My daughter has scabies, which did not subside with medication. Please help.

Question

Hi doctor,

My daughter is 20 months old. She is a very active child. She was suffering from severe itching and rashes. The doctor diagnosed her with scabies. He prescribed HH mite cream for three days, and Atarax syrup thrice a day. On the rash, he asked us to apply Flutivate cream at night time. It has been 15 days since the treatment was started. The itching and rashes have gone down, but she is still itching once in a while. Now, she started itching her motion area too. Can you please tell me if there are further tests to be done, or medicines to be changed?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Please continue the Atarax syrup (Hydroxyzine) only if there is itching. You can repeat HH mite cream (Permethrin) if itching is significant. It has to be applied to the whole body below the neck. Avoid the head, face, neck, anal and vaginal areas. Also, avoid regions where the skin is scratched. Over the scratched regions, you can apply Flutivate (Topical Fluticasone). Clip the nails of the baby, before the application, as the eggs of the scabies mites are generally present in the nails, which might cause a reinfection. Apply at night, and wash properly the next morning. All the family members should undergo the same treatment, even if they do not have symptoms. All the bed sheets and pillow covers and clothes of the family members should be washed separately. Fresh bedsheets or pillow covers should be used the next morning. I suggest you use HH mite soap (Permethrin topical), till complete recovery after this application. Itching may continue even for a week or two after HH mite application. So, if you have already followed the above procedure during your previous application, you can just use soap for now and wait for recovery. If you have not followed the above procedure, you can repeat the application of cream.

For more information consult a pediatrician online