Overview
This is a photomicrograph of scabies feces in skin scrapings. This material is thought to cause an allergic-type reaction which may be responsible for the intense itching. The itching may persist long after the scabies mites are killed because the dead eggs and mite feces remain in the skin.
Review Date 11/3/2017
Updated by: David L. Swanson, MD, Vice Chair of Medical Dermatology, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Mayo Medical School, Scottsdale, AZ. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.