Scabies

Scabies probably existed in Korea and China from ancient times. Since the fifteenth century, Korean doctors treated scabies with remedies that included sulfur poultices and arsenic sulfide. Avison reported that scabies was very common among his patients, as were scalp eruptions from head lice, and various forms of suppurating sores on other parts of the body (Avison 1897). The itch-mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, which causes scabies, is only one of the varieties of mites found in Korea. During the 1940s, scabies, trichophytous infections, and impetigo were quite common.