How I got rid of scabies: Canada

How I got rid of scabies after months of resistant scabies

First of all, if you’re reading this because you think you might have scabies, personally I’d say just do the treatment anyways. If you’ve been skin-to-skin contact or live with someone who definitely has scabies, DO THE TREATMENT, even if you don’t have symptoms, do it. The longer you leave it, the harder it is to get rid of. Everyone also needs to do it at the SAME TIME! I cannot stress how much easier it is to do a simple 2 round treatment vs. leaving it because you don’t think you have it and then it being too late, to the point where it feels impossible to get rid of. Just do the damn treatment. 

My roommates and I had scabies for months, it felt nearly impossible to get rid of. Eventually we did get rid of it. After trying nearly everything I could find, I figured I might share my experience and how I got rid of it.

Secondly, I am not a doctor, I am not a professional, I cannot promise everything I am recommending. I am speaking from my personal experience, and the steps I took to successfully get rid of my scabies. Scabies is a mite, for the most part it can only be killed with certain pesticides (which is what the standard treatment permethrin technically is) so treatments might not necessarily be good for you, or you may have side effects if you are using for a long term. That being said, the amount of stress and anxiety I had from this whole experience, was worth the risk of any possible harm and I had zero care for what was healthy, so take into account my lack of self concern. Also, no single specific treatment I did solved my scabies, it was a combination, and I’m not sure which combination finally did it for me. I just did literally every single solution I could find online and combined them. It may have been overkill but when i say scabies genuinely traumatized me, I'm not joking. There aren’t a lot of accessible treatments in Canada, and honestly treatments don’t work as well as they claim. I figured I’d make a guide specifically for those in Canada who are having a time with this.

Basic treatment / nonsymptomatic treatment:

If you don’t have symptoms, 2-3 rounds of permethrin cream (5%) will most likely be fine (one tube 7 days apart for 2-3 weeks), however if it’s at all possible I also recommend getting prescription oral medication called ivermectin. Doctors in Canada are for some reason hesitant to give this out, honestly, LIE to them. Say you have had it for months, you’ve tried the creams and deep cleaning, and that the symptoms go away but come back a week later. Lie, say your roommate went to a hostel in Asia or something. Say all your roommates have it and got the prescription medication and you’re the only one who hasn’t gotten it yet. Say whatever you have to for the doctor to be convinced you need it. I would also try to get as long of a prescription/dose as you can, as different sources recommend longer treatments than the typical 1 pill/week for 2 weeks. Be strict with your cleaning and treatment. Take. it. seriously. I promise it’s not worth f*cking around. If you don’t do cleaning and treatment correctly, it’s not going to do anything and you might as well consider it a waste of your time. If anything needs to be ordered online do it ASAP as some things might take awhile.

Steps to take:

• First of all – DO NOT TOUCH ANYONE SKIN TO SKIN contact for AT LEAST 2-3 WEEKS after you think it’s GONE. This does not mean after you do the treatment, it means you wait until it is gone. Avoid sleeping in the same bed as someone else if you can. Absolutely NO SEX. Even if you think it is gone, it might not be, and you could re-infect each other. Yeah, it sucks, I know. You know what sucks more? HAVING SCABIES! IT IS CONTAGIOUS. Not only are you risking reinfecting each other, but you can pass it onto someone's family, people you live with, anyone. It is not fair to others for you to risk that just because you are lazy or have no self control. It’s selfish.

That being said, here’s what I did to get rid of it:

Cleaning supplies

• I recommend a spray with permethrin in it for anything fabric you absolutely can’t avoid touching such as your mattress, fabric car seats, etc. This is hard to find in Canada, as it is a pesticide (toxic to cats so be careful, I'd be cautious with pets or children in general). However I have been able to find it online. There’s small spray bottle options, or you can get a bigger bottle and buy a continuous spray bottle. I’ve heard this is great for treating clothing for ticks and bugs, so you can always keep the leftovers to use afterwards. Personally I'd aim for whatever has a high concentration, you can always dilute it if you feel the need to:

Here are some options I've been able to find online:

