Cases of a particularly brutal Victorian disease are continuing to rise across the UK, leaving doctors at a loss and patients in horrible pain.
Winter always presents a lot of problems for the NHS, with the cold weather contributing towards one of the worst flu seasons on record recently.
As we crowd together indoors and huddle close for warmth, it's not just the energy companies that are benefiting, as there are pesky mites living on our skin that can spread far easier in these conditions.
Unfortunately, while some bacteria is beneficial, these mites are contributing towards the ever-increasing number of scabies cases.
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The itch mite, or Sarcoptes scabiei if you're feeling fancy, is a parasitic mite found in all parts of the world that burrows into our skin and causes scabies.
According to The Sun, GPs saw just under 900 cases of scabies across England in the last week alone, while latest figures suggest that current cases are around double the amount of the normal national average.
One sexual health consultant suggested that he was 'seeing scabies all the time', which highlights just how prevalent it is right now, while one unfortunate victim shared her experience with scabies in an interview with The Guardian.
She said: "It was hell. My mental health was in the pan, the scratching, the itching drives you insane, and the cleaning and laundry, and you feel you can’t talk to anybody.
“It affected our lives so horrendously, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
While it might be incredibly painful and itchy once the symptoms first appear, it can be tricky to diagnose as those rashes can sometimes take months to appear.
The tell-tale sign, which is a red flaky rash, often appears in the skin folds of the elbows, knees and buttocks, as well as between fingers and toes, which can frustratingly often lead to an eczema diagnosis.
It is caused by the mites laying eggs in your skin (sorry if you're reading this while eating), which then leads to red lines and spots on the skin.
Once they've arrived, they're very tough to get rid of, as you'll need cream or lotion to treat the skin, you'll need to wash nearly every sheet or piece of bedding in the house, and you also can't have sex, not that you'll probably want to with all the itching.
Some reports suggest that mites are becoming more resistant to permethrin, the common treatment used to kill mites.
Michael Marks, Professor of Medicine at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the former chair of the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies, said: “There have been a small number of more plausible reports that there is some possible resistance.
“But most treatment failure is likely to be due to ‘pseudo-resistance’: this means it fails not because of the product itself, but because it is so difficult to actually apply cream on your whole body and keep it on for 12 hours, and because, most of the time, we aren’t successful at finding and treating all (our) contacts.”
So, if you're struggling with flaky and itchy skin, it's definitely worth staying away from other people at the moment and getting some treatment as soon as possible, as these pesky mites certainly spread quickly.
James Moorhouse