Experts warn that there has been an increase in scabies cases in recent weeks. Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Burhan Engin said, “We can say that there has been an increase again for 2-3 months.
We started to see it frequently in the daily outpatient clinic. We have a lot of patients who have been treated and come back with an exacerbated case. There is an increase in this period, we will see if it will continue in the summer. We can say that there is a risk in every environment where there is close contact. The patient who was previously diagnosed with scabies uses the drug many times afterwards, sometimes taking and using it himself. The drug can also cause skin irritation and eczema, which can be very confused with scabies.”
Experts warn against scabies, which is defined as a skin disease caused by microscopic scabies insects that nest in the upper layer of the skin, causing intense itching. Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa- Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine Department of Skin and Venereal Diseases Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Burhan Engin, President of the Turkish Pediatric Society Association, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Specialist Prof. Dr. Haluk Çokuğraş and Pediatric Immunology and Allergy Diseases Specialist Prof. Dr. Hikmet Tekin Nacaroğlu spoke about the incidence of scabies cases in recent days. Experts gave information about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment processes of scabies.
“There has been an increase again for 2-3 months, we started to see it frequently in the outpatient clinic”
Speaking about the scabies cases they have encountered recently, Dermatology Specialist Prof. Dr. Burhan Engin said, “Actually, this increase has been going on for a long time. During the pandemic period and before the pandemic, there was an increase, and in the last few months, it was as if there was a downward trend, at least we started to see fewer cases that were resistant. We can say that there has been an increase again in the last 2-3 months. We started to see them again frequently in the daily outpatient clinic. Resistant cases, cases that have either not been fully treated or scabies have not completely disappeared, have vague itching, and have received previous treatment are actually in the majority. For example; some of them come in, some of them started 3 months ago, some of them started 1 year ago, they used treatments. Scabies medications approved and paid for by the state are used orally. We have a lot of patients who have had this attack before, they or their family members have been treated, the itching seems to have decreased, and the case has flared up again. Our biggest problem here is that the treatment is not done correctly. The clothes they wear, their social environment and home environment should also be disinfected. Scabies mostly occurs in more hidden, closed areas of the body such as the genitals and abdomen. Especially when you ask patients, they say it, but they do not express it in other ways, they can be a little more hesitant. Patients can hide it a little more, they can postpone this situation, so it is important for them to contact the physician.”
