It's the COmputer Chair

Finally, after months of itching and misery. After too many doses of
prednisone to keep the itch at bay. After at least three visits to my PCP.
And lots of various remedies rubbed into skin that didn't want me to sleep
at night.

Middle grandson had a rash first. After many moons his mom finally got him
to the doctor who gave him medicine and he got better. Initial requests for
information from grandson were useless and from daughter weren't much
better. I had thought perhaps grandson had Scabies or something similar,
but daughter said no it wasn't that.

Last week I finally found out that the doctor said he had scabies and the
doctor treated him for scabies and he got better. And that a bunch of the
teens around town are suffering from "similar problems" . Really red itchy
what looks like mosquito bites and really itchy rash. It seems we have an
epidemic. Older grandson is also afflicted. As are lots of their
"friends".

Well, in my doctor's rather flimsy defense, I'm not exactly a prime
candidate for this nasty parasite. Unless you know that we have a really
nice upholstered desk chair at the computer. One that we share. One that
we have been known to use while wearing not much more than underwear. Not
at all unusual for the chair to still be warm from the prior occupant when
someone sits down to check their email, etc.

I figured it out all on my own last Friday once I had all the facts. Went
into the weekend clinic Saturday and got medicine, and spent Sunday doing a
LOT of laundry and cleaning.

The nice office chair has been banished to the very hot outdoor storage shed
till it can sterilize itself. And we are reduced to using a folding chair
at the computer. And to wearing a more complete wardrobe at the computer.

Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem in day
care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds of the teens
and young adults and those who know them, people need to know that.
Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.

Jo

Oh my god! Who'd a thunk it? But at least you have an answer and treatment.
YEAHH!

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
news
Finally, after months of itching and misery. After too many doses of
prednisone to keep the itch at bay. After at least three visits to my
PCP.
And lots of various remedies rubbed into skin that didn't want me to sleep
at night.

Middle grandson had a rash first. After many moons his mom finally got
him
to the doctor who gave him medicine and he got better. Initial requests
for
information from grandson were useless and from daughter weren't much
better. I had thought perhaps grandson had Scabies or something similar,
but daughter said no it wasn't that.

Last week I finally found out that the doctor said he had scabies and the
doctor treated him for scabies and he got better. And that a bunch of the
teens around town are suffering from "similar problems" . Really red
itchy
what looks like mosquito bites and really itchy rash. It seems we have an
epidemic. Older grandson is also afflicted. As are lots of their
"friends".

Well, in my doctor's rather flimsy defense, I'm not exactly a prime
candidate for this nasty parasite. Unless you know that we have a really
nice upholstered desk chair at the computer. One that we share. One that
we have been known to use while wearing not much more than underwear. Not
at all unusual for the chair to still be warm from the prior occupant when
someone sits down to check their email, etc.

I figured it out all on my own last Friday once I had all the facts. Went
into the weekend clinic Saturday and got medicine, and spent Sunday doing
a
LOT of laundry and cleaning.

The nice office chair has been banished to the very hot outdoor storage
shed
till it can sterilize itself. And we are reduced to using a folding chair
at the computer. And to wearing a more complete wardrobe at the computer.

Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem in
day
care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds of the teens
and young adults and those who know them, people need to know that.
Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.

Jo

Jo Firey wrote:
Finally, after months of itching and misery. After too many doses of
prednisone to keep the itch at bay. After at least three visits to
my PCP. And lots of various remedies rubbed into skin that didn't
want me to sleep at night.

Middle grandson had a rash first. After many moons his mom finally
got him to the doctor who gave him medicine and he got better.
Initial requests for information from grandson were useless and from
daughter weren't much better. I had thought perhaps grandson had
Scabies or something similar, but daughter said no it wasn't that.

Last week I finally found out that the doctor said he had scabies and
the doctor treated him for scabies and he got better. And that a
bunch of the teens around town are suffering from "similar problems"
. Really red itchy what looks like mosquito bites and really itchy
rash. It seems we have an epidemic. Older grandson is also
afflicted. As are lots of their "friends".

