my grandson has scabies and my daughter is mortified

No need to feel dirty! Head lice are the same - they prefer clean heads - but tend to carry stigma. I had them more than once as a child as did both my children. Thankfully none of us has had scabies but good luck with the treatment and go back to the GP if no improvement soon.

Many years ago my son aged 9 had ringworm, the reason being that he and his chum had been bareback riding the heifers in the fields nearby!!!!

There is form of dermatitis called hepitaformis that is similar. It is a reaction to gluten.

IMHO, the worst of the lot as regards contagious childhood infections HAS to be Impetigo - gosh, that spreads like an out-of-control bush fire.

Modern stuff can treat it OK, no problem, but it just moves so darn fast.

We all had to be treated going back to the late 80s for it. The ex was working at the time on a job where he was stripping back old window frames treating and restoring them which is where we got them from. The whole family had to be treated twice it was a nightmare. Needless to say though he enjoyed the restoration job he quickly handed in his notice and left finding another job

My daughter was told she had scabies as a teenager and was prescribed some cream. When I came home I took one look at her rash and said that is NOT scabies ! I took her to a different Dr who confirmed I was right. She added that had my daughter used this cream it wouldve burnt her skin off, I was furious ... so def get a 2nd opinion.

I came up in a terrible rash and was diagnosed with scabies I am OCD when it comes to hygiene I was shocked but used the treatment and steamed my carpets mattresses and washed everything in hot water. After weeks it wouldn't clear and I was given more treatment the doctor also questioned my hygiene suggesting I had a home visit!! . I finally went o see another doc who said it wasn't anything like scabies and if it had of been it would have spread across my love ones . He said it was stress related Eczema after the loss of my husband and a virus I had suffered. He said that the scabies treatment had irritated the condition. I am treating it with non steroid cream brought on line and now managing it. If it doesn't clear get a 2nd opinion hope she feels better soon.

Thank you Gransnetters so much for your welcome advice. My daughters tells me this morning she has carried out the second treatment last night and bandaged him were he tends to scratch the most and he is feeling a lot better today. I will definitely advise a second opinion if he gets no better over the next couple of days though I believe itching can continue for weeks after treatment. My poor daughter is washing and cleaning like a woman possessed.

I was told by someone at my then surgery that patients cannot be referred to an NHS dermatologist unless they have had treatment for scabies.

I had an odd scattered rash (I now know what it is but that’s another story), and they said scabies but I had researched rashes it the nth degree and was quite sure that it had none of the hallmarks of scabies.

Nevertheless they refused any other diagnosis or help unless I did the treatment. I felt I had to and consequently suffered a terrible allergic response to Derbac and was so upset with myself for being essentially blackmailed into using it. I was left with a whole body fiery rash which took weeks to die down. The response at the surgery was to suggest a second application?. I moved to a different practice.

You can be ott spotless but if the infection is there then yes you can catch it.One of my children many years ago went on a camping holiday that had onsite toilets and showers. Came back with scabies.t.

I had his several years ago. I was given a loin by the drs. I had to paint my whole body with it, no inch left out and I had to do the whole family too. Wash sheets and towels on a hot wash. Each keeping their own towels etc for own use. Thankfully the stuff wasn’t purple is all I can say

All children (and subsequently some parents) pick up ‘stuff’.
I’ll always remember when my two were at primary school, one of the mums thought herself and her family slightly better than the rest of us, and always stood apart from the rest of us.
We stood at the top of the drive waiting for our ‘littlies ‘ when the small boy belonging to this particular Mum came haring up the path, waving his letter, and shouting, Mum, Mum, I’ve got nits!!
Nits and Scabies are not ‘choosy’ who they visit!

And fleas and bed bugs .

My son had a severe rash on the backs of his hands which the doctor said was scabies. It got much worse with the ointment she gave him and we saw a second doctor who immediately recognised it as psoriasis. It took a while to clear up with the new ointment and he still has to use it regularly, but it keeps it at bay.

After GS had a better day yesterday after his second treatment, he had a terrible night last night and hardly slept. The hot weather is obviously not helping and my DD is convinced his rash is getting worse, though she hopes it may just be spots showing up more because treatment has worked. However she plans to take him back to the doctor asap for a scraping to confirm it is scabies. Thanks again for your welcome advice and experiences.

As I understand it the first place scabies shows up is between the fingers, that’s where they love to burrow, also around the wrists.

Had it on my back as a student. He could have picked it up on a bus or train. Calamine lotion for itch. Old fashioned but effective and a small dose of antihistamine at night. Get better soon.

Yes get a second and even third opinion if neccessary- my son gets a rash every year but his is just sweatrash-every time he gets hot,this pale itchy bumpy rash erupts,but dissapears when temparatures cool down! And when i was small(bout 4-5) the doc doing pre-school medicals told my mum i had impetigo-again,she was mortified,thinking it was a 'dirt'problem,i remember having awful foul-smelling creams,which didnt work- but it turns out i actually had psoriasis!which is more 'stress'-related-and yes it still flares up occasionally,only these days we know what it is-and how to treat it.Get another check,or a skin scraping done to be certain.

When my uncle was in a care home on two occasions residents returned from hospital stays with scabies and the whole home had to go into shut down while residents had to strip get treated all over with cream then put on the same clothes they had just taken off and 24 hours later have a bath to wash it off and get into clean clothes. While they were in the bath staff would strip their beds and remake them and give the room a thorough clean. Distressing for residents and extra work for staff.

It was an excellent home with low turnover of staff and they could have done without it. Why the scabies could not have been noticed and treated while the resident was in hospital I do not know.

One of my children got it when he was about 10 . He was treated with a cream from the GP , we boiled his bedding etc and it got rid of it . We were not advised to treat anyone else in the house unless they developed a rash . It has nothing to do with cleanliness .

Well the original poster hasn’t posted for 12 days so presumably the little chap is all over it now