Scabies

[JillGat]

I never got bed bugs. But after returning home from the Camino Frances last year, I starting having INTENSE itching on the inside bend of my arm at night. After some online research, I figured out it was scabies (a microscopic mite called Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows into the skin). After treatment, it went away. Has anyone else here ever acquired this little pest while on the Camino?

 

[Deleted member 77020]

I never got bed bugs. But after returning home from the Camino Frances last year, I starting having INTENSE itching on the inside bend of my arm at night. After some online research, I figured out it was scabies (a microscopic mite called Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows into the skin). After treatment, it went away. Has anyone else here ever acquired this little pest while on the Camino?

Come to think of it when I returned from the Camino this year I also had an intense itch on my inner left arm but went away. Although I did see bed bugs in two places because I sprayed with permethrin I was not infected with them. The albergue in Astorga was one place the other was in Sarria a private albergue the pillow was just covered with them. Seems whoever was there before was just eaten alive by them due to how fat the bugs were. When I reported it they said it was spiders until I show them and they gave me a room in another area a block away.

 

[Kanga]

Something to watch for. I've never had scabies (thankfully) but can imagine it would be easy to catch in albergues situations. @JillGat were you able to get rid of it with permethrin cream?

 

[LGLG]

Bedbugs may be a nuisance, but I can accept those. Scabies, to me, is a whole other matter- if this is would turn out to be more than an isolated case, I don’t really know whether that would make me change my plans?

 

[KJFSophie]

I never got bed bugs. But after returning home from the Camino Frances last year, I starting having INTENSE itching on the inside bend of my arm at night. After some online research, I figured out it was scabies (a microscopic mite called Sarcoptes scabiei that burrows into the skin). After treatment, it went away. Has anyone else here ever acquired this little pest while on the Camino?

Always possible that you picked up scabies on the airplane. Not always, but bedbugs tend to bite areas around ankles, necks, parts of arms underneath pillows, etc... Scabbies tend to show up on backs of knees, inner elbows, lower backs... where close contact with fabrics when seated are infested. ( sigh ) They can't burrow in leather/plastic material, but in fabric seats on planes, trains, busses, cabs... well...EWWWW ! LOL

 

[JillGat]

Something to watch for. I've never had scabies (thankfully) but can imagine it would be easy to catch in albergues situations. @JillGat were you able to get rid of it with permethrin cream?

Yes. You can get cream to cover your whole body and that takes care of it. A bummer, but I wouldn't forego another Camino because of it. Not like I was hit by a car or something.

 

[Anna Cameron]

I caught scabies back in the 70's when I was a student in Besançon, moved into university accommodation which was just vacated and shortly after, itching began. Normally you catch it from skin contact but possible to transmit it via bedding/mattress if recently inhabited. It is easily treatable but a pain, you have to treat yourself & all clothing/bedding etc. You cannot see the microscopic mites at all, only feel the effects once they've burrowed under your skin. Yuk!

 

[JillGat]

I didn't need to treat clothing or bedding.
Not to make things worse here, but we are all crawling with living microscopic organisms. Some only live in your eyebrows, apparently.