What causes scabies

Sarcoptes scabiei is a very small size mite, microscopic, impossible to be seen without some magnifying device. A mature female mite, lays eggs underneath the skin in tunnels it creates, eggs that produce new mites in 21 days. The new mites dig out to the surface of the skin and spread on a larger area or on new areas of the body. The body has an allergic reaction to the mites and eggs which is the itchy sensation felt on the skin.

The mites spread out to other humans by close physical contact usually and, in some cases, by sharing clothes or bed with an infected person.

There are many different species of mites that produce scabies for different species of beings. The condition may appear on humans as a result of the encounter of the mite from an animal such as a dog or a cat, but because of the difference of the environment preferences of the different species of mites, it is unlikely to develop a full state of the scabies condition caused from an animal source.