Treating scabies with ice is an interesting one.
For a start, it hasn’t been researched all that much.
We do know that scabies are sensitive to both heat and humidity. However, the other side of the equation is a bit of a mystery. Can scabies die from being too cold?
Let’s take a look.
One study that did touch on the subject was this one by Arlian and Morgan in 2017.
Here’s what they had to say:
“Freezing might be an option to kill scabies mites in items such as stuffed and hard toys, small pillows, and bedding. Freezing female var. canis mites at -25 °C and 50% RH for 1.5 h resulted in 100% mortality. After 1 h of freezing, 23% of test mites survived but they did not initiate penetration when placed back on the host skin. It is not known how long these mites can survive at -15 °C to -17 °C, the temperature of a typical home freezer.”
So the good news is, scabies do die from the cold. If you freeze scabies mites for 1.5 hours at -25 °C, you should have a 100% mortality rate.
However, as noted in the study, most home freezers do not go that cold. Most freezers sit around -15 °C, which is more than cold enough to make a few ice cubes and keep your meat on ice.
What does this mean for scabies treatment?
First of all, using the cold is almost certainly not going to be an effective treatment for scabies on your body.
Why?
Because you will need to keep your entire body at -25 °C for 1.5 hours, and quite simply that is not possible for you to do without dying.
Secondly, just because you’re in cool temperatures, doesn’t mean that temperature will translate to your body. Your body is actually very effective at regulating your body temperature, so even when you’re in sub-zero temperatures, your body is able to keep you at the standard human range of around 37 °C
Even by using ice baths or cryotherapy to treat scabies, to get the temperature under your skin to -25 °C and keep it there is, quite simply, impossible.
That means for treating scabies, you’re likely to have much better results by using the standard treatments of permethrin and ivermectin, as well as proven natural treatments.
However, you can use ice to treat other objects, such as clothing, shoes, and other items. Since we know scabies mites die after being exposed to cold temperatures for a certain amount of time, here’s what you can do:
- First, check to make sure you freezer is able to reach temperatures of -25 °C.
- Put your clothes, shoes and any other small belongings into a plastic bag.
- Put them in the freezer for at least 1.5 hours.
After that, all scabies in those items should be dead.
Remember, similar approaches can also be used if you wish to treat scabies with heat instead.
Dealing with scabies?
If you are currently dealing with scabies, it’s important to give yourself the best chance of recovering as soon as possible.
Scabies spreads quickly and if you do not get it under control fast, it can become much harder to treat than it should be.
To begin your treatment, I highly recommend reading my guide on treating scabies. It covers all the treatments necessary, the reasons why you need to do them, and how to do it properly to ensure your recovery.
Wishing you back to full health soon!
-Jon
Hello Jon,
I have really enjoyed reading your blogs, very thorough. I can tell you’ve dealt with this and the website is really comprehensive. Thank you for sharing like this, in fact many times was going to do the same as I agree with your mission this illness is a nasty and highly under researched topic considering how pervasive it is and life damaging in so many ways.
I hope you don’t mind my long comment as I share my story and experiences, I thought it might help add to the mission while at the same time giving kudos to your excellent research!
I have had the itch mite 3 times in my life, at 17 due to being in close contact while wrestling in high school (had it for a year and suffered with many misdiagnosis that cost me confidence, sleepless nights, and forced me to even leave school). Permethrine and I think lots of swimming (chlorine) eventually cleared it up for me, and I didn’t have to deal with it again for another 20 years. I was exposed to someone with crusted scabies (2013), and now here I am again (2019), with no idea how I caught this thing.
Thankfully its true what they say, if you’ve had this before your body is on high alert when it happens again. This time I think I caught it when I only had one or two burrows I could see and the itch happened right away. As a side note, Interestingly all of those times the same kinds of emotional and life circumstances were in front of me (perhaps a deeper reason behind why some people catch scabies and some don’t). On 2 occasions of being infected with this condition I was with the same partner who never did catch it or show any symptoms at all. Same as this time (2019) she shows no symptoms and no itching.
