Is there a right and a wrong way to apply the treatment?

Your children should not have had a hot bath and fathers should make sure that their skin be not scrubbed before applying the treatment as the aim is to have the treatment in contact with the top layer of skin for as long as possible. As well as being very uncomfortable making the skin hot and the pores open will mean that the lotion or cream is absorbed through the skin and into the blood stream before it has had time to kill the mites.

There are two recognized treatments for scabies. The first, Derbac M or Quellada M, is a lotion, it is best to pour it into a bowl and apply it with a new 3″ paint brush and to make sure all the skin areas of the body are covered, even the parts of the body where there is no rash. Although the instructions accompanying the treatment will say to apply from the neck down it is best to include behind the ears, the face and scalp as well as recent research work has shown that 30% of patients have mites in these places too.

Be very careful while applying around the eyes, mouth and nose, and don’t forget the pubic area, around the anus and under the toe and finger nails. You must put the treatment everywhere there is normal skin.