1. Prepare for treatment

• Go to your general practitioner or pharmacy for cream or tablets.
• Make sure you have disposable gloves, rubbish bags and plenty of detergent at home.
• Get three days of clean clothing and towels ready, along with two sets of clean bed linen.

2. Inform your contacts: they must be treated as well

The people around you may also have scabies. Make sure they get treated at the same time as you. This includes:

• household members;
• people with whom you have had sex;
• people with whom you have shared a bed in the last six weeks;
• people with whom you have had regular or prolonged skin-to-skin contact (longer than 15 minutes) in the last six weeks (e.g. while hugging, kissing, dancing, holding hands, doing physiotherapy or exercising);
• people with whom you have shared clothing, towels or bed linen in the last six weeks.
• Household members, people with whom you have had sex and people with symptoms must complete two rounds of treatment. Other contacts will need one or two rounds of treatment, depending on what the general practitioner or GGD(Municipal Public Health Service) recommends.

Is the medication covered by insurance?

Scabies is treated by taking ivermectin tablets or putting on permethrin cream. Go to your general practitioner for a prescription. Since November 2022, the medication is covered by basic health insurance. The amount comes out of your excess.

What should I do if the itching gets worse?

The treatment can sometimes cause more itching. This is because there are foreign materials from dead mites under the skin. Your body will gradually clear this away over time. The itching will slowly get better after that. It should disappear completely within six weeks. Post-itching is more common in people who easily get eczema. To reduce itching, you can take antihistamine tablets or use menthol powder or a greasy cream or lotion. If this does not help, please contact your general practitioner.

How long will I be contagious after treatment?

You can infect other people as long as there are mites and mite eggs in your skin. Scabies is no longer contagious 12 hours after effective treatment.

Can my child go to school if he or she has scabies?

Your child can go to school as usual, but try to treat your child as soon as possible. Your child will no longer be contagious 12 hours after treatment. Always inform the director of the day-care centre or school. Your child may have gotten scabies at the day-care centre or school, or spread it to other children or employees. The director may ask the Municipal Public Health Service (GGD) for permission to inform other parents, so that these parents can check their children for symptoms of scabies.

Will children, pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding get a different kind of treatment?

No. Most children, pregnant women and women who are breastfeeding will get a prescription for permethrin cream. Tell your doctor that you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Put the cream all over babies and young children, including their face, scalp (including where hair grows) and ears. Avoid the eyes and mouth. 
When you change your baby’s nappy, put cream on the baby’s bottom and groin area again before putting the clean nappy on.