Well, in my doctor's rather flimsy defense, I'm not exactly a prime
candidate for this nasty parasite. Unless you know that we have a
really nice upholstered desk chair at the computer. One that we
share. One that we have been known to use while wearing not much
more than underwear. Not at all unusual for the chair to still be
warm from the prior occupant when someone sits down to check their
email, etc.

I figured it out all on my own last Friday once I had all the facts.
Went into the weekend clinic Saturday and got medicine, and spent
Sunday doing a LOT of laundry and cleaning.

The nice office chair has been banished to the very hot outdoor
storage shed till it can sterilize itself. And we are reduced to
using a folding chair at the computer. And to wearing a more
complete wardrobe at the computer.

Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem
in day care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds
of the teens and young adults and those who know them, people need to
know that. Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.

Jo

I'm glad you now know the cause and it's easily remedied.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
news
Finally, after months of itching and misery. After too many doses of
prednisone to keep the itch at bay. After at least three visits to my
PCP. And lots of various remedies rubbed into skin that didn't want me to
sleep at night.


EEEK. Scabies, no wonder you itched so much from this little parasite
that gets right under your skin. Have you managed to get a lotion that
kills it? When I was doing "elderly" work it often did the rounds and the
care assistants would get it from their patients. I seem to remember that
they had to cover themselves all over in some sort of lotion for 24 hours
before it could be washed off, to finally kill it. It's horribly
contagious. Burn your chair if you think you got it from that.

Tweed



Yep. We've all done the 12 hour stuff, including making sure the kids with
no insurance got it too.

Very contageous, but it normally takes skin to skin contact. The mites
really can't live very long off the human body. Or at much over body
temperature. Just the way we shared the chair had turned it into a perfect
vector. A couple of weeks in the outdoor shed at 100F/40C plus outside
temperatures and it will be OK. Remains to be seen if I'll look at it a
decide to pitch it out in the trash anyway at that point.

People weren't so secretive about these things it would be easier to get rid
of them. My doctor will not live down missing the diagnosis any time soon.

Jo

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
news
Finally, after months of itching and misery. After too many doses of
prednisone to keep the itch at bay. After at least three visits to my
PCP. And lots of various remedies rubbed into skin that didn't want me to
sleep at night.

Middle grandson had a rash first. After many moons his mom finally got
him to the doctor who gave him medicine and he got better. Initial
requests for information from grandson were useless and from daughter
weren't much better. I had thought perhaps grandson had Scabies or
something similar, but daughter said no it wasn't that.

Last week I finally found out that the doctor said he had scabies and the
doctor treated him for scabies and he got better. And that a bunch of the
teens around town are suffering from "similar problems" . Really red
itchy what looks like mosquito bites and really itchy rash. It seems we
have an epidemic. Older grandson is also afflicted. As are lots of their
"friends".

Well, in my doctor's rather flimsy defense, I'm not exactly a prime
candidate for this nasty parasite. Unless you know that we have a really
nice upholstered desk chair at the computer. One that we share. One that
we have been known to use while wearing not much more than underwear. Not
at all unusual for the chair to still be warm from the prior occupant when
someone sits down to check their email, etc.

I figured it out all on my own last Friday once I had all the facts. Went
into the weekend clinic Saturday and got medicine, and spent Sunday doing
a LOT of laundry and cleaning.

The nice office chair has been banished to the very hot outdoor storage
shed till it can sterilize itself. And we are reduced to using a folding
chair at the computer. And to wearing a more complete wardrobe at the
computer.

Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem in
day care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds of the
teens and young adults and those who know them, people need to know that.
Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.

