Scabies are tiny mites that commonly infest the skin. They are highly contagious. Children are the most vulnerable, but anyone can get them. Whenever a child develops intense itching, especially at night, the possibility of scabies should be considered. The adult female mite is pinpoint in size, barely visible to the unaided eye. She has four sets of legs on a round body covered with brown spines and bristles. When she lands on someone’s skin, she burrows underneath the outer layer within 30 minutes — usually without being noticed. Every day she extends her burrow by up to 1/4 inch horizontally under the surface of the skin. Along the way, she lays little oval eggs, and also leaves many tiny fecal droppings. She will survive for about a month, and then die within the burrow. The eggs hatch 3-5 days after being laid. The little larvae squirm through the burrow back towards the skin surface. They reach maturity in 2-3 weeks. They mate as soon as they find partners, and the pregnant females each start new burrows.
Scabies like to burrow in the web spaces of the fingers, the creases of the wrists, the armpits, the ankles, the feet, the genitals, and the nipples. They can occur anywhere on the body, although the face and neck are usually spared. Usually the person doesn’t suspect any problem for about four weeks, while the mites burrow and reproduce, without causing any symptoms. Eventually, an allergic response develops in the host person. (If a healthy person has had scabies before, the allergic response begins within minutes, rather than weeks. On the other end of the time spectrum, if a new host’s immune system is supressed, the allergic response may take months rather than weeks). Itching is caused by this normal allergic reaction to the mites, the eggs, and the feces. Itching may be quite intense, and often appears before any visible sign of infestation. Soon, 1-2 mm raised red bumps begin to appear (they often look like pimples). Sometimes they are crusted, scaling, or ulcerated.
Occasionally there are blisters or hives. Threadlike burrows are sometimes visible under the skin. After several weeks or several months, though, a widespread eczema-like rash may camouflage the original problem. The scabies rash is sometimes confused with drug reactions, eczema, seborrhea, chicken pox, and other viral rashes. Most cases of scabies are completely eradicated with a single overnight application of 5% permethrin cream (Elimite cream), available by prescription. It is the preferred agent to treat scabies all the way down to 2 months of age (more than 30% of scabies are now resistant to Eurax lotion, an earlier treatment). Elimite should be massaged into the skin from the scalp all the way to the soles of the feet. It should be thoroughly rinsed off 8-14 hours later. All family members, baby-sitters, and close physical contacts should be treated. Usually a 2-oz tube will treat one adult. Lindane is an effective alternative treatment, but I don’t recommend its use. It works and it is cheaper, but it is also far more toxic.
In pregnant women and infants under 2 months, a smelly sulfur ointment is often used nightly for 3 to 5 days. Spread of the mites is usually directly from person to person, but the mites can live with no host for 48 to 72 hours. For this reason, clothing and bedding should be washed in hot water. When this is not possible, items should be left in a sealed plastic bag for 7 to 10 days. Even after successful treatment, the dead mites, dead eggs, and fecal material will remain in the skin for 2 to 4 weeks (until the skin grows out). Thus, intense itching is expected to continue. Antihistamines (especially at night), topical steroid creams, and the liberal use of moisturizers will often help. Sometimes antibiotics are needed, if scratching results in a bacterial infection. If the rash continues to spread after treatment, or if itching persists for longer than 2-4 weeks, reexamination and/or retreatment may be necessary. Scabies infestations result from close physical contact, not from dirtiness or poor hygiene.
Treat all contacts aggressively now, rather than waiting for the infestation to spread any further. Select at least two products to compare. You've added the maximum number of products to compare. Would you like to compare the products you've added? You've already added the maximum number of products to compare. Learn More About Folding & Collapsible Wagons Find The Perfect Folding or Collapsible Wagon For Your Needs Haul everything you need for games, beach vacations and backyard work with a foldable wagon from DICK’S Sporting Goods. Find the right collapsible wagon that meets your needs and makes your commute convenient. Select from metal or fabric foldable wagons that can easily transport your gear and belongings in a single trip—from heavy equipment to chairs, blankets and coolers. With special features like built-in cup holders, you can bring your beverage along for the ride. Shop folding wagons from a great selection of brands including Quest®, Creative Outdoor Distributor® and Gill®.
