Well, This Was A Surprise...

[eurodancemix]

Mom has scabies.

Scabies is a condition of very itchy skin caused by tiny mites that burrow into your skin.

Lovely, huh?

The itching that Mom was experiencing is a reaction to the mites biting her. Scabies causes severe itching that is usually worse at night, which is why she was always at her itchiest and most restless after she'd gone to bed.

Scabies are contagious, and are transmitted by skin contact and through clothes, though we're not sure at this point how she got them. Scabies is NOT a sign of poor personal hygiene.



So far Mom has had two treatments of a cream medication called Elimite. She spent the entire day in her apartment again today. The nurses came this morning and removed all clothing she has used since yesterday, as well as all her bed linens. Everything has been washed. They will return again tomorrow morning for a final Elimite treatment, and then she'll be able to leave her apartment and mingle with the other residents safely. It may take a few days to a few weeks for the itching to completely stop (her body may still have an allergic reaction, even though the mites are gone) so she'll most likely be given Benadryl.

Never a dull moment.

Comments

[dendren.livejournal.com]

ugh... I've had scabies a couple of times over the last 20 years. They are not fun. Hopefully she'll be rid of them quick and easy. Make sure she cleans EVERYTHING well and in hot soapy water, and that she follows the whole treatment

[eurodancemix.livejournal.com]

The nurses are in complete control of that. They're admistering a third and final treatment today, with follow-up meds. And they've taken care of cleaning everything (clothes, bedding, etc.).

[dendren.livejournal.com]

sadly she wouldn't have gotten them if they were *totally* on top of it. Hospitals/nursing homes/hotels etc are notorious for things like this :P

[eurodancemix.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's not the case. Mom's had this rash since last summer. Her doc thought it was s imple rash, most likely caused by nerves (Mom's a *major* Nervous Nellie). So she prescribed her some ointment and Valiums. Nice, huh?

[dendren.livejournal.com]

oh, I totally misunderstood. Well I'm glad they figured it out then. OMG, since last summer? poor thing!

[eurodancemix.livejournal.com]

I know! And I didn't know what to do. She showed me when I was there last time, but she only showed me her back; it looked fairly bad but she had just been prescribed a new cream, so I simply advised her to keep her doctor informed of the progress, if any.

[jn1701e.livejournal.com]

OMG.. that sounds most unpleasant.

Poor mom! I hope she's ok

[eurodancemix.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she'll be fine. Today should be her last day of the Elimite treatment.