Tractor Supply Co

Martin's Control Solutions Permethrin 13.3% Insecticide, 32 oz. 13.3%

Gordon's Permethrin 10 Livestock and Premise Insecticide Spray, 8 oz. 10%

Martin's Control Solutions 10% Permethrin Livestock Insecticide 10%

Absorbine Ultrashield EX Insecticide and Repellent  0.50%

Flea Halt Flea and Tick Spray Plus Citronella Scent for Dogs, 40 oz. 0.10%

Amazon

Doktor Doom Long Lasting Residual Insecticide for Horses, Made in Canada 0.5%

OnGuard Pro-Perm Insect Killer 3.78L, Bed Bug Spray, Fast Action  0.35%

Exterminator P 43 Professional | Insect Killer Spray 0.25%

Exterminator P 43 | Domestic Insect Killer Spray 0.25%

UFA Shop

PM 70 24/7 Farm and Livestock insect Killer 0.70%

Urban Nature Store

Garden+ Protector Permethrin Spray, 500mL Concentrate

eBay

Other Cleaning Supplies:

• Vacuum
• Lysol wipes and spray 
• Laundry Disinfectant (I doubt this really does anything, it gave me a little peace of mind though) also at Walmart, Canadian tire, etc.
• Large clear garbage bags
• Plastic gloves
• Paper towel
• A new pair of bedsheets and a duvet/comforter cover doesn’t hurt to have
• A bed-bug proof / waterproof mattress cover (I used the most plastic-y one I could find – this isn’t guaranteed to keep them from transferring from your mattress, but it doesn’t hurt to have another layer between you and the bugs in your mattress).

Cleaning:

• With a pair of disposable gloves prepare 2-3 sets of clean bedding (pillows, duvet, duvet cover, pillowcases, mattress cover, etc.). 
• With gloves, set aside 4-5 sets of clean clothing and towels (recommend clothing you haven’t even touched in the last week).
• Wash and heat dry all used bedding, towels, clothes, couch covers, laundry, on HIGH HEAT (on some washers, this might be sanitary mode if you can’t manually change the temp). I’d include using laundry disinfectant because why not. Drying on high heat is the most important, bedding I might recommend you dry twice after washing. Scabies can live on fabrics for 3 days even untouched.
• Put anything you cannot wash in plastic bags for at least 3 days, includes stuffed animals, jackets, backpacks/bags, etc.
• Vacuum mattress and any other fabric such as couches, chairs, carpets
• Roll up carpets and put away somewhere
• Spray mattress with permethrin spray, if you can’t get any, I would use Lysol disinfectant spray. If you have a foam mattress or one that you can flip, I would do that. Let spray dry before you put anything else on the bed.
• Wash and dry sofa and chair cushions/cover, if you have leather, wipe with lysol. Spray couches and chairs with permethrin spray. Cover sofa and couch cushions with garbage bags or a plastic-y cover. Try to avoid sitting on them anyways if you can. People say it’s fine to sit on again after 3 days, but I'd just try to avoid if you can until you are sure the scabies are gone.
• Wipe down all hard surfaces with Lysol, anything you regularly touch, tables, counters, fridge handles, door knobs, toilet seat, shower, etc.
• Wipe down any regularly used items with Lysol, computer mouses, keyboard, phone, controllers, etc.
• Honestly, just do as good of a deep clean as you can. Its good for ya anyways.

Treatment:

• Because it’s the most easily accessible treatment, I would start with permethrin cream and ivermectin pills. There is research that scabies has become resistant to permethrin cream, but it’s pretty much the only thing you can get over the counter without ordering online.
• After you’ve done all your cleaning and put clean bedding on, put on the cream. Put it EVERYWHERE – and yes I mean everywhere. Leave the cream on for 14 hours. I’d try to put in on late afternoon so by the time you go to bed and get in your clean sheets, the cream has started to kill the bugs. 
• Sleep fully clothed, and yes this includes socks. Wear long sleeves and long pants with socks at all times to avoid transferring it or re-infecting yourself. 
• This is a pretty good guide for cleaning and treatment process. 
• This is a pretty good guide for cream/medication treatment schedule

Permethrin: Standard over the counter treatment in Canada, make sure you follow instructions, including not taking a hot shower right before cream. I wouldn’t recommend this on it’s own as for everyone I’ve known who’s had scabies, it didn’t work. I would only use this on it’s own if you’re unsure and asymptomatic. If you have symptoms it’s probably too late and I recommend combining this treatment with ivermectin and a secondary cream.

