The following message was sent to me via Facebook by a guy I had hooked up with several times over various holidays.
Message:
“i dont know how to tell you this but you seem to have given me scabies (STD) when we hooked up last. you are the only person ive hooked up with in the past 3 months so it couldnt have been anyone else. you should probably have yourself checked since this shit is awful”
[End of message].
I made the mistake of reading this message at work, where I promptly freaked out, questioned every decision I’ve ever made, freaked out some more, wondered whether scabies qualify as an STD, and then made a medical appointment. I absolutely did not believe his claim could be accurate, but when you read a note like that, of course you become concerned and could believe the worst. I visited with my doctor that afternoon who laughed because she detected absolutely nothing wrong and stated that scabies are in fact not an STD. I was relieved yet still confused. But, I had a diagnosis, everything was fine.
Note: the writer of this message did not have scabies. After several messages back and forth, it was determined by a medical professional (aka his childhood pediatrician) that he was suffering from a common condition known as jock itch.
