Natural Cures For Scabies
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If you thought chicken pox was bad, the uncontrollably urge to scratch, especially during the night is one of the unfortunate symptoms associated with the itchy skin condition called scabies. A high degree of discomfort is brought about when the rather small burrowing mite known as Sarcoptes scabiei settles on the skin, creating an intense reaction wherever it chooses to hide. The worst part – scabies is contagious and quickly spreads through close physical contact.
Symptoms
One of the most prominent signs and symptoms dealing with scabies include the itching that often becomes worse during the night. Thin marks consisting of many tiny blisters or bumps form. Typically, the line-like marks are seen within the folds of the skin. While almost every part of the body is not safe from the infestation of scabies, the most common body parts include: the armpits, between fingers, around the waist, along the insides of the wrist, soles of the feet, on the inner elbow, around the male genitals, on the buttocks, on the knees, around the breasts, and on the shoulder blades [1].
Typically, small children and the elderly have the most difficult time dealing with scabies, as they tend to experience the worst bouts of itching. An individual suffering from their first scabies infestation may not encounter itching or skin sores for a couple of weeks. The symptoms associated with a re-infestation of scabies usually surface within a few days [2].
Causes of Scabies
A microscopic mite causes the type of scabies that develops in humans. Without the help of a magnifying glass, sighting these pests is impossible. It is the female mite that burrows into the skin and creates a tunnel where she may lay eggs, which take 21 days to mature. After the eggs hatch, the mites continue to spread about the surface of the skin, where people respond to their presence, additional eggs, and waste through allergic reactions. Close physical contact helps spread scabies from one person to another. Sharing clothes and bedding with an infected person is also another way scabies is contracted.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of scabies comes when a doctor takes a look at the skin and scans for signs of mites. He or she will seatch for the characteristic burrows that come with the condition. If a mite burrow is found, the doctor may scrape the region for further analysis under a microscope. This type of examination will alert a patient as to whether or not they are plagued with the presence of mites or their eggs.
Risk Factors
While scabies is a common skin condition that affects people of all shapes, sizes, and social classes, there are some environmental factors that increase the risk of development. For starters, the spread of scabies quickly passes from one to another in crowded conditions where skin-to-skin contact is frequent.
People working at hospitals, child-care centers, and nursing homes become prime candidates. In a household, family members and sex partners easily contract scabies from one another. Although pets are known to contract a mite infection known as mange, humans cannot become infected with scabies from their companions [3].
Natural Cures for Scabies
Seeking attention for a scabies problem is important because aggressive scratching can lead to more serious problems. This especially occurs when a break in the skin develops, causing a secondary bacterial infection to arise. One possibility involves impetigo, a superficial infection of the skin that may include staph (staphylococci) bacteria or strep (streptococci) bacteria [4]. To combat further complications associated with scabies, you may consider the following natural scabies cures:
a) Witch Hazel and Tea Tree Oil:
Combining 10 ml of tea tree oil and 90 ml of distilled witch hazel can be used as an effective lotion to use after taking a bath or shower [5].
b) Pure Lavender Oil:
Mixing pure lavender oil with alcohol creates a nice natural remedy for scabies when applied to affected areas. It is important to make sure you apply enough of the mixture to penetrate and saturate the skin. Some individuals have found success through killing the mites and their eggs with this method.
c) Neem Oil:
Neem oil is a botanical pesticide fashioned from the extract of a plant called Azadirachta indica. There are many different ways that neem oil is presented as a cure for scabies. 100 ml of pure neem oil can be used for bathing purposes and direct application. Some people have used 150 ml of neem oil to create a bubble bath. 50 grams of neem oil may create an antiseptic cream when paired with turmeric that offers treatment and relief from discomfort. There are also manufacturers that offer a neem oil stick that is applied to sections of the body where broken skin is affected.
d) Cool Water Soaks:
The itching associated with scabies is minimized when soaking in a bath of cool water or applying a cool, wet washcloth to sections of irritated skin.
Scabies Prevention
To prevent the spread of mites from one person to another or avoid a re-infestation, there are a few measures to take into consideration. It is important to clean all clothes and linen associated with an infected person. This process should occur before treatment using hot, soapy water on all clothing, towels, sheets, comforters, and pillowcases. When drying, high heat is recommended. The clothes you cannot wash at home, you should dry-clean offsite.
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Is this true that madre cacao can cure this disese?
