Sarcoptic Mange

Historically, this is the mite that people are referring to when they say a dog has "The Mange." The other type of mange mite is demodex. Demodex is sometimes referred to as "Red Mange."

Sarcoptic mange is a condition caused by a mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. There is a video and picture above. There is also a picture of the skin of a dog with sarcoptic mange. This poor stray was found like this and it was the worst I've ever seen. The pictures are painful and no, he didn't survive.

Sarcoptic mange is ridiculously itchy. These guys are so itchy that they simply can't stop. On a scale of 1-10 of itch, they are a 12. The itch is usually worse along the ears, elbows, ankles, and shoulders. There is usually a scale or crust over the itchy areas. The pictures above are about as severe as it gets. Usually they are just a little crusty and VERY itchy.

Treatment for these guys has become very easy. My personal favorite is to use Revolution now and then in 2 weeks. That cures them. Other options are Ivermectin injections or oral dose once weekly for four treatments. Dips are a waste of time IMHO. These guys have secondary infection and require antibiotics as well. You can't really use a steroid - at least not at first - because it will make them WAY worse. After the first treatment, you can usually get away with some steroid.

When you first treat them, the itch is worse as the adults die off. This only lasts a day or two, then they feel SOOOO much better.

People can get this one. Pretty nasty once you see the images above. It's quite contagious, but requires fairly close contact with the pet or bedding. As you can see, these little Jabba the Hut guys don't exactly have legs that work well for walking. So they can't crawl across the room to get to you. However, they are able to get from dog to person if you are snuggled up together or if the dog sleeps in bet with you. In people, infection looks like chiggers. They're in the same family. We aren't the intended host, so our body kills them off as soon as they start trying to burrow into our skin. They ITCH like a son-of-a-gun. Your physician can help you with the right treatment, but usually in people it's steroid cream to calm the inflammation because our bodies kill them off so quickly.

Yuck.

AMH