Lice, also called pubic lice, are small insects that feed on blood and live attached to pubic hair. How do you know if you have crabs? How to get rid of it? What are the causes of the appearance of crabs? Answers.

The crab is a louse that lives in pubic hair but it can also (more rarely) nest in armpit or chest hair. Phtirius inguinalis, its Latin name, is a brown-colored insect measuring about 3 millimeters (a pinhead). It feeds exclusively on the blood of its host. The crab and in particular its larvae are visible to the naked eye. When they are alive, they are gray and well attached to the hairs. When they are dead, they look like tiny white eggs located at the roots of the hairs and easily detachable.

The presence of lice on pubic hair causes severe itching and irritation in the genitals and anus. The itching intensifies at night, when these little insects become more active because they don’t feed on blood. The pruritus begins about five days after the first exposure to the parasites.

If you take a closer look at your pubic hair, you can spot small gray or white dots, these are the larvae of crabs. But to better observe them, use a magnifying glass, this will allow you to confirm that they are indeed crabs because you will see their pincers well attached to your hair. 

Another characteristic symptom of pubic pediculosis is the appearance of small blue or black dots on the infested area. These are the bite marks of lice left on the skin. 

Finally, if lice have infested your pubic hair, you may find small traces of brown blood in your underwear with a powdery appearance. They correspond to the droppings of crabs which are in fact digested blood.

Lice are mainly transmitted sexually. People who get it have most often had sex with another infected person. Indeed, the majority of contaminations are linked to direct contact with infected hairs. But beware, this is not the only mode of transmission of crabs.

These parasites can remain alive and infectious 24 hours outside the parasitized body, you can catch them while sleeping in sheets in which are still alive crabs.

The hygiene rules to follow

The eviction of crabs requires strict hygiene rules:

• wash your clothes, bed linen and towels at a temperature above 60 ° C and disinfect them with a suitable insecticide. Ask the people living with you to do the same.
• vacuum your mattress.
• Soap your whole body well during the shower, then rinse thoroughly.
• shave the infested area.

In case of severe itching

If the itching is severe, the doctor may prescribe insecticidal lotions containing pyrethrin, permethrin or ivermectin. Finally, as with head lice, removing the nits with a comb or manually is recommended to avoid a recurrence. 

Treatment of partners

The treatment of the sexual partner (s) (in the month preceding the infection) is systematic. Hence the importance of preventing him / them if you yourself are infected with crabs. As pubic pediculosis or pubic phthiriasis is considered a sexually transmitted infection (STI