When a person is infested with scabies mites the first time, symptoms usually do not appear for up to two months (2-6 weeks) after being infested.
If a person has had scabies before, symptoms appear much sooner (1-4 days) after exposure.
The most common signs and symptoms of scabies are intense itching, especially at night, and a pimple-like itchy rash.
The itching and rash each may affect much of the body or be limited to common sites such as the wrist, elbow, armpit, webbing between the fingers, nipple, penis, waist, belt-line, and buttocks. The rash also can include tiny blisters (vesicles) and scales.
Tiny burrows sometimes are seen on the skin; these are caused by the female scabies mite tunneling just beneath the surface of the skin. These burrows appear as tiny raised and crooked grayish-white or skin-colored lines on the skin surface. The mites are often few in number (only 10-15 mites per person), so these burrows may be difficult to find.