Jo




My mother is in a nursing home and has had scabies on three separate
occasions. It really is a major problem in nursing homes. In my opinion,
your PCP failed you because scabies cannot be definitively diagnosed just by
"looking." These are microscopic mites, and the itchy rash alone does not
always tell the whole story. It requires a scraping and microscopic
analysis if there is any doubt. Nursing homes do not like to "admit" thiat
they have this problem, and the nurses all insisted my mother did not have
scabies. I took her to our doctor, he did a scraping in his office, and
there was the evidence!

That said, simply moving the "offending" chair is not enough. The *entire
area* needs to be throoughly cleaned because these little monsters can be
transported by clothing, from one person to another, or may simply crawl
from one piece of furniture to another. Here is what one web site says:
"You would need to put and seal zippered plastic mattress covers over the
beds, wash all linens with bleach/borax, and place all sheets/blankets in a
dryer on high for at least 20 minutes everyday. All clothing should be
laundered in bleach/borax also and it is recommended to place these in the
dryer for 20 minutes also before wearing. You also need to treat any other
furniture as well as car seats and office chairs. Carpets and upholstery
need to be thoroughly vacuumed and then dispose of the bag. If you have a
canister vacuum with no bag, dispose of contents and then disinfect the
canister. Items can also be placed in a sealed plastic bag and put away. If
the mites do not get a meal within one week, they die."

MaryL

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:GK6ug.30363$8q.16661@dukeread08...

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
news
Finally, after months of itching and misery. After too many doses of
prednisone to keep the itch at bay. After at least three visits to my
PCP. And lots of various remedies rubbed into skin that didn't want me to
sleep at night.

Middle grandson had a rash first. After many moons his mom finally got
him to the doctor who gave him medicine and he got better. Initial
requests for information from grandson were useless and from daughter
weren't much better. I had thought perhaps grandson had Scabies or
something similar, but daughter said no it wasn't that.

Last week I finally found out that the doctor said he had scabies and the
doctor treated him for scabies and he got better. And that a bunch of
the teens around town are suffering from "similar problems" . Really red
itchy what looks like mosquito bites and really itchy rash. It seems we
have an epidemic. Older grandson is also afflicted. As are lots of
their "friends".

Well, in my doctor's rather flimsy defense, I'm not exactly a prime
candidate for this nasty parasite. Unless you know that we have a really
nice upholstered desk chair at the computer. One that we share. One
that we have been known to use while wearing not much more than
underwear. Not at all unusual for the chair to still be warm from the
prior occupant when someone sits down to check their email, etc.

I figured it out all on my own last Friday once I had all the facts.
Went into the weekend clinic Saturday and got medicine, and spent Sunday
doing a LOT of laundry and cleaning.

The nice office chair has been banished to the very hot outdoor storage
shed till it can sterilize itself. And we are reduced to using a folding
chair at the computer. And to wearing a more complete wardrobe at the
computer.

Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem in
day care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds of the
teens and young adults and those who know them, people need to know that.
Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.

Jo




My mother is in a nursing home and has had scabies on three separate
occasions. It really is a major problem in nursing homes. In my opinion,
your PCP failed you because scabies cannot be definitively diagnosed just
by "looking." These are microscopic mites, and the itchy rash alone does
not always tell the whole story. It requires a scraping and microscopic
analysis if there is any doubt. Nursing homes do not like to "admit"
thiat they have this problem, and the nurses all insisted my mother did
not have scabies. I took her to our doctor, he did a scraping in his
office, and there was the evidence!

That said, simply moving the "offending" chair is not enough. The *entire
area* needs to be throoughly cleaned because these little monsters can be
transported by clothing, from one person to another, or may simply crawl
from one piece of furniture to another. Here is what one web site says:
"You would need to put and seal zippered plastic mattress covers over the
beds, wash all linens with bleach/borax, and place all sheets/blankets in
a dryer on high for at least 20 minutes everyday. All clothing should be
laundered in bleach/borax also and it is recommended to place these in the
dryer for 20 minutes also before wearing. You also need to treat any other
furniture as well as car seats and office chairs. Carpets and upholstery
need to be thoroughly vacuumed and then dispose of the bag. If you have a
canister vacuum with no bag, dispose of contents and then disinfect the
canister. Items can also be placed in a sealed plastic bag and put away.
If the mites do not get a meal within one week, they die."

