A hospitalized client has confirmed crusted scabies. Which action should the nurse include in the infection-control plan?

Crusted scabies has a heavy mite burden and spreads readily through skin contact and contaminated items. Contact precautions with gown and gloves plus careful bagging and laundering of clothing and linens reduce transmission.

Quick answer
Use contact precautions and contain contaminated clothing and linens for safe processing.

Why this is correct
Crusted scabies can shed many mites into the environment. Gown and gloves reduce direct transfer during care, while bagging exposed textiles prevents mites from spreading to staff, other clients, or clean surfaces before laundering.

Easy analogy or mental picture
Containment works like sealing glitter in a bag before carrying it through a room. The analogy illustrates easy environmental spread but does not describe the organism or replace treatment of the client and exposed contacts.

Memory hook
Crusted scabies means contact barrier plus contained textiles.

NCLEX decision rule
Match precautions to the transmission route and organism burden. For crusted scabies, prevent direct skin and fomite spread with contact precautions, environmental cleaning, and controlled textile handling.

Why the other choices are wrong
Droplet and airborne precautions target respiratory spread. Standard precautions and open storage do not adequately control the high contact and fomite risk.