Scabies in children
In principle, all age groups can be affected by scabies. Overall, however, the incidence of scabies is more frequent in children than in adults. This is mainly due to the fact that children in toddler groups, kindergartens or schools have much more intensive contact with other children than is usually the case with adults.
This makes transmission in these facilities much easier and often leads to epidemics in which children of an entire facility are infected with the parasites. The course of the disease in children is not very different from that of adults. In addition to the typical places of infestation in adults, children often have symptoms of scabies on the scalp and neck.
The itching can be difficult to control in children. However, to avoid infection of the wounds, it is extremely important to refrain from scratching. The normal anti-scratch preparations can also be used in children. The application of these preparations may have to be carried out by an educator wearing gloves.
