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Scabies Home Treatment- How Can You Treat It At Home?
Scabies is a type of infestation that comes from small mites which usually burrow inside the skin that results in rashes. People having scabies should seek medical treatment to get rid of mites. Some people are often resistant to treatments available with the doctors or if you do not wish to seek medical help, you can always go for scabies home treatment that is risk-free.
One important thing all must keep in mind is seeking advice from their doctor before trying out any home remedy as you might have some previous health conditions that need to be addressed. Also, home remedies suggested for scabies do not have a piece of scientific evidence to back them. To know scabies home treatment, one must know the symptoms occurring in a person having scabies.
Possible symptoms include red or irritate skin, extreme itchiness mainly during evening and night, and blistering. Sometimes a person might also notice tiny bumps or bites on their skin, sores from scratching, and trails where the mites possibly burrowed into their skin.
Here are possible scabies home treatment or remedies one can always try if they developed scabies.
Scabies Home Treatment
If you decide to follow any of the given remedies, make sure you contact your doctor and take advice from them before starting especially if the infestation does not clear up in few days.
1. Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is a popular essential oil. There are few studies in which it has shown promising results and is considered to be one of the best scabies home treatment. However, many more studies are still needed to analyze the results and prove this point.
Tea tree oil is an amazing agent to alleviate the itchiness that comes from scabies along with usage of other treatments prescribed by doctors or home remedies. However, you must know that this oil is not found to be much effective for the eggs buried deep inside the skin.
You can easily get tea tree oil online or in stores nearby. It is suggested to talk to your doctor or try a patch test before using tea tree oil as some people are often allergic to this. If you find tea tree oil to be allergic, try to find an alternative that suits your skin and helps with the itchiness.
2. Aloe Vera Gel
Aloe vera is popularly known for centuries for its soothing properties and you might have used it often for your skin as well. It has a gentle and calm effect on skin ailments like sunburns. Aloe vera is generally considered to be safe for skin given that you apply it in minimal amounts. You can easily find it online and in its stores.
A small study consisted showed that aloe vera is really effective against scabies so it can be used as scabies home treatment. In fact, aloe vera was found to be effective as a prescription drug known as benzyl benzoate.
Similar to tea tree oil, more studies must be done to fund out of aloe vera gel is really effective or just helps with the itchiness.
3. Neem Oil
Neem as oil is useful for skin ailments. You can search neem oil online or find it inside ointments and creams. Neem is popular for its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antibacterial properties. Many studies throw light on neem as an effective scabies home treatment. It helps to kill the mites thus giving relief.
A study was performed earlier that tested the effects of neem oil on dogs. Most of the dogs having scabies were cured of scabies within 2 weeks of using neem consistently. They were given neem in form of a shampoo. Also, the dogs that did not get recovered fully, so major changes and improvement in their skin. The total number of mites present on the skin was highly reduced when used constantly.
The study was not sufficient to conclude the fact fully, additional studies are still required for testing the effectiveness of neem oil as scabies home treatment.
4. Clove Oil
A single study was conducted that showed clove oil was effective as scabies home treatment in a group of pigs and rabbits. Some other oils were also used along with clove oil but they were not as effective as clove oil.
Again, more studies are required to confirm the facts as one study is not enough to predict the results and its effectiveness as scabies home treatment. Also, the test was conducted on animals, human samples are still required for the test to work.
If you are allergic to this oil or do not have it right now, you can always use the following oils instead of clove oil:
- Nutmeg
- Orange
- lemongrass
- anise seed
- Ylang-ylang
- peppermint
- thyme
- lavender
5. Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne paper is not proven to be the most effective as scabies home treatment but some people use it and find it useful against scabies or mites infection.
Despite people finding it useful or many many claiming it to work for them, there are no scientific studies to prove this. According to a study, a compound found inside cayenne pepper called capsaicin desensitized the skin when you apply it directly. This will eventually help alleviate little pain and itchiness that usually occurs with scabies.
