timing of sexual intercourse following scabies treatment
Various guidance states that sexual relationships should be avoided until the full-course of scabies treatment has been undertaken:
- patients should be advised to avoid close contact until they and their sexual partners have completed treatment (1)
- infested individuals should be advised to avoid close physical contact until they and their sexual partners have completed treatment (2)
- the NHS website states (3):
- do not have sex or close physical contact until you have completed the full course of treatment
Notes:
- transmission of a single pregnant mite, or of several larvae, suffices to infest another human host (4)
- in common scabies, this requires intensive skin-to-skin contact of at least 5–10 minutes’ duration, as occurs, for example, in the breastfeeding or cuddling of an infant, sexual intercourse, or the care of nursing-dependent persons
Reference:
- Salavastru CM, Chosidow O, Boffa MJ, Janier M, Tiplica GS. European guideline for the management of scabies. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2017 Aug;31(8):1248-1253.
- Monsel G, Chosidow O. Management of scabies. Skin Therapy Lett. 2012 Mar;17(3):1-4.
- NHS Health A to Z: Scabies.
- Sunderkötter C, Wohlrab J, Hamm H. Scabies: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2021 Oct 15;118(41):695-704.
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