# Scabies question - any mite experts out there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scabies-question-any-mite-experts-out-there/381099 "2006-11-20T03:32:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scabies-question-any-mite-experts-out-there/381099/1 "2006-11-20T03:32:57Z")
I’ve hesitated to ask this question because I keep figuring if I just ask Google the right way, my anwer will magically appear. So far, no luck. Some info I’ve picked up from [here](http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/DPD/parasites/scabies/factsht_scabies.htm) suggests that scabies and mange are closely related: > [@](#): > > Did my pet spread scabies to me? > No. Pets become infested with a different kind of scabies mite. If your pet is infested with scabies, (also called mange) and they have close contact with you, the mite can get under your skin and cause itching and skin irritation. However, the mite dies in a couple of days and does not reproduce. The mites may cause you to itch for several days, but you do not need to be treated with special medication to kill the mites. Until your pet is successfully treated, mites can continue to burrow into your skin and cause you to have symptoms. > > How soon after infestation will symptoms begin? > For a person who has never been infested with scabies, symptoms may take 4-6 weeks to begin. For a person who has had scabies, symptoms appear within several days. You do not become immune to an infestation. What I’m trying to figure out is: If a person is exposed to mange, would that person be vulnerable to having scabies appear in several days, instead of the 4-6 weeks for a person who has never had scabies? Long story behind the question, but it has driven me nearly as nutsy as the scabies did!!! ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scabies-question-any-mite-experts-out-there/381099/2 "2006-11-20T03:58:27Z")
Scabies is mange, so the answer is yes, I guess. The dog one will infect humans, but doesn’t like us as host and is eventually gone, while the human variant loves us and will stay as a parasite unless treated. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scabies-question-any-mite-experts-out-there/381099/3 "2006-11-20T11:53:22Z")
Thank you for your answer, Karl. I’ve thought that, also, but then I keep coming back to… Dog mange and human scabies are, I believe, same genus, different species. Humans can develop a reaction with exposure to _Rhus radicans_ (Poison Ivy) but are not sensitized to it by exposure to _Rhus typhina_ (staghorn sumac) How similar is it in the mite world? Secondary question came to me in the middle of the night - could a compromised immune system make a person develop a reaction to scabies as if they had been exposed before? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scabies-question-any-mite-experts-out-there/381099/4 "2006-11-20T23:42:10Z")
To the second question, you mean that the reaction will occur faster as compared to someone who is not immunocompromised? Probably yes, and a stronger reaction too.