Scabies is a contagious parasitic infection caused by a mite. The female mites, following reproduction, penetrate the skin, dig a tunnel and deposit their eggs, after which they die. It spreads quickly, especially in very crowded environments such as hospitals, schools, barracks etc. Contagion can be caused by prolonged direct contact with people who are already infected, by sexual intercourse, by exchange of underwear, garments or contaminated objects, or by sleeping on sheets that were infested previously by an infected person.
Scabies causes intense itching, usually at night or when you are hot. Itching causes scratching injuries in the navel and genitals areas, on the breasts, in the front folds of the armpits, on the hands, in the spaces between one finger and another, on the front of the wrists and on elbows. They do not usually appear on the face. The infection manifests with pearl-shaped blisters at the end of a stretch of thickened skin that indicates the subcutaneous “tunnels” dug by the female mite in the stratum corneum.
A condom will not prevent contagion. If you find small, shiny blisters that are very itchy following casual sex, go to the gynecologist or women’s health center. The therapy of choice will be an antiparisitic drug, which must be prescribed by a gynecologist. Healing is quick and complete if treatment is timely.