A bottle of Jergens Lotion will clear this condition overnight. I know for a fact!!!
This condition has become rampant. I suspect that the insects are being bred on dead animal. I suspect that since Freddie Halbrook posted his remedy, the original Jergens Lotion has been removed from the shelves. I am posting this on the chance that he can reveal what the ingredient was in the lotion that he used. There are now many many versions of the Jergens Lotion, it seems. Bobby Meade meaderobe@gmail.com
It’s gotten a lot worse. Now I suspect that breast cancer cases may be fabricated from infection of the nipples by scabies. These mites are attracted to the high temperature areas of the body. I have found that sulfur cream, which I mixed in high concentration with oil worked on my arms and hands well. Lemon juice works somewhat too. Infections of the breast are another matter however, for it takes an unreal amout of effor to draw the infection out, and there is not sign of entry by the insect like on the hands and arms. I also have swollen elbows that may be infected by scabies too, but it may be from all the lotions that I have been using on my sulphur treated arms. Permethrin is out, for it causes liver damage; plus the recommended 5% solution is available only by prescription. They say 1% cures head lice, and all the stores carry .5 or .33%. Go figure. Bobby Meade meaderobe@gmail.com
Sulfer Soap works great. also mixing Olive and Cocunut oil does the trick because the olive oil kills it and the cocunut oil allows the olive oil under the skin.
I will tell you right now that Jergens doesn’t work PERIOD. prescriptions don’t work(most scabies are now resistant to permethrin)and they mess up your skin. I ended up using THREE TUBES of peremthrin and it still didnt go aways.
I had scabies a few months ago, and I got rid of it with Neem Oil. You can buy it at Whole Foods. Take that jergens lotion you have there, and mix it with TONS of neem and apply it throughout the day. And in between take Neem baths. The Neem oil is a natural contraceptive, in other words the scabies cannot reproduce. So eventually they just die off. It will take about a month for them to finally die off, but it works. And for your house i recommend Rid spray (make sure it has permethrin .50%) and spray it on EVERYTHING. You can also take neem oil put a few drops in a spray bottle and spray it on rugs couches ect.
I have gotten rid of this by eating relatively large quantities of raw organic cacao nibs. I was eating cacao because it gives you energy and for me it’s a very effective appetite suppressant, as well as being extremely healthy. I had scabies and was not trying too hard to get rid of it, since I was living alone and the rash didn’t bother me much. Within a few weeks, and not quite a pound of raw organic cacao nibs later, it just cleared up entirely.
To be more specific, if it helps, I would usually eat a couple small handfuls on an empty stomach. It’s a fatty food, so after that you don’t really even feel hungry.
I tried natural remedies (tea tree, turmeric, lavender), OTC lice meds for topical application, but nothing helped. After several weeks I went to the doc and got the permethrin. It worked overnight, but 4 days later I had the creepy crawly sensations again. I used my follow up treatment immediately. I was supposed to only need it a week later, but my gut told me “Use now!”. I will use one more treatment for good measure. (Oh, and BTW, you have to wash all of your bedding and clothing and dry on high heat every night. This is so exhausting.) The permethrin has caused no negative symptoms. It’s very gentle, non-irritating to my sensitive skin, and has no odor. I am usually against drug companies, so I’m not saying use Rx first; but come on! Do not torture yourself out of paranoia. The Rx is less expensive than all the stuff I’ve bought put together. Just do it and don’t risk spreading this nasty little beastie to your family and friends and the general public. You deserve to have relief.