You can directly go for creams that have capsaicin ingredients in them rather than using cayenne pepper. Always speak to the doctor before using any of these.
6. Turmeric
There is very little evidence that supports using turmeric as scabies home treatment however, many people claim that they found turmeric very effective in alleviating all sorts of symptoms associated with scabies.
Treating these symptoms does not mean that the infestation of mites and eggs is stopped completely, these methods just help to get relief from pain for some time so you require other modes of treatment too which are often prescribed by the doctors along with usage f home remedies.
7. Zinc
Zinc is also not related to scabies directly, but you can use it for scabies treatment as many people recommend using zinc to fight the secondary infestation that might again result when the wounds remain open or person scratches the skin before recording fully.
8. Wash Clothes In Hot Water
This may sound really basic but it does help as scabies home treatment. If you have scabies you must wash all the clothing, bedding, and other fabrics in contact with warm or hot water so that they do not spread the infestation again.
This is really effective to remove the mites and relevant them from spreading or hiding inside the fabric pieces.
9. Borax
Sodium borate also known as borax is often controversial for its usage, It is found mostly in all sorts of cleaning agents used in households such as in laundry washes. Though people claim it and you will find that in many places it is written as an effective ingredient to treat scabies but it is not entirely safe. It is still doubtful if it can be used safely for humans or not.
You should not apply it directly onto the skin but you can always use it on your clothes or sheets when you are washing them so that if mites are hiding they get eliminated and the infestation does not spread any further.
10. Bleach
Though it is useful in killing mites, bleach is among the harsh chemicals that you cannot use directly. You should dilute it with other agents and treat it with care before using it.
It may also damage your eyes, skin, and lungs so use it wisely. Again, you can not treat your skin directly with bleach, it can only be used as a cleaning agent and should not be used directly.
11. Apple Cider Vinegar
There is a lot of information on using apple cider vinegar for scales and many people find it effective for scabies. However, there are not many pieces of evidence for proving all the claims made regarding apple cider vinegar.
12. Vacuuming
Vacuuming is a great home treatment for mites as they might be present on the floor too. When you vacuum regularly, the chances of the spreading of mites through direct contact with the floor especially for children decrease.
These were 12 scabies home treatment that you can use to clean mites from the skin, clothes, sheets, and floor and stop them from spreading further and increasing the infestation.
Let’s see what are the risk factors one must know when dealing with scabies.
Risk Factors
You should know by now that scabies is highly contagious in nature which means you should be ready to protect all the family embers as it spread really quickly. There are few modes of its spreading, these include :
- Sexual contact
- sharing your clothes, sheets, and towels
- A long period of direct or skin to skin contact with a person having scabies
Anyone in direct contact with another person having scabies is at increased risk of developing scabies. Also, the infestation modes not only stop here, crowded places are another reason why scabies spread. Some places that are at higher risk include:
- Locker rooms
- daycares
- schools
- rehab centers
- prisons
- Nursing homes
You should know the system of scabies and see a doctor if the home remedies suggested are not working for you. Let’s see in which conditions you should see a doctor if you have developed the infestation.
When to Seek Doctor’s Advice
If scabies home treatment is working finely for you and you feel better you may avoid seeing a doctor too often. However, there are many reasons why you need to see a doctor and when to see a doctor, these include:
- If you develop a rash on your body for unknown reasons all of a sudden
- If you notice certain symptoms that are related to scabies
- If you were in direct contact with someone that had scabies
- If you have developed rashes that last longer than few days
The Bottom Line
Scabies is a contagious and serious condition that does not get better than others’ own and requires you to take immediate action as soon as you come to know about the infestation.
For many people, the medical treatments are proven to be of great help but you can always use scabies home treatments so that the infestation stops earlier and you treat yourself quickly in less time.
It is essential and mandatory for anyone having scabies to not only reply on home remedies and visit a doctor before using anything.
This was all you needed to know about scabies home treatment and when you must see a doctor in case you have developed an infection.
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