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Scabies in a child or anyone at home: the signs, the treatment, who else is treated, what to wash, and when to call
For anyone with an itch that may be scabies, and anyone looking after a child, a parent or a housemate who has it: at home, in a shelter, in a care home. This page passes on, by name, what five pages of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and one page of the National Library of Medicine say: the signs and when they show, how it spreads and how it does not, why it takes a prescription, how the treatment goes on, who else is treated at the same time, what to wash, the itch that goes on afterwards, school and work, and when to call. It names no medicine. It builds the questions to ask on the phone or at a visit. Take only what you need today.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Scabies needs a prescription. CDC says no non-prescription product has been tested and approved to treat scabies, and says not to use over-the-counter products, insecticide sprays or fumigants. If you suspect scabies, CDC says to seek medical attention.
- A baby: CDC says to use only the scabicide (the medicine that kills scabies mites) recommended by the baby’s pediatrician. Not all scabicides used on adults can be used on children.
- Sores, or skin that may be infected: CDC says to contact your healthcare professional immediately.
- Everyone at home is treated at the same time, even with no itch (CDC). The first time, symptoms can take weeks to show, and a person can spread scabies during that time.
- Still itching after treatment is expected for several weeks (CDC). Itching past 2 to 4 weeks, or new bumps or burrows, is a reason to go back to the provider.
If you believe it is an emergency, such as someone who is struggling to breathe or cannot be woken, call 911. That line is ours: scabies itself is not an emergency, and none of the pages we read names 911.
More help
- No doctor or no insurance: When you need a doctor and can’t pay. For a visit: Get ready for your appointment.
- A different itch: Head lice in a child: how to check, how to treat, and what school can ask.
- If a medicine or a spray was swallowed or got in the eyes: When it might be a poisoning.
- More pages about a child’s health: Looking after a baby or child: find the right page.
- All our free tools.
A rash or an itch, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a rash, an itch or something going around at home, on one list.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or pharmacist has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 10, 2026 on five pages of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): “About Scabies” (reviewed September 9, 2024), “Symptoms of Scabies”, “How Scabies Spreads” and “Preventing Scabies” (each reviewed December 18, 2023) and “Treatment of Scabies” (January 1, 2024); and on the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus summary “Scabies”, in English and Spanish, which credits CDC. The page says which page it is passing on, and what is marked “ours” is our own. The 911 line is ours: none of the pages names 911 or lists emergency signs. So are the lines about asking for a note, asking a school or an employer for its rule in writing, and telling the staff of a shelter or a care home. Medicines: none is named. CDC’s About page names the only two that may be used in infants; this guide says so and leaves the names, the amount, the hours and any second application to the provider who prescribes. The pages name nothing for the itch, so this guide names nothing. Where the pages differ, both are shown: how long first-time symptoms take (three to six weeks on one page, 4 to 8 weeks on another), and how long to keep things in a bag. The two languages: we found CDC’s five scabies pages only in English, so every CDC line in the Spanish guide is our translation and says so. What we left out or did not read: CDC’s pages for health care providers and for public health, including its crusted scabies pages; the pictures on the pages, so the rash on brown or black skin is not described here; and the other sites MedlinePlus links to. This page saves nothing and loads no tracking.