Upon speaking with my Naturopath they made an interesting observation that only certain people are more prone to the mite, some have suggested its immune responses, others say its genetic make-up (probably a bit of both). There have even been some in my research whom have made a decent argument that its a push to change lifestyle habits. This experience my 3rd time having it, has not only prompted me to write you and share my experiences, but also has had me leaning into the research side that is more emotional and spirtitual in nature (if that makes sense?) Like the ‘reason why’.
I don’t know if you have come across this in your research, but have you found it odd, that no one knows where Scabies started? Like does it come from the woods, the ground, who is the first to catch it in an outbreak, and why? These questions are barren of answers online, but they hold an interesting key, which my 3rd experience with scabies has taught me.
This time around (3rd, 2019) I caught the mite right away. I went right into treatment mode (obsessive cleaning, making a pathway, tracking the source, treating all fabrics, laundry, clean car etc…the whole nine yards.)
I have been able to slow it down, and almost eradicate it, but my questions is, if I caught this so early unlike people getting it for the first time and went on aggressive attack using salt baths and permethrin, and every other natural powerhouse we have..why 2 weeks in am I still struggling to stave it off? For real I am in my 3rd week and the bottoms of my feet and palms itch like I still have it as I type this.
I started attacking on day 1-4, would I not have gotten every single bugger by now? I’ve permethrined 3 times in that time, and I salt bath with 3lbs of salt a night 30 minutes with a pumice stone too on all skin and on bottoms of feet etc.
I clean religiously, and wash everything everyday (Hot/Hot) and have isolated everything. How can I, 3 weeks in, still feel like they are trying to make a comeback? Is this really just the reaction from my skin? If it was my skins reaction wouldn’t it be all day instead of only getting worse as the day progresses at certain times of the day (1-2pm, 6-9pm, 11pm-4am like scabies do)
If on a normal healthy person there is only at most 15 mites as they say, there is no way they could’ve survived what I have done. I change clothes 3x a day, proper wash and dry, I use salt sprays and vinegar on all surfaces, my hands, my skin, yet I can still feel them in the usual spots (bottoms of feet, sides of feet, waist, behind knee, palms of hands) And all at the same time? I also saw new burrows it just doesn’t make sense.
I was hoping in your experience you might have an answer that would enlighten me.
Some tips for further research;
I use everything on your website, awesome info, and you really lay it out well. I hope everyone takes your advice seriously because you have to in order to recover fully from this.
A tip I rarely see spoken about but one that actually killed my scabies the 2nd time (2013) is SALT. Good ol’fashioned fully loaded salt baths.
I get relief from permethrine no doubt about it, and I think it does real good. But I have to also admit (and I’ve had this 3x decades apart) that permethrin alone would have left me still with Scabies.
I found a blog years ago the 2nd time I had this, it was 10 pages deep into Google. It was about “Salt”. Why you never read about it or anyone ever even mentions it is beyond me (almost seems conspiracy considering how pervasive this scabies problem is, lots of money in drugs and poor advice that keeps sickness going).
Back to salt…
The 2nd time I had scabies (2013) I fought for 3 months, used every remedy online every one, all the ones on this blog and some of my own making along with leave of absence from work just to fight this thing.
Finally I found a blog on salt and someone jumping into a piping hot bath of 2lbs+ sea salt or regular salt and they got instant relief, and the itching progessively subsided and the burrows healed quickly. So I was desperate and tried it, the reasoning made sense, salt is the most ancient cure for this kind of thing (think dead sea, nothing can live in it at all).
Salt is one of the oldest remedies on earth for bacteria and parasites as it dries out the exoskeleton of Mites and spiders family creatures. So I did some homework on the viability of salt before trying it. Literally the first time I did it, instant relief, not a cure, but instant relief, and the burrows came to the top that I wasn’t seeing yet, all the news ones opened up. After a week of that combo’d with permethrine I was finally cured, (2013).
