Pubic lice are tiny insects that are transmitted during sexual activity. They make themselves at home in the pubic hair, the eye brows and in arm pit hair. While there, they lay eggs and infect the pubic hairs. Lice will cause severe itching, more prominent at night. The infected person’s skin may also develop a bluish tint. When the insects bite, this can cause sores or a rash like appearance.
1. Contracting Lice
Many people come into contact with lice from one of too many sexual partners, or the bedding and clothing of an infected person. Most often pubic lice are given the name Crabs. The pubic lice feed on human blood. Pubic lice do not contaminate any other creature. Humans are the only species affected by pubic lice. Non sexual transmission can take place within families. Shared bedding, towels or closet spaces are the likely ways to transfer from family member to family member. Pubic lice cannot jump, but are able to travel along the body to locate other locations of course hair for their habitat. Teens and adults are the most likely to get lice. Studies show that where there is a lack of pubic hair, there is also no pubic lice, leading them to suspect this as an increase of the number of teens and adults removing all pubic hair. However cannot be proven scientifically. Lice can only survive for a minimal time when not on the warmth of the human body.
2. What Are Lice?
Pubic lice are tiny, 1.3 to 2 mm in length. The body is almost round and the rear legs are thicker than the front or side legs of the louse. The louse makes their home in the course hair of the body, not the finer hair like the head lice. A female pubic louse can lay three eggs a day; therefore the lice can multiply greatly. The gestational time for lice is 6 to 8 days. It only takes 25 days for a pubic louse to be fully grown and they will then eat up to four or five times a day, feeding on the blood of its host. The complete life cycle of pubic lice is 30 days.
3. Detection
The health care professional will look for the nits, or eggs of the lice. They will also look for scratch marks or signs of an infection from scratching, such as impetigo. There are medicines that contain permethrin; these shampoos are named Kwell or Elimite. The hair then needs to be combed with a fine tooth comb to remove the eggs from the strands of hair. The shampoo will generally work with just one use, unless the infestation is severe. Rid and Nix are some over the counter brands that seem to work almost as well as the prescription strength.