When to go to Urgent Care for Scabies
While it’s easy to recognize a case of scabies, a skin parasite that causes itching and mild infection on exposed areas of skin, you might not know when it’s time to visit urgent care. Usually caused by microscopic parasites known as Sarcoptes scabiei, common symptoms include intense itching and open sores. In some cases, patients can also experience rashes or irritation in their eyes. While there are prescription medications available, they are typically only given out with medical approval after first visiting your primary care physician or an urgent care center (UCMC). While there is no cure for scabies, doctors often prescribe creams that help get rid of parasitic organisms.
Scabies is a contagious skin disease caused by an infestation of mites. These small creatures burrow under your skin and cause intense itching, which leads people to scratch at their skin, exposing them to bacteria in turn. Most cases of scabies resolve on their own, but some can get so severe that they require medical attention. Because scabies doesn’t have symptoms—like body aches or fever—that are commonly associated with a trip to urgent care, it’s important to know when you should visit. Commonly used as a home remedy, tea tree oil may help kill scabies mites but should never be used without consulting your doctor first.
Scabies is a contagious skin disease caused by mites that burrow into your skin. The disease can be transmitted between people, though it’s more commonly spread through contact with an infected person’s clothes or furniture than directly from person to person. To treat scabies, you need medicine that can kill both adult mites and larvae; most over-the-counter medications are formulated only to kill adult mites and won’t effectively rid your body of all scabies symptoms. Your doctor will also probably want to verify that you have scabies before prescribing a treatment since many skin rashes look similar at first glance.
If you have a scabies infestation, you’ll want to contact your doctor or visit an urgent care center. While these parasites can spread through sexual activity and skin-to-skin contact, they don’t actually burrow into skin. Instead, they attach themselves to it and produce eggs that end up under fingernails or in seams of clothing—in other words, out of sight. Scabies outbreaks tend to be highly contagious; if one person in a household has an outbreak, everyone is at risk because no place is truly clean enough to prevent further spread.
