A reader wrote to us recently about some small white worms on his skin. The reader immediately indicates that his skin problem appears to be caused by a small white worm, meaning that he might not be dealing with a worm at all. Indeed, we think our reader is not actually experiencing a problem associated with any sort of worm. Rather, he may be experiencing symptoms associated with scabies, an infection caused by mites that is sometimes known as the “seven-year itch.” Below we outline why we think the small white worms affecting our reader’s skin are not in fact small white worms, but are rather mites that are causing scabies.

Before we say anything, though, we must stress, as we always do when handling person-related questions, that we are not medical professionals. Thus, nothing we say should be construed as medical advice; for that matter, nothing we say should even be construed as actionable advice, which can only be issued by a medical professional. (Or, if we are providing any actionable advice, it can only ever be this: see a medical professional when experiencing concerning symptoms.) All we can do is provide some information about scabies and nothing else.

We think our reader might be suffering from scabies for a few reasons. First, the reader emphasizes that his infection is causing his skin to itch, which is obviously a symptom of an ailment colloquially known as the “seven-year itch.” Second, when the reader scratches the affected area of his skin, this produces “a small white worm looking thing.” We suspect he means his skin looks something like this:

This is a picture of the burrowing trail of the mite that causes scabies (Sarcoptes scabiei). In this image, the mite has entered the skin on the left side of the scaly skin patch (which has been scratched) and has burrowed to the right, which is what causes the white worm-looking trail. The mite itself is barely visible – it is the dark spot at the end of the “white worm.” (Mites are generally not visible to the naked eye.) Finally, the reader specifically mentions that he might be suffering from scabies, which is one more reason to suspect that he is, in fact, suffering from scabies.

Thus, we think the small white worm on our reader’s skin merely looks like a small white worm, but is actually a rash caused by scabies. This is not a diagnosis, but rather an idea based on the information our reader supplied. If our reader is dealing with scabies (which we are not claiming), then he should seek medical help. Scabies is not a pleasant infection obviously, and it is also contagious. We wish our reader the best of luck in dealing with his skin problem, regardless of what it might be, and urge him to seek medical help for his ailment.

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