Scabies is spreading explosively in Finland – People don’t recognize the symptoms – 2024-02-23 22:46:26

Scabies caused by a tiny mite is a nasty problem that is not easy to recognize. Last year, 37,000 cases of scabies were diagnosed in health outpatient care. At the beginning of the year, 4,000 diagnoses have already been made. Not all sufferers have a diagnosis.

The most obvious symptom of scabies is intense itching, but in the dry winter air the skin itches easily even without scabies.

When should scabies be suspected, THL chief physician Leif Lakoma?

– In practice, the only way to determine scabies infection is a doctor’s diagnosis, says Lakoma.

– If the skin itches, the cause is probably something other than scabies. Self-care should not be carried out solely on the basis of symptoms. Due to severe itching, you should see a doctor to find out the cause of the itching. This way you can find the right treatment for it.

The passages dug by the scabies mite are one of the symptoms of infection. Scabies spreads even without symptoms. Reader’s photo

It is contracted without symptoms

Scabies is already contagious in the asymptomatic stage. Symptoms usually appear 3-8 weeks after infection.

The tick, about 0.3–0.5 millimeters in size, lives in a tunnel it digs under the skin, where it lays eggs for the next generation of ticks.

The main symptom of scabies is excruciating itching, which occurs especially in the evenings and at night. As a result of the itchy plague, scratch marks, small blisters and pimples appear on the skin. The skin may become inflamed as a result of scratching.

It is difficult to see the tick with the naked eye, but you can see corridor-like marks on the skin.

Scabies is most commonly seen between the fingers, armpits, palms, lower abdomen, wrists, ankles, forearms and genital areas. In small children, passages dug by female ticks can also be seen on the soles of their feet.

If the doctor finds an infection in the immediate vicinity, scabies treatment should be done.

After a diagnosis of syphilis, everyone living in the same household and for example girlfriends and boyfriends should be treated at the same time, even if there are no symptoms.