Browse the wide selection of outdoor & beach equipment at DICK'S Sporting Goods and find all you need for backyard fun and trips to the beach.Batting, Fillings & Forms *Marked price shown in strikethrough. Discounts provided every day; marked prices reflect comparable prices offered by other sellers for similar products.TrafficMaster Allure Vinyl Flooring Revisiting this ever-popular post about Home Depot's Trafficmaster Allure vinyl flooring, we noticed a Home Depot employee left extensive additional comments and details about the product, so we thought we'd repost this with updated information for the many visitors who come to this particular post specifically for TrafficMaster Allure information. Have you ever wanted wood floors in your bathroom but thought otherwise because of concern about moisture? We've been reading up about Home Depot's exclusive TrafficMaster Allure flexible vinyl planks and think they might be worth investigating if you're looking for a waterproof flooring solution.
TrafficMaster Allure vinyl planks are completely waterproof, come with a 25 year warranty, are available in a multitude of colours and wood types (complete with texture) to match the decor of your home, and install with a pre-ready adhesive interlocking system which they call GripStrip. More details after the jump.*originally posted March 8, 2007 According to comments below, many seem pleased with the results, finish and appearance of these flooring planks (when properly installed), thanks to their flexibility in feel and application. The vinyl planks stick to one other with pre-applied adhesive on the edges, without a need for any additional glue, and the only recommended tool for installation is a razor knife. At $1.99 per sq. foot, the Allure vinyl planks sound like an ideal novice flooring renovation project in the making with their score and snap installation, with a box covering 24 square feet. A Home Depot employee recently chimed in about sample availability and installation issues:
I work at the Home Depot in Peru, IL. and I was browsing on the Home Depot website doing research about the Trafficmaster Allure product myself, since so many customers were asking about other styles available-and all of a sudden i saw all of these different styles available on the site! So I called out to Halstead (the actual manufacturer of the Allure line), New England, got a hold of one our reps, Cate French, and asked her if it would be possible to get samples in case customers wanted material samples, and she said "yes", but the sample boards were on backorder (due to the popularity of the product). But she would put our store on the list, and in the meantime, she would cut up pieces of the planks and send them with little labels for customers to at least see a piece of the planks. So I was so happy to get those little squares from her, and we had a lot of customers come in and look at them. However, we didn't get our first big sales on the stuff until we recieved our large sample boards, with a lot larger version of the planks on them.
So far, we have done about 4 large orders for the s/o in our store. And I'm sure a lot more. Granted, this stuff is what it is, don't expect miracles, but the best thing about it for us, is that its the only TRULY waterproof floor in the entire store. People love it also because anybody can lay it down, as long as you follow a few simple directions(such as leaving an expansion gap around the perimeter; letting the vinyl acclimate to the humidity and temps of the room you will be installing in; rolling the entire floor out with at least a 100lb roller; making sure to get the seams as tight as possible; making sure that you install it in a room that has heat vents so that it doesn't start to buckle-unless of course you like that look). The reason that it is waterproof is because the "grip strip" of adhesive on the sides of each plank interlock, and when the are rolled out, and firmly pressed together, if water or any liquid happens to spills directly over the seam, there is literally no where for the liquid to go.
It just beads up on top of that overlap. I also recieved this really helpful book in the mail from the company on Allure, and it has helpful hints for install, care and maintenence, and all kinds of things you can't find on the web. Halstead also make a more commercial and more expensive line of resilient flooring called Metro Floor. They make planks and tiles and all that, but they all have to be glued down, just like the Armstrong planks, Amtico planks, Roppe planks, etc. This idea has been around for a long time, but Halstead has made a durable floor for most normal residentials floors that is guaranteed to not delaminate or wear through the top layer for 25 years. I think people misunderstand warranties on flooring a lot. When they say 25 year wear, that doesn't mean it WILL NOT scratch. It will just hold up a lot better as far as denting and gouging, compared to your traditional sheet vinyl and vinyl self adhesive squares. People need to remember to keep an eye on their animal's nails, make sure they are clipped correctly, to the right spot on their nails, and at the right angle, to prevent them from putting scratches in any hard surface material they walk on.