MaryL


These should have been pretty obvious by looking if one were aware that they
are spreading around town like wildfire. I thought the row of welts along
my waist across the back were mosquito bites. But even I knew something was
up when I got a curved row of the same welts on the back of my arm where my
sleeveless tops end.

There are a lot of various sites that say how much treatment of the home is
needed. The doctor that diagnosed it said that washing the bedding down to
and including the mattress pad and washing the clothes I was wearing would
be enough. Very glad most of our furniture is leather.

I put the pillows on our bed through the hot cycle on the dryer too.

It really isn't easy to spread them without skin to skin contact. But then
teenagers anymore crawl all over each other like puppies in a basket.

Nursing homes have problems because the elderly have such thin skin (so do
I) and because they get lazy and ignore some basic hygiene rules. Like use
gloves, change gloves, wash your hands, keep towels bedding and clothing
clean and dry and separated by resident.

Jo

Jo Firey wrote:


Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem in day
care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds of the teens
and young adults and those who know them, people need to know that.
Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.


I think I'll start carrying a towel to cover chairs with me when I go
back to school next month. Can a towel protect from Scabies? HOWARD?

Pam S. grossed out by scabies

"Tanada" wrote in message
k.net...
Jo Firey wrote:


Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem in
day care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds of the
teens and young adults and those who know them, people need to know that.
Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.


I think I'll start carrying a towel to cover chairs with me when I go back
to school next month. Can a towel protect from Scabies? HOWARD?


They really shouldn't be that contageous. I'd likely have been fine if I
didn't have such thin skin from years of prednisone use for asthma. Or if I
didn't make a habit of chasing the sweaty kids away from the computer to
check my email. Or if all of us were better about wearing more clothes at
the computer. Or if the chair had been a smooth surface instead of
upholstery.

And then they wouldn't have been so awful if I'd know right off what it was
and been treated.

Jo

Hey there,

I have a story that kinda matches yours but at a different angle.

This couple had been suffering from Ringworm. I'm not sure just how
they go it initially, or anything more except that I was told they had
been suffering from outbreaks and they had cleaned there house, seen a
dermatologist for drugs and everything and it kept coming back. How
long I do not know.

Then a friend of theirs(I think) asked them, "Why don't you check your
cat?"

*pause for jaws to drop*

I heard this story at the other clinic when the cat came in to be
treated for ringworm, and the story was relayed to me by Dr. Z.

Of course the funky question is, WHY didn't the dermatologist ASK about
the cat?????!!!

Sheesh...........


Kristi

"Jo Firey" wrote in message
. net...

"Tanada" wrote in message
k.net...
Jo Firey wrote:


Too much information. I know, But this is supposed to be a problem in
day care centers and nursing homes. If it is running the rounds of the
teens and young adults and those who know them, people need to know
that. Especially if their doctors don't seem to be up to speed.


I think I'll start carrying a towel to cover chairs with me when I go
back to school next month. Can a towel protect from Scabies? HOWARD?


They really shouldn't be that contageous. I'd likely have been fine if I
didn't have such thin skin from years of prednisone use for asthma. Or if
I didn't make a habit of chasing the sweaty kids away from the computer to
check my email. Or if all of us were better about wearing more clothes at
the computer. Or if the chair had been a smooth surface instead of
upholstery.

And then they wouldn't have been so awful if I'd know right off what it
was and been treated.

Jo


Unfortunately, I caught scabies when I was only 12 years old, and I
definitely did not have "thin" skin then. On the other hand, we do believe
it was person-to-person contact. I sat next to a child on the school bus,
and we later learned that he had scabies. So, it did not take particularly
close contact for this to occur. At the same time, I have never heard of
massive "outbreaks" except in institutions such as nursing homes.

MaryL