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Why Do I Still Have Scabies Symptoms After Treatment?

September 1, 2022 by Jon 7 Comments

One of the most common questions/comments I get on this site is about symptoms persisting after treatment.

Perhaps you have done your permethrin/ivermectin/scabies mask following all the guidelines, but two or three weeks pass and you’re still getting signs of scabies.

For example, you may have spots still appearing after scabies treatment, or the itch is still there, or you just have a “crawling” feeling on your skin.

The good news is, these are all perfectly normal symptoms.

It is very normal for you to have persisting scabies symptoms up to four weeks after treatment.

There are several reasons for this.

First, if you’ve treated properly, you should have killed all the mites and eggs under your skin. However, these dead mites and eggs are still under your skin.

It will take some time for your body to expel them.

This is where the itch comes from.

Sometimes, it can take 1-2 months before your body has managed to expel all the dead matter.

The second reason is, these dead mites and eggs are an irritant, and this can cause rashes to break out on your skin.

If you have rashes that look like scabies rashes/eczema/allergies, that’s likely what is happening. Your body is reacting to having foreign matter under your skin’s surface and is flaring up.

This is no different to when your skin is exposed to other allergens and you break out in hives or rashes.

The third reason is, the treatments you use for scabies can indeed be quite harsh on the skin.

For example, permethrin is insectiside. This is technically a poison. If you’ve used permethrin properly, you’ve coated your entire body in it. Obviously lathering your body in a poisonous substance and leaving it on for eight hours is not good for your skin, and when we use permethrin we need to do this twice in seven days!

Your skin is not used to this, and obviously doesn’t like it. It is normal for your skin to react while it’s trying to normalise.

The final reason you might notice scabies symptoms after your treatment is your mental state.

Scabies is very stressful and mentally taxing! Imagine having parasites under your skin that you can’t even see affecting your sleep, your relationships, your day-to-day life for weeks on end!

What this can do is make you very paranoid about your skin condition, to the point where every little rash or bump on your skin gives you anxiety or worry.

A small rash on your hand that you wouldn’t even think twice about on a normal day, can almost give you a panic attack after you’ve just been through scabies.

“Oh my goodness are they back? Did I not get rid of them!?”

All of these factors above can lead to your body having rashes and scabies symptoms persisting for some weeks after your treatment.

Some people call this “post scabies syndrome”, or “post scabies anxiety”.

Just remember that if you’ve done the treatment properly, you almost certainly have nothing to worry about.

Try not to stress, the mites and eggs are dead. If you need to, you can do a body mask again just for peace of mind.

You’ve done the hard work. Just let your body find equilibrium again and come back to normal.

About Jon

Jon is a rogue scabies researcher who wants to banish scabies from this planet. He also likes playing Fortnite and eating carrot cake, usually at the same time.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nataly says

    October 27, 2022 at 1:55 pm

    Can you keep permethrin on almost all day?

    Reply
    • Natalie Peters says

      October 27, 2022 at 6:43 pm

      So you’re saying it’s normal to have new bumps after using permethrin.
      ?
      I used permethrin solo oct 11.
      Oral ivermectin a week or 2 later.
      Then permethrin and oral ivermectin just last night (oct 26 night time). I was assuming no new bumps was meant it was gone? So then I should still be getting new bumps even tho EVERYTHING IS GONE?

      Reply
    • Jon says

      November 13, 2022 at 7:47 am

      No. 8 hours max is recommended.

      Reply
      • Tim says

        January 3, 2024 at 7:19 pm

        Those meds don’t work in older people with weakened immune systems. I’ve used permethrin over 40 times Ivermectin for 4 weeks straight. Even old Deadly Lindane on my skin for 24/7 for weeks should be dead 💀 injected insecticide anal tried everything possible. Still infected 8 years later. Even threw my entire house away. Left with new clothes after bathing in my truck which sat for 2 weeks without no one in it. Stayed at different places every day for weeks nothing worked. I’m 45. Had them at 17 wasn’t told anything treated with leftover permethrin in 1997. A quarter of a tube didn’t wash blankets nothing cleaned and they were dead 💀 anyway. They have become immune to the medications. It was already seen with 30% immunity happening as early as the year 1999.

        Reply
  2. Natalie says

    October 29, 2022 at 5:02 am

    Thanks you’re so much more reassuring than my husband. God it’s like your website and articles just calm me honestly. Everytime I start to get upset and worried about it I come back to your site!! Thank you again for basically reassuring me in a way, ALSO your body mask recipe! Also making videos too. Anyways, thanks babe, your Texas girl.

    Reply
  3. Cody says

    August 3, 2023 at 4:37 am

    I found the mental battle right up there with the physical battle. The thoughts of these things living in your body is not easy to battle. Thanks for your posts!
    I found a great thing I needed was running. It would get my blood pumping my thoughts off the mites and make me feel way better mentally.
    And whether it made me itch less or was just a placebo that’s what I need.
    I honestly was not ready for the mental battle and it’s a long one!
    No hugs from my family. Trying to quarantine to keep them from getting this brutal infestation.
    I’ve had issues getting medication which has also been a mental game.
    Try to get people to support you mentally, you need it!
    Physically sorry from the infestation I actually feel great. My body has responded well to the natural treatments but like John says it’s a long haul, don’t give up!

    Reply
  4. Debra Overby Weber says

    March 19, 2024 at 6:31 am

    I was diagnosed with scabies 3/17. I took 12mg Ivermectin that day. I used the pyrermtin (? Spelling) on 3/18 except on head,vagina,rectum
    Tonight I woke up with additional areas , ?new areas on stomach, and arms,face.

    I woke up with crawling sensation in .torso,arms face. below eyelid.
    Is this normal?

    Reply

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