Crab lice - be careful

Crab lice are found on the pubic hairs of males and females. Typically these small bugs will attach themselves to the hairs of the pubic area but they also can be found in other places like your armpits, chest, beards, eyebrows, and practically anywhere where the hair is not too dense. Crab lice is spread through sexual intercourse with another person that has crab lice.

If you start to experience itching in the pubic area, you may have crab lice. You can tell that you do if you see crawling lice or visible eggs on the hairs of your pubic region. Crab lice feeds on your blood. They cannot be spread from sitting in the same seat as someone that has them and they are unable to jump from one host to another, unlike head lice. The only way crab lice can be spread is through sexual intercourse or using a towel or other thing that has touched the infected genitals. Crab lice will die within 2 minutes of being exposed without a host, so it is next to impossible to get crab lice from using public bathrooms and other public facilities.

It will take about a week to notice that you have crab lice as the lice is laying eggs, which will take about 6-10 days to hatch. They are very small to see so you may need a magnifying glass to see them. They will appear as a small oval shaped egg that is yellow or white in color and directly attached to the hair shaft. After the crab lice has hatched, it will be very small compared to the adult crab lice. It takes about 2-3 weeks of feeding on blood for it to grow into an adult. Once it reaches maturity, you should be able to see it with the naked eye or at least with a magnifying glass. They are called crab lice because they have large pincher claws that resemble a crab.

Usually the crab lice will feed during the nighttime, which is why you may feel more itching and burning at nighttime. The crabs will move during the nighttime because you are less active and it is easier for them to use their pincer claws to move from hair to hair.

 If you are unsure if you have crab lice, use a magnifying lens to look at your pubic hair. Take a look at your underwear to see if there are any blood specs on it, this may indicate that you have crab lice.

Typically it is advised to seek medical treatment if you have crab lice, although you can use malathion lotion which will soothe the skin that has been irritated. This may take longer for the crab lice to completely die, as it is normally used as a treatment of skin irritations. Doctors will prescribe stronger lotions that must be placed on the infected area at least once or twice daily. It will take at least 7 days for the crab lice to die. In order to completely kill the crab lice, you need to apply the lotion to your entire body, not just the public hair and genitals. Since the lice can spread to armpits and other areas, you must properly wash the skin and apply the lotion to prevent it from spreading.

If you have crab lice, it is advised to avoid sexual intercourse until all the lice and completely destroying. Having sexual intercourse while still infected will cause your partner to become infected with crab lice and you can spread it back and forth between the two of you. Wash your bed sheets and your underwear daily to prevent the spread of crab lice.