Is scabies contagious?

Yes.

In fact, that’s exactly how you got it in the first place.

If you have scabies right now, it was contracted externally. It is not something borne within your own body.

The question now is, how to treat it successfully and stop it from spreading further?

After all, every person you spread it to increases the chances that it will eventually come back around to you or your loved ones.

First, it helps to understand exactly how scabies spreads.

The main way scabies spreads is through skin-to-skin contact. Contact needs to be prolonged, usually a quick hug or handshake will not be enough time for a mite to jump from body to body and burrow in. This is why scabies is most often spread between sexual partners, sports partners (think wrestling, rugby, gym partners etc), and close family members. Any other situation where you have prolonged skin to skin contact, such as a massage, also puts you at risk.

Another way scabies can spread is from used clothing, towels, furniture etc. This is much rarer than skin-to-skin transmission, but it is still a possibility (if you do have scabies, make sure to treat your home and living area properly as well).

Do you have scabies?

If you’ve been diagnosed with scabies, your first priority is to treat it. Scabies does not go away by itself. It must be treated or it will simply spread and get worse.

The best way to treat scabies is to use a combination of both natural and prescription treatments, as this will hit the mites from all angles. Scabies is resilient and you want to attack with as many weapons as possible. If you have not yet read my Ultimate Guide To Treating Scabies, I highly suggest reading it now. It is the exact same treatment I used to kill my own scabies, and all the ingredients can be found easily on Amazon or your local health store.

Your next priority is to avoid spreading the mites to other people. We already know scabies is contagious, so what can we do to stop it infecting others in our community? There are several things you can do:

1. Avoid skin-to-skin contact with anyone. This means your kids, your partner, work colleagues, and any other situation where you might be in skin-to-skin contact. You should do this for the duration of your treatment.
2. Quarantine your clothes and sheets. You should only wear your clothes once, then stash them in a large garbage bag and quarantine them for at least 72 hours. In general, mites cannot survive off the body for more than 3 days. The same goes for your bed sheets. It is arduous to be changing sheets every night for a week, but it is a necessary task to rid your life of scabies. After your treatment is over, wash all your quarantined clothes in hot water.
3. Avoid crowded places where you may be at risk of spreading. This includes crowded public transport and other gathering places like bars and concerts.
4. If possible, you should have all family members treated at the same time as you, as scabies symptoms do not show immediately. Scabies symptoms generally take around 4-6 weeks to show, so you never know who is already infected. The last thing you need is scabies showing up again on another family member a few weeks down the line.

Hope that helps, and best of luck with your treatment!

Remember, if you’re suffering from scabies, be sure to check out my ultimate treatment plan. Everything can be found at your local supermarket or health store. You can click here to check it out now.