If you are not familiar with neem oil, you may not know all of its amazing benefits. Long used as a part of Ayurvedic medicine to heal various ailments and issues, neem oil makes a great treatment for nearly all your skin disorders. It has also been used quite successfully in the treatment of scabies, which is an extremely annoying and contagious skin condition. If you want to learn more about how to use neem oil to treat scabies, we share all the best secrets with you below.

What is Scabies?

Scabies is a skin condition caused by a mite known as Sarcoptes scabiei. The female insects burrow under your skin to live and lay eggs, and this can cause an allergic reaction in most humans. This insect is easily passed from person to person, making scabies a highly contagious disease. Scabies is transferred through direct skin contact, such as when touching, having sex, or sleeping close to someone else.

Scabies is most common in confined living spaces, such as hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, schools, and daycare centers, where lots of people share a small amount of space. Homeless shelters and camps are also common environments to find scabies.

Scabies results in itching caused by an allergic reaction to the mites’ larvae and waste. The itching can be quite intense and unrelenting, especially when you are trying to sleep. Scratching these areas opens the skin to other types of secondary infections, so it is essential that you treat scabies quickly and avoid scratching whenever possible.

What is Neem Oil?

The neem tree, indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, produces a healing oil that has been used by cultures in that area for centuries. Neem oil is used widely to treat all types of infections and disorders, as it has excellent antiviral, antifungal, and antiseptic properties. Neem is commonly used to treat skin disorders, including lice and scabies.

Neem is an effective treatment for scabies because it disrupts the reproductive cycle of the mites, preventing them from having offspring and rendering their eggs sterile. While neem works differently than conventional scabies treatments, which are basically pesticides, it is a much gentler treatment for this skin disease.

Not only can neem oil prevent the spread of the mites as well as eventually killing an infestation, it also moisturizes your skin and soothes itching, which can prevent secondary infections. If you do scratch, the antimicrobial properties of neem oil will help remove any microbes from open wounds.

Neem oil treatments for scabies take time and must be applied daily for them to work properly. Applying this soothing oil regularly will not only kill the infestation but also heal your skin and keep you from scratching.

Using Neem Oil for Scabies

If you have an emergent scabies infestation, you may be able to treat just the localized area with neem oil. Use neem oil soap to clean the area, then apply neem oil directly to the lesions several times per day. To apply, pour neem oil onto a clean cloth or cotton gauze pad, then dab the oil directly over any localized infestations. Let the oil soak into your skin for at least 20 minutes. Repeat two more times each day until the mites are eradicated.

For more established scabies colonies, combine one-eighth cup of liquid soap with three tablespoons of neem oil, emulsifying the mixture. You can use this soap-oil combination to clean infested areas, or you can add it directly to your bathwater to soak in for up to 20 minutes. Apply neem oil to any skin that may be infested after taking your bath. Continue treatment until the mites have disappeared.