Radio | News week in plain Finnish | Sunday 3/3/2024

Scabies has become more common.

The topic of the news week is scabies.

Scabies is a rash that causes severe itching of the skin. Scabies is caused by a small mite that spreads from person to person. There is now much more scabies in Finland than before.

Now we will tell you more about scabies.

Scabies causes the skin to itch

![ Photo: Aada Ramstedt’s home album.](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/c_crop,h_420,w_748,x_2,y_28/ar_1.7777777777777777,c_fill,g_faces,h_431,w_767/dpr_1. 0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1709137163/39-1186091652926a54f3e0)

Scabies is not a dangerous disease. However, scabies is a nasty disease because the skin is dry and itches a lot because of scabies.

Scabies is caused by a small animal called the scabies mite. The scabies mite digs tunnels into human skin. The scabies mite can live on human skin for several months.

There is much more scabies than before. There were 7,000 scabies infections in Finland 4 years ago. Last year there were already 37,000 scabies infections.

Scabies is also more common in other parts of Europe than before. Experts do not know why there are more scabies than before.

Scabies is contagious

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Scabies is contagious from person to person. Scabies is contagious when a person touches another person for a long time.

Scabies can be contagious, even if there are no symptoms yet. Scabies is often spread from one family member to another.

A child can get scabies in, for example, daycare when children are together for a long time.

Scabies is not contagious during short contact. That’s why scabies usually doesn’t catch when, for example, a person shakes another person’s hand.

The doctor identifies the cause

![ Photo: Sasha Silvala / Yle](https://images.cdn.yle.fi/image/upload/c_crop,h_3121,w_5549,x_0,y_333/ar_1.7777777777777777,c_fill,g_faces,h_431,w_767/dpr_1. 0/q_auto:eco/f_auto/fl_lossy/v1709138675/39-125075565df62a2a0480)

The symptoms of scabies are similar to many other skin diseases. If you suspect scabies, you should see a doctor. Your doctor will determine if you have scabies.

The doctor prescribes medicines that are used to treat scabies. Scabies must not be treated with, for example, horse scabies medicine.

If you have scabies, other family members should also see a doctor. In addition, sheets, clothes and towels must be washed. The apartment needs to be vacuumed.

Repeat

The topic of the news week was scabies. Let’s repeat the most important things. There are more scabies in Finland than before.

Scabies is a nasty disease, but scabies is not dangerous. Scabies is contagious from person to person.

If you suspect scabies, you should see a doctor.

This was Uutisviikko in plain Finnish, see you again. Goodbye!