Ivermectin: Standard prescription pill in Canada. I would highly recommend getting this in ADDITION to a cream, don’t use it on it’s own. As I said before, fight your doctor on it if they won’t give it to you, lie, do whatever you have to. Go to multiple doctors until they give it to you. I’d recommend if possible to get a couple weeks extra of the pills or go to another doctor for a separate prescription if you definitely have scabies and it’s bad.

Permethrin and ivermectin alone did not treat my scabies.

If you you are sure you have scabies I would highly recommend having a second alternative and do a combination to the permethrin, and absolutely make sure you get the ivermectin pills.

Sulfur: This is an old treatment, but it’s proven to work. I used this in between the days of permethrin treatment. Downside – high % Sulphur on it’s own smells BAD, like REALLY BAD. I mixed with tea tree oil, clove oil, and neem oil. If you get a high concentration it can also be irritating to the skin, but it’s better than the itching. It’s recommended to use at least 10% concentration. 

It’s a bit difficult to find but here’s what I found online:

NU-stock Wound Cream: Yes, this is for horses – but it works. It’s 73% so mix it with lotion, aloe vera, or body oil (I used rosehip oil) as it’s strong. This sh*t STINKS, it’s a yellow tint that's a bit powdery, so it will transfer onto things and possibly stain, I'd wear clothes you don’t care about. I used this in between the days of the permethrin cream. It can be a bit irritating and dried out my skin a bit, but it wasn’t as bad as having scabies.

I did not use these ones specifically, so I can’t speak on them, but some other alternatives you can get in Canada:

Sulphur Ointment: I couldn’t find what % of Sulphur is in these, but it is made for human use, so some may feel more comfortable with this. However I cannot speak on effectiveness.

Chick’N Balm: Again, can’t speak on effectiveness, but it’s for animal scabies. Looking at the ingredients, there’s nothing that is unsafe or unusual so it really doesn’t look any different than a typical cream. Ingredients: Vitamin E, Lavandula angustifolia, Rosemary oil, Calendula oil, Ferrous sulfate, Sulfur, mineral oil, beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter. Amazon link.

I would also recommend a Sulphur wash, it’s not going to cure your scabies but it doesn’t hurt. I would put it on at the end of your shower and barely rinse it off. It doesn’t smell bad (i actually enjoyed the scent), but it can feel a bit sticky when you first get out and be a little drying to your skin. It’s also really good for body acne lol.

I’ve used these, and they were good : Roycederm Sulfur Soap and Purifying Sulfur Body Wash

Benzyl Benzoate: This is used as a prescription for scabies in the states, I have a friend that managed to get it in Canada where they lived, and I was able to get a prescription for it, but I could not for the life of me find a single pharmacy in the city that carried it. It doesn’t seem easy accessible in Canada but I was able to find it online, I know friends which have used it from this site and it worked. However the website comes off a little sketchy, but I wasn’t concerned. However it might take awhile to come in, but worth ordering. My friends who have used it says it was a bit irritating to their skin and smelled bad, but it did work.   Benzyl Benzoate

Spinosad: A new treatment that’s available in the states, new so there’s no resistance to it. I used this as a replacement for permethrin in combination with the Sulphur and ivermectin. Again, the website seems a bit sketchy but I used it and it was fine. Spinosad

Additional add-on: Tea tree oil shows potential results for aiding in killing scabies. DO NOT use this as a standalone treatment. I used this in combination with everything by mixing it with lotion. On the days between Sulphur lotion, which I used in between the permethrin and Spinosad treatments, I used tea tree oil clove oil, and neem oil mixed with lotion, it also helps the itch. I mixed some with the Sulphur lotion as I thought it helped the smell a bit. 

For the most part, if you continue with a combination of treatments, it will eventually go away if you continue to be careful.

With all of this, here is a reminder: you will get rid of it eventually I promise. You are not crazy for this even if you feel like it, it can drive you nuts. To anyone considering if they have scabies – just do the damn treatment so you don’t have to deal with all of this for longer than two weeks. I am also sorry for anyone who has, or is, going through this. It sucks. Be cautious and thourough with your treatment and cleaning and it will go away eventually. You got this.