Parasitic or poisonous insects have been used as bioterror weapons since Biblical times in the same way anthrax has. Even though there is no other substance that can duplicate the effects of exposure to anthrax spores, the spores are being thrown again to promote the current Swine Flu hysteria. I believe that all scabies outbreaks outside of the ranching profession have been intentional. Regarding the aforementioned breast infections, I believe that clogged mammary ducts are what makes it so difficult to drain an infected breast; thus it took @ 40 hours of soaking, sqeezing, and manipulating the breast to force the poison out. Keep in mind that the skin of the nipple is some of the toughest skin in the body. Regarding parasitic mites, the mites that I am dealing with are only 1 or 2 microns long, and I find that there is very little written on any mites other than that which produces scabies in sheep. There are probably many species of parasitic mites, especially from Asia and S. America. I bought an AMA Family Medical Guide ‘82 for $1 at a book sale. It showed a picture of a scabies infestation with a large circular sore along with numerous mite bites. I am quite sure that the large sore is a scorpion sting or a spider bite, for those toxins kill flesh and leave such sores; thus one of the favorite modes of attack seems to be to throw a combination of cutaneous anthrax, baby scorpions or spiders, and mites; hoping that the resulting skin inflamation will send you running to the doctor. That is probably why I saw a guy’s scorpion collection in Ithaca in the 70s; they were raising them for the baby scorpions. The mites and other small insects are thrown on me wherever I go apparently in clumps containing several hundred mites; thus I can feel it when the clumps hit me. These mites seek out sores that have previously been infested by mites or scorpion sting or spider bite sores. Via soaking or lubricating the infested areas with aloe, sulphur cream, lemon juice, or epsom, the mites are forced out of the skin where they can be scraped off with the fingernails or they are restricted to the scar tissue that forms around the sores. With sores on the back, arms, or legs, it is easy to scrape the scar tissue off as it grows on the perimeter of circular sores, but the skin of the fingers and the neck require special attention. Regarding the skin of the fingers, especially between the fingers, the scar tissue should not be scraped, for it leaves deep wounds. Mites attempting to migrate from the scar tissue leave visible tracks; thus treating them with suphur etc. results in the new track detaching from the skin and becoming like an appendage of the original scar tissue. The skin of the neck is very tough and open sores do not seem to form from any of the mentioned insects. As you should know, the lymphatic system is the body’s poison elimination process, and bacterial infection as well as poisons cause swollen nodes. When the lymph nodes under my left arm swelled up to the size of golf balls as a result of numerous insect bites on my back, I looked into lymphatic massage and the flow of lymph throughout the body. By massaging the lymph vessels and forcing the lymph in the direction of its next destination, the spleen; I was able to jumpstart my lymph system to handle toxins on an unprecedented level. I have determined that there are no lymph nodes on the back; thus the poisons affect the ones in the armpits, and can even cause bursitus to develop in the elbows. From dealing with several severe scorpions stings, I have determined that the toxins can cripple you like tetanus or blood poisoning just as a bacterial infection does. Squeezing and manipulating sting sites had to be done slowly and repeatedly to restrict the release of toxins. For example to heal a sore from a scorpion sting (Killer of Man?) in my calf that caused it to swell up to the size of a football, I had to kick in the pool, for if I used my arms, lockjaw would develop. I kicked @ 500 miles in 5 months to heal that sore. Their throwing insects en masse at me also seems to be promoting a condition called scleroderma which is characterized by the excessive formation of scar tissue. This is a progressive disease that eventually causes death, and I suspect that the incidence of it is being suppressed. Acne is a form of scleroderma. How often is acne listed as the cause of death? Found 100,000 in US in ‘95 up to 300,000 now, mostly in blacks, Indians, and women. Current texts make no mention of insects promoting it, but they do mention the cytotoxicity of organic solvents causing it. (Gasoline!?) I am sure that older texts mentioned the sensation of insects on the skin being a symptom of scleroderma. I’ve found that creams containing lavender or aloe are somewhat successful in repelling the mites, and creams containing Vitimin E are helpful in healing the sores. Since these insects are extremely small and hard to detect, it is likely that you would be told that you had delusions if you insisted that there were insects.
Jergens lotion does NOT cure scabies. If it worked for your skin condition, you probably just had dry skin.
I will write down a few notes here in an effort to help others only after quite a battle with scabies. My first problem was denial since I really couldn’t see any of the tracks and I didn’t have any rash between fingers etc. I though I had dry skin. Any of the pictures I looked at on the web just didn’t really look like my rash.
The itching was insane. There were times that is I could have found a wire brush I would have used it. Most of the time I would wake up several times a night and had scratched my skin to the point of bleeding (in my sleep). I wondered if I would ever stop itching.
My elbows swelled up the 3x their normal size and my arms swelled as well (probably secondary infections from all the scratching)
I tried the household stuff first for dry skin like baby oil, etc but to no avail. I bought every over the counter remedy for itching. Every cream, ointment, etc. The most relief came from gold bond foot powder liberally placed on all parts that were itching and from vicks mentholatum (like used for cold symptoms) rubbed into the affected areas. These relieved the itch to some extent but not for a long time and the rash/blisters were getting worse.
