SONOMA, CALIF. – Dr. Miriam S. Bettencourt is seeing what she considers an epidemic of scabies among elderly patients in nursing homes.
The problem is a lack of detection, she said in an interview at the annual Coastal Dermatology Symposium.
Dermatologists who see elderly patients should look for scabies in unusual bodily locations and remember that scabies in the elderly can produce atypical lesions, said Dr. Bettencourt of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Permethrin cream alone probably won’t be enough to treat these patients, she said at the symposium, jointly presented by the University of Louisville, Kentucky, and the Global Academy for Medical Education. This publication and the Global Academy for Medical Education are owned by the same parent company.
How would you treat scabies in an elderly patient? Dr. Bettencourt discussed several effective options.
Dr. Bettencourt reported having no financial disclosures.
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