If you’ve been reading through my site, it’s safe to assume you know what scabies are.
However, what you might not know is there is a more aggressive form of scabies infection known as Norwegian Scabies.
What is Norwegian Scabies?
Also known as “crusted scabies”, probably due to the crusted appearance it causes on the skin, Norwegian Scabies could be described as regular scabies on steroids. Instead of ten or twenty mites under the skin, Norwegian scabies sufferers can have up to 5,000 mites in one small area of skin, such as a finger webbing or a single fold of skin.
The name comes from the initial discovery of the condition in Norway, during the 1800’s.
Norwegian scabies are usually quite easy to tell apart from regular scabies, the most obvious sign being the crusting of the skin. Regular scabies only leave burrows and sometimes red, pimple like spots. Norwegian scabies change the top layer of skin to a dry, raised, crusted appearance, and breaks may even appear in the skin.
Some good photos can be found on the DermnetNZ website.
Who is at risk of catching Norwegian scabies?
Norwegian scabies is rare in healthy adults and kids.
The following groups are the most at-risk:
- Elderly
- Dementia sufferers
- Down syndrome
- HIV and AIDS
- Leprosy
- Any immune system deficiency
Common places Norwegian scabies are found are areas of high-density living, such as retirement homes, homeless shelters and prisons.
What should you do if you have Norwegian Scabies?
The most important thing to do if you believe you have Norwegian scabies is to seek treatment immediately.
Norwegian scabies is highly contagious and can easily spread to otherwise healthy family members, co-workers and friends. If left untreated for some time, it can compound into other problems such as permanent scarring and staph infections. More importantly, if you spread it to someone who is sick or elderly, they are at much higher risk of complications. In very rare cases, vulnerable people have died from Norwegian scabies.
The good news is, treating Norwegian scabies is not complicated. A combination of aggressive Permethrin and Ivermectin treatments will cure Norwegian scabies in someone who is healthy. While technically my home treatment guide will work on Norwegian scabies, I highly recommend seeing a health professional as soon as possible. They will be able to diagnose your condition and let you know the proper protocol for your particular situation. If for any reason you can’t see a medical professional immediately, you can get started using home treatments. My guide to the most effective home scabies treatments can be found here.
Suffering from scabies? My free guide shows you the exact treatment I used to kill my scabies infestation in just a few days. Everything can be purchased from Amazon or your local supermarket or health store. Click here to check it out.
Hi Jon, I’ve got a few comments, it’s hard to concentrate on anything it seems theses days, exept scabies. I’ve dropped out of my social life pretty much a few yrs ago. It all started thinking back around 2009, yep, I bought a new house in the desert, was so thrilled, doing a lot of work myself, living in my horse stock trailer had cooler, BBQ, porta potty, boom box, solar lights, and running cold water. Taking a quick shower,(2min) if that before subs show up, believing conservation is good for the soul, while getting my very own place ready for final inspection,( really I was so exited) . Whether or not I picked up mites from this place, or brought them with me, I’m still not sure, but after a few months working in sun the back of my neck started to itch, at fisrt it was irratating, then I was digging at it, so I went to Dr, absolutely no dout it’s saboric derma, asked “was he sure, cause it sure feels like some kinda pest!”, Hands down he was positive, said there were things to make it comfortable but there’s no cure. Mind you my hands by now have cracks, and at every bend in my fingers they bled, and what looked like hangnails on every finger. Trying tar shampoos not doing a thing but ruining my hair. Then about every six or so months I’m heading in to see a Dr about this or that trying to convince one of them to say that I have something, that’s not, “me”, going on, what?, I wasn’t sure, but I was so sure that it was a parasite of some kind. That something invaded my body, and that, along with the Drs trying to convince me that it was me, that maybe I’d feel better if I was to see a Dr that I could just talk to. I swear that if I was crazy, it was the itching and the fact that dr.s would find it so easy to blame my over active imagination, tell me I’m being paranoid, ask me very suspiciously if I’m doing drugs, ask if I’m