I must have some deadly disease ! Every thing I read on the internet said these rashes can be organ failure, cancer, etc. but also could be scabies, bed bugs etc.(it sill doesn’t look like the photos on the internet)
I had just tried to relieve the itch with rubbing alcohol and decided to get a closer look. I used a 50x power stereo magnifier thats worn on the head to look at my skin and it looked like a few black insects (dead)but these certainly didn’t look like the pictures of scabies. These must be stray insects that just have fallen on my skin ? I never identified these bugs but the closest thing I found was a bug called a ’springtail’ but not real close to that even.
Ok so now it must be an insect infestation somehow. I read the ingredients of raid ant and roach killer and it contained permethrin so of course I had to try that (mistake). It also contains other stuff and burned my skin a bit without helping the cause.
Ok now for a more scientific approach. I looked on the internet and found that I could go to a doctor and get some poison to take internally or I could go the natural approach with tea tree or neem oils. Nobody heard of neem oil around here but there was a health store that had need soap. I did find tea tree oil at walmart so I tried that first. It seemed to help but the progress was (painfully) slow. I had let it go way too long. This will take some more drastic action. I wasn’t sleeping well and the itch is now accompanied with pain. If someone had told me if I scratched the itch I would die, I still could’t have stopped. I was covered on both arms, both legs, stomach and back. The only places not affected were hands, feet, neck and head/face. Also no genital infestation. (some of this goes against the normal findings of scabies infestation)
I ordered tea tree in 16 oz bulk from ebay since the 2 oz bottles from walmart were not going too far and it was getting expensive. At the same time I bought locally the neem soap which seemed to help a little and also placed an order for 16 oz of neem oil on ebay.
Meanwhile I was trying shampoo with selenium (leaving it on all night and coal tar shampoo (denorex) with little relief (it did seem to settle the itch for a little while. But the rash was all the time getting worse and moving into previously uninfected areas. (still no face/head or genital infestation)
By the time the neem arrived I was ready to kill myself (not that much of an exaggeration) This stuff has an odor that is not exactly pleasant but you will start to love it if it stops the spread and the itch. You will make no friends while using neem. It stinks. Wear it as long as you can at a time. The bugs hate it too.
I used a narrow cloth so I could apply it to my back by myself (like a towel using 2 hands behind the back) I kept this towel in a tupperware container so I could keep the odor contained and to keep it from drying out (adding a little neem each time to the towel) It slightly numbs the skin so some immediate relief is obtained.
Now here is the extreme cure. Do not blame me if you try this and it injures you or your skin/ lungs/ etc. This worked for me but it is very uncomfortable/painful at times
I bought 2 empty spray bottles. I filled one with 3% hydrogen peroxide (full strength) the other with household ammonia (full strength) the ammonia idea came from a friend with morgellons disease which ammonia is claimed to relieve itching.
Here is the daily ritual: First thing, jump in shower (yes naked lol) and spray everywhere that may be affected with the hydrogen peroxide. This is going to light you UP!!! I warned you it can hurt. This pain will last awhile (more like an intense itching) but as you get better it will sting less and less. This will help to prevent secondary skin infections. (it doesn’t seem to be painful to spray in the genital areas for some reason although I was expecting that, I guess without any infestation there, I was spared the pain)
If it gets too much to bear, the ammonia will shut down the burning. How? I don’t have a clue but it also works during the day/night to relieve itching and the relief lasts longer than anything else. It can’t be good to spray these things on your skin so use your own judgement and certainly do not inhale the spray!! Use the ammonia any time the itching gets unbearable during the day/night. It will lite you up a bit on it’s own if you have open sores/ scratches so just be aware!
Do the same thing at night but apply the neem (full strength) to all affected areas after the spray. If you have the opportunity to leave this neem on for a day or two, it will help even more. Unfortunately, you will need to wash this off to go out in public since it is a VERY STRONG odor. Keep in mind that these scabies pop up to mate every 3/5 days so you need to have a defense ready for them when they dig out. I do not think it kills them below the skin. I believe it may get a few that way but mostly it prevents them from reproducing somehow. Keep in mind: anything you wash in the washer with a ‘neemed’ article of clothing with smell like neem a bit too. It probably kills the scabies in all the clothes at the same time. It will stay in your skin a bit too. Even after washing your skin, you may detect a bit of that neem odor but I feel it continues to work a little that way.