Fast forward to today (2019).
I have been using a sprayer of full saline solution of salt (until it won’t dissolve anymore), and apple cider vinegar 50/50 with water. I have been using this in combination with Sea Salt and regular salt baths (sea salt gets expensive). I spray this on and rub it in, it works instantly for the itch, and appears to actually keep the infection from growing or spreading too far.
I have done this combo with permethrine treatment and the aggressive cleaning program, but this time it has taken more effort to eradicate than at the other two times, I am surprised by the resiliency of this thing.
I would love to hear your thoughts on salt, the origins of this mite, and in your opinion do you think salt is a useful remedy in your experience?
Once again, thank you for the wonderful website! A great service you’re doing.
Richard
Thanks Richard. Never heard of people using salt, is interesting, will look into it. If permetherin isn’t working well, I would say either it isn’t scabies, or it’s a mite with some kind of immunity. Also possibly your skin isn’t absorbing it very well. Could be a number of things.
I have become infested with I believe the crusted scabies for the first time in my life and words cannot express how absolutely disgusting I feel and emotionally drained and progressively consumed I have become in trying to rid myself of them. I have had them now for four months and have gone to several different medical facilities such as, my primary doctor, dermatologists, online virtual appointment, and to two different hospital emergency rooms. I have another appointment with a dermatologist who specializes in scabies in 5 days. I have not been taken seriously about this invasion of parasites all over my body and been diagnosed with skin conditions, cellulitis and contact dermatitis/atopic dermatitis and prescribed cortisol cream and anti itch pills. I even brought in samples of the scabies and the medical staff had no interest. My first medical appointment I had was the virtual phone appointment. I uploaded pics to the website and a doctor called me within 20 minutes. I received the best care and prescribed the correct medications all from having a conversation with the doctor that validated my thoughts about the cause of my skin condition without actually examining me. Yet, I received poor quality care from doctors who could physically see that I clearly have scabies, if they would’ve just taken the time to inspect one little area. Or even gave consideration to the diagnosis from the virtual doctor. I have found myself many times sobbing and without hope. I have used the permethrin cream twice and applied the left over topical to my most infected areas days following initial application. I have taken the ivermectin pills and resorted to home remedies such as, baking soda baths, epsom salt baths, applied neem oil, clove oil, tea tree shampoo and wash, aloe vera gel, soaked my hands & feet for hours to try to squeeze them out, left welts and bruises with a child’s wrist slap bracelet, used my amope skin sander, vacuum hose, and even lit a needle on fire and hot poked them! I have videoed them venturing around in my eyes and body. I am mostly shocked by how they just won’t die! Even when I’m sanding or tweezing them they are incredibly strong and hold onto my skin so tightly causing pain that has me shaking because it feels as if chards of glass are being slowly ripped out of my skin. More time passes the more painful they become when they do not like anything I do they bite me repeatedly. The heat causes them to really bite it to me and neem oil , oh they cause a fire burning sensation that leaves my skin red and welted and extremely painful ! I have no idea how I caught these and listed as a way is to be intimate with a person or share a towel, clothing, or a bed with an infected person. And I have not done any of those listed for years now. I have stayed at a hotel and sat in furniture that is not mine. I make a joke about my condition saying “ Half dead woman walking” which is exactly how I feel. I’m not supposed to be infested with bugs/parasites until I’m laid to rest. I have researched methods to kill them and if anyone has been successful at cryogenic therapy, sauna internal heat , chlorine baths or jacuzzi/pool treatments please share because I am exhausted and ready to end this by all means necessary. This is not a lifestyle that I am ever going to be able to enjoy or fully function as I generally do nor do I want to keep trying!
I want to say these were not scabies mites as you cannot see them with the naked eye. I hope you were able to be healed. please give an update when possible.
I suggest putting a surfactant, like dish detergent, into the salt bath. Insects cannot survive water with detergent.