Ivermectin tablets are an effective way to treat scabies. Read these step-by-step instructions on how to treat scabies with the tablets. For good results, it is important that you do not skip any steps. It is also important that your close contacts are treated at the same time as you.
Treating scabies with ivermectin tablets
Follow these treatment steps:
- Take the dosage of tablets prescribed by your doctor. The dosage will depend on your weight.
- Put on disposable gloves and collect the dirty laundry, towels and bed linen from the last three days. This includes woolly hats, scarves, hijabs and other head coverings, cloth or fabric shoes and cuddly toys.
- Wash everything at 60 °C on a full wash cycle. If your laundry does not all fit at once, put the rest in sealed rubbish bags for three days or until you can wash it at 60 °C.
- Put items that cannot be washed at 60 °C in a sealed rubbish bag. Put the bag away for three days in a separate room where the temperature is between 18 and 20 °C.
- Vacuum everything made of fabric that you cannot put in the washing machine or rubbish bags, such as the sofa, fabric chairs, carpet and rugs and dog bed.
- Put clean bed linen on the bed for the night ahead.
- The next day, wash this bed linen and your pyjamas and clothing from the day before at 60 °C.
- After seven days, everyone must repeat the treatment, including taking the tablets and washing all clothing and bed linen. Itching will slowly get better after treatment. It will go away after around six weeks.
The step-by-step instructions for treating scabies with ivermectin tablets contain a detailed checklist for these steps,
which you can use to keep track of what you need to do each day.