Don’t overlook these small red spots on your arm – They could be important w.arning signs
The UK is experiencing unusually large scabies outbreaks and doctors urge people to seek medical treatment if they notice red dots on their body and not to ignore the symptoms.
Scabies is an itchy rash caused by mites that spreads through close skin contact. Early treatment is important in order to stop the spreading. Anyone can be affected by it.
Some of the common symptoms are intense itching, particularly at night, and a raised rash or spots.
Scabies typically causes a rash across the body, not including the head and neck, and often appears between fingers, around wrists, underarms, waist, groin, and bottom
The young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems can get scabies on the head, neck, palms, and soles. In immunocompromised individuals, a highly contagious form called crusted scabies may cause a flaky rash on elbows, knees, hands, and feet.
As per NHS, the number of cases of people affected by the infection who were diagnosed in hospitals around the country is over 3,600.
According to Prof Kamila Hawthorne, RCGP chairwoman, many people who experience the symptoms refuse to seek medical help because of the “social stigma” surrounding the infection. She said that the number of GP diagnoses was “above the five-year average and rising, with the north of England seeing a spike in cases.”
“While not a serious condition, scabies can be very itchy and irritating,” she said.
“If not properly treated, it can spread and increase a patient’s risk of complications, such as secondary skin infections or make existing skin conditions worse.”
One of the reasons for the scabies outbreak, despite the social stigma attached to it, is the shortage of treatment.
People are being told not to ignore an itchy rash, with GPs in England reporting a spike in scabies – the highly infectious skin infestation.
The condition is caused by a mite which burrows under the skin to lay eggs and is spread through close physical contact, bedding and clothes.
It can spread quickly in places where people live closely together, such as universities and care homes, the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said.
However, “social stigma” prevented people coming forward, it said.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, RCGP chairwoman, said while incidences remained infrequent, the number of GP diagnoses was “above the five-year average and rising, with the north of England seeing a spike in cases”.
“While not a serious condition, scabies can be very itchy and irritating,” she said.
“If not properly treated, it can spread and increase a patient’s risk of complications, such as secondary skin infections or make existing skin conditions worse.”
‘Tiny red dots’
Some 3,689 cases were diagnosed in hospitals in England in the year to April – up from 2,128 the previous year, according to NHS figures.
The BBC has heard from people at five universities around the country, who spoke of multiple cases arising “out of nowhere” and whole houses having scabies.
One student said BBC “tiny red dots” along his wrist had begun spreading.
“One of my housemates came out to the house that she had scabies at the time as well. So then I was like, ‘Okay, so do I’,” he added.
Another student told us he had been trying to get rid of it for “two to three months”. When we asked how he thought he had caught it he said: “Probably a lot of sleeping together”.
Prof Hawthorne said: “We recognise that patients may be apprehensive to seek treatment given the social stigma that surrounds the condition, but it is important that they don’t ignore their symptoms as this could lead to them getting worse and risks transmitting the condition to other people.”
Everyone infected needs to be treated at the same time with a cream or lotion from the pharmacy, doctors say.
Patients are also advised to wash their bedding and clothes on a high temperature.
Dr Alison George, a GP in the north of England who works in an emergency department, said many students come straight to A&E, but only after the disease has become worse.
“It can be really nasty. It is then really difficult to treat if you’ve got a really large area of the body covered in it.”