(HealthDay News) -- Scabies, a skin condition caused by a burrowing mite, is very contagious and can be spread through families and classrooms, the Mayo Clinic explains.
Symptoms of scabies may include itching, especially at night, and irregular bumps on the skin that may occur between the fingers, under armpits, around the waist, along the inside of wrists and on the shoulder blades.
Since scabies usually affects many people at once, physicians recommend treating entire families or groups. Treatment includes medications such as permethrin and crotamiton. The itching, however, can last for several weeks.
To ensure scabies doesn't return, patients should wash their clothes and linens in hot water, and put items that cannot be washed in places that are far away from the daily living space to starve the mites.
