my son. I went and brought a spray bottle and labeled it "BLEACH. " I took all the decorations (towels, rugs, toilet cover, etc. ) out the bathroom. I made sure the bathroom was BARE. I sprayed the entire bathroom with bleach (all around the toilet, tub, shower, etc. ). Next morning, I showered, put on tea tree oil mixed with Jergen's lotion and went to work. Before I went to work, I put all the linen I slept on and all my clothing in the washing machine in hot water, borax, and liquid detergent. After work, I went and brought a mattress cover to put on the mattress.

Night 2: I took another spray bottle and did part bleach and part water. I sprayed myself down with the bleach and water. I made sure my entire body was covered in bleach and water. I DID NOT TAKE A BATH. I let the solution soaked in my skin overnight. I put fresh linen on my bed. I took the linen that I washed that morning and put it in the laundry room in a basket and let it sat there for four days. Next morning I took a shower and washed with OLIVE OIL and DIAL soap. I DID NOT DRY OFF WITH A TOWEL. Instead, I air dried. Afterwards, I sprayed myseld with Peroxide and put on the Jergens lotion mixed with Tea tree oil. I took the linen off the bed and put it in the washing machine. I sprayed the mattress cover down with bleach and water and wiped it down.

Night 3: I took a bath in Borax, Epsom Salt, and Peroxide. What I did was got another spray bottle and filled it up with peroxide. I sprayed my entire body with Peroxide, then I sat in a tub of hot water with Epsom Salt and Peroxide. I used the antibacterial soap and Borax to wash areas I thought was infected. Again, I did not towel dry. I air dried, then I applied the Tea Tree oil and Jergens lotion. I put fresh linen on the bed and took the other linen out the washing machine and sat in in the laundry room for four days.

Night 4: I took another spray bottle and did part bleach and part water. I sprayed myself down with the bleach and water. I made sure my entire body was covered in bleach and water. I DID NOT TAKE A BATH. I let the solution soaked in my skin overnight. I put fresh linen on my bed. I took the linen that I washed that morning and put it in the laundry room in a basket and let it sat there for four days. Next morning I took a shower and washed with OLIVE OIL and DIAL soap. I DID NOT DRY OFF WITH A TOWEL. Instead, I air dried. Afterwards, I sprayed myseld with Peroxide and put on the Jergens lotion mixed with Tea tree oil. I took the linen off the bed and put it in the washing machine. I sprayed the mattress cover down with bleach and water and wiped it down.

Night 5: I used the Permathrin treatment again.

Night 6: I did the bleach treatment again.

The reason I did this is because you have to continue to fight these things every night for a while to get rid of the the live ones and the unborn ones. I did this for 10 days. Everytime, I used the bathroom, I bleached everything down. I also went to Wal-Mart and brought Hartz tick and flea spray. It has 28% Permathrin in it. I sprayed all my furniture down and my carpets. It also stops reinfestation for 14 days. My son, boyfriend, and I was staying in my room for a couple of nights until the rest of the home was being treated. Then, we moved to the guest bedroom until my room was being treated with the Hartz tick and flea spray. I also set aside five (5) sheet sets for my bed. Every morning, I would wash the linen in hot water and dry in a hot dryer, but I would not reuse it for five days. The sheets were taking turns. Also whenever a new bump would appear. I would used Hand Santizer and get a piece of tissue and rub the hand sanitizer real hard into the bump. Then I wil follow up and spray it lightly with the part bleach and part water.

This is a lot of work, but I have not had anymore problems at all. BUT to be on the safe side, Every 3-5 days now, I spray myself with Peroxide and Borax from neck down to my feet to make sure they are all gone and because I am so paranoid of them returning. Hope this information help some people suffering from this stuff.