AS they start to die off and I have fewer of them digging into my skin, I am now aware of the tracks that couldn’t previously be seen. Now in the form of dark spots and scars, these mostly take the form of a small bite mark with 3 or 4 bites in a small arc. Also now I am keenly aware of the pin-prick feeling of one of them either digging in or out since they are very isolated now. Keep track of where you are feeling these bites so you can concentrate on more treatment in those areas as soon as you can.
Now here is a side note of this neem treatment. I would wear this all night in bed and the effects of the neem oil transferred to the sheets, bed etc. I did not boil my sheets/covers I did not do anything special to anything except me. These bugs can’t live very long without a host and they will die instead of climbing on to you with neem on you. You will smell awful during this treatment but if you think you have scabies, do not wait as long as I did. I could have prevented lots of sleepless nights if I had tried this earlier.
I spent lots of money to try and get rid of my toenail fungus. It is gone now due to another use of this stuff. Every morning I take a q tip and put some neem on the base of my toenails. I let it soak in a few minutes and wear 2 pairs of socks all day. Even my little toenail that looked like it was going to come off due to the fungus is normal now .
I am still spraying myself with hydrogen peroxide every morning and still get an occasional reaction somewhere I have scratched but no more infected sores now. It has been 2 weeks of treatment and a very noticeable improvement now. I still feel a pin stick feeling every now and then but immediately use my cloth to treat that area (just in case)
The following is not for the squeamish:
As these bugs/eggs start coming up out of the skin, these little volcano looking sores develop. When they become hardened they will fester into a little scab of sorts. Some will have a black dot. Some will have an orange looking small scab. These will eventually drop off. I guess these are the bugs, eggs working up out of the skin. These may be still itchy but heed the warning! these can be very sore to the touch and if you are scratching and ‘catch’ a scab with a fingernail and pull it off, you will not like it very much but be sure to continue with the peroxide spray as that is what helped the most with clearing up my sores. If the sores are getting harder and flatter you are winning! Be aware of any clear or red blisters as these may be new infestations. If they are not scabbing, keep neeming.
I know this was an extreme description of my battle with scabies, but I received lots of help by searching the internet and it finally got rid of them so I wanted to help the next person if I could. Please use you own judgement as this is an extreme approach at getting rid of scabies.
I do not work for anybody that sells neem or tea tree oil and I don’t care where you buy it. Mine came from sun_pure_ botanicals on ebay and
I got the therapeutic pure version which means diluted to an extent. I am not sure if 100% pure (full strength) would be safe to use on the skin but the therapeutic was ok for me.
Jim S
To the people that claim permethrin doesnt work, if this is true then you are the first people in the world to have mites that can live throught permethrin treatments. In every case where people have claimed that permethrin has failed, it has been found they are using non-prescription lotions, which contain 1% permethrin or less, and this will almost ALWAYS fail. Tests have never shown a bug to be resistant to the recommended 5% formulation. Also it has a pretty good safety profile and personally i think your much better off just doing it, get rid of the bugs, rather than trying a bunch of “natural remedies” that fail. Permethrin may be synthetic but it is still the same as natural pyrethrins. I think any small risk is far outweighed by the desire to get rid of them. Also some people are claiming that permethrin is being pushed as a treatment by big pharmaceutical companys. I treated myself for $3, equivalent to US$1.50. I’d be very surprised if you can find a cheaper treatment
I have got a silk filled duvet and am wondering if anyone can recommend a way of getting rid of any mites that my be in it?
I thought about putting it in the freezer, does anyone know if this will work?
use the tea tree oil, save the jergens for those lonely nights…
i used the permethrin and washed all my sheets and cloths for a week in hot water and everyday i would rub down in jergens lotion that i put neem oil and tree oil in it and at nite would take a bath in 20 drops of tree oil all this got rid of the scabies also i steam cleaned all my furn.,curtains,kids toys.
Ived gone thru 4 treatments of that permetrin cream @40 dollars per consultation n $20 per cream I gotten for my whole family ived spent so much money on that stuff it dosent work… now im trying neem oil, with arm & Hammer I wash myself with it n with a spray bottle I spray myself at pinpoint spots where ived been itching @ nigth before bed.. I look all chalky but Im getting tons of imediate relief and Im going to add coconut oil so my skin dosent dry out.. for now regular suave mint lotion is doing th trick.(for th drying of my skin). Im starting to feel sligth relief