finding little green men under my bed! This is all true, but the one thing any Dr I went to would not conclude, indulge, investigate, take me seriously, or do any scrapings! BUT they would go out on a limb and declare( No, it’s not Scabies”) the reason was clear they’d say, look at your hands, there’s no webbing. Case closed try and relax and don’t talk yourself into itching any more, it’ll go away if you find something else to occupy your time. I ask anyone that has scabies if you can just ignore it? And if so, for how long?! Like training a pet, you learn what not to do so you don’t get negative behavior, I tried to never mention anything to anyone about itching, strange skin behavior of any kind, or about the very obvious problem that I was isolating to the point of missing family get together, begging off going out, getting together, or even having friends over, all I wanted to do was work at home, didn’t want to go to bed either, I’d stay up till I fell asleep in a chair or couch, but lying in bed for some reason bugged me, I wanted lights on, the brighter the better. Writing this all now really pisses me off all over again at the medical professionals, because when it comes to scabies, in my opinion, they are mostly incompetent to be seeing any patient seeking information on what a rash is that isn’t poison oak, or herpes! They ( the 20 + Drs I saw) for the most part don’t care about they’re ignorance to the point they’d rather let you walk out of your appt feeling let down, rather then putting some peroxide or tea tree oil on a cotton ball and rubbing a spot and wait 5 mins to see if there’s any kind of reaction. Hopefully if it is scabbies you could start asap on all of the treatments that you are creatively, with care, inventing these recipes, not only with the understanding of having gone through this diabolical debacle, the fight of all fights to get your life back, is to be commended for the time you have spent helping others, in the all circumference sphere of hell scabbies puts people in, can understand the why, but you’ve stood up to enlightening and given space for me, us, anyone going thru this, good, sound, advice, that will actually work. My hats off to you for filling the void where Drs drop the ball, and the barr, in my opinion, failing to remember they’re supposed to be practicing medicine, not practicing being a Dr…., So my other comment is about my situation, I’d have to guess is crusted scabbies, I was, still am for the most part a healthy 55 yr old, in the 10 years of dealing with what I’d have to say periodical out burst of some skin issue, to trying a new nair product on my legs last summer(OMG), I woke something up in my skin that was violently fighting back at me, blood dripped from ever pore from knees down. Then the next morning all over my legs I had patterns of 3 or 4 bumps, in a swoosh line, then scratches all over, looked like a cat attacked me. The scratches then broke open and seamed deep, went to a clinic and finally I was told scabbies, maybe a few crusts.. since then I’ve gone to 7 more Drs to help me, I finally went off label, permethrin, ivermectin, moxidectin, tea tree, neem, clove, turmeric, benzaRid, ect, ect, ect. For 11 months, and I would bet I have a high volume still. I’m dealing with this and I’d have to say Norwegian scabbies, crusted scabbies treatment is not so easy, not at all. For one thing you could be standing right next to me, in sun light, and you would not see crusts on me, no all over give away, the crusts show up after you’ve been in a bleach bath for an hour, or a shower for a hour using soap that softens your skin to the point you can scrub down a layer of film that you can only feel after you get it soft, you have to scrape it off then do treatment, that takes care of one layer, there’s more, I feel like a conveyer belt of scabbies, I can rub my skin with permethrin til my skin is raw, and they’re still coming out! 11 months! Now my dog has this, how to explain to the vet, ” I gave my dog mange” so her( my gsd ) do the treatments together, there’s no way to stop her from being with me, and no way I could give her up, so her and I ( we Don’t look like incredible hulk, more like boop n bo) hit the shower room her with her treatment me with mine, and we watch Perry Mason and I tell her how will do this n that once we’re both better , bug free. If by the Grace of God we beat this I’m taking her to the beach, where she can go play in the water rather than being beast of burden. Keep up your graciously given knowledge, me and Hannah appreciate knowing we’re not alone in this fight. Good luck and don’t give up to everyone going through this, it’s hard, but Jon you help, thank you, sincerely Diane