 |
| image by wikimedia.org |
Not many realize that couples who have scabies can transmit the disease through sex. In fact, scabies is included in a series of sexually transmitted infections, such as syphilis and gonorrhea.
How can sex transmit scabies?
Scabies is caused by mite species Sarcoptes scabiei. These parasites breed and lay eggs on the surface of the skin.After the eggs hatch, new mites will appear and dig burrows on the skin so that itchy wounds form.
The period between mite infection and symptoms usually lasts 4-6 weeks. If you get scabies a second time, the symptoms may appear more quickly, ie within a few days.
This skin disease can be transmitted in several ways, including:
- Direct contact between the patient's skin and a person who is healthy for a long time
- Sexual relations between sufferers and healthy people
- Contact with towels, sheets, or clothes that come in direct contact with patients
Scabies can spread very easily through touching the skin of the sufferer.
People with scabies transmit this disease while having sex. This can happen because your skin and partner will touch for a long time.
Related article: How to Overcome Swelling & Itching due to the Fire Ants Bites
Most sexually transmitted infections can be prevented by using condoms. However, it is different from scabies.
Transmission of this disease cannot be prevented from using condoms, dental dams (for oral sex), or other methods of protection.
If one of the partners gets scabies, they must undergo treatment to prevent transmission again. You should immediately notify your partner if you experience symptoms of scabies, and vice versa.
Be careful with the appearance of symptoms of scabies after treatment
Rashes and itching on the skin due to scabies can last for several weeks to a month after treatment. Doctors usually give additional medicines if the itching feels so severe.If symptoms continue, you should be vigilant. People with scabies can transmit the disease through interstellar contact or sex.
In addition, the appearance of symptoms can also occur due to the following conditions:
1. Treatment failure
Drug resistance, how to treat the wrong, or the wrong timing of medication can cause treatment failure.
If the treatment is correct, the burrow wound that is characteristic of scabies should no longer appear after 1-2 days.
Treatment failure can also be caused by drugs that are unable to penetrate crusty scabies. As a result, patients eventually transmit scabies through direct contact with the skin, various towels, or sexual relations.
2. Scabies is contagious
In addition to couples who transmit directly from sex or other direct touches, scabies can be transmitted back from family members and residents of the same residence.
That is why, when one person in the house gets scabies, everyone who lives in one house must get similar treatment.
Not only that, scabies can also be transmitted back through clothes, sheets, or sufferers' towels. Items that have come into contact with a patient's skin should be washed with hot water and not used for 72 hours.
3. Other causes
Some types of drugs can cause reactions similar to scabies. If you sleep using the same bed with your partner and do not catch scabies after 30 days, then the most likely cause is not scabies.
Symptoms of itching can also arise due to allergic reactions or exposure to other types of mites at home. You can confirm the cause by checking with your doctor.
Scabies is one of the contagious infections to watch out for. Because, you and your partner can transmit this disease easily through sexual intercourse.
This disease can also reappear after treatment. Therefore, you, your partner, and all people who live in the same house must undergo treatment for scabies as a whole.