Scabies cases have been reported across the country recently, which has led to a London woman to recall her unpleasant diagnosis after she experienced a nasty rash
A woman caught scabies after a fox entered her home, curled up on the sofa and watched Netflix.
Alexandra Shulman, 67, sat on the very spot the urban animal had been and, within minutes, had a itch on her bottom. A vivid red rash emerged, which soon became unbearable and persisted for days.
Medics at A&E had thought Alexandra had suffered an allergic reaction but she wasn’t so sure, and booked to see two dermatologists. The second of these, a leading specialist in London, told Alexandra she had become infested with dog/fox scabies mite sarcoptes scabiei var canis following her contact with the fox.
It was the first time the medic had came across such a situation in more than 30 years of dermatology, a case which led to Alexandra having to cancel a holiday to Croatia.
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Alexandra has spoken of her experience in the wake of reports of the medieval disease being recorded in schools across the UK recently. The disease, rampant in the Middle Ages, causes skin to become intensely itchy — caused by tiny mites burrowing under the skin. It spreads through prolonged close skin-to-skin contact and can be easily misdiagnosed as eczema or other rashes.
Writing for today’s Daily Mail, mum-of-one Alexandra said the rash developed on a Friday — the day the fox entered her home. The journalist, born in Hammersmith, London, added: “By the Sunday I was ready to rip my skin off. I spent hours in the bath, the only place where the itching was soothed, and applied bottles of camomile lotion that I remembered being used for childhood chicken pox. The nights were unbearable: unable to sleep, I tore at my skin.
“Back came the result within the hour, and I quote: ‘The diagnosis is one of human sarcoptic mange resulting from infestation with the dog/fox scabies mite sarcoptes scabiei var canis. I have to say this is the first time I have come across the situation in over 30 years of dermatology. Nice. Fox scabies or mange.
“Fortunately this kind of scabies does not pass between humans so I was not contagious, but I had to douse my whole body with the same disgusting smelling liquid used for head lice for several weeks.”
Recently, multi–millionaire businessman David Walsh decided to erect an electric fence around his £44million Notting Hill home to keep out foxes. This, though, divided opinion in the area and online.
But when quizzed by reporters, Mr Walsh said: “It’s none of your business. I’ve got a wife who is very, very scared of foxes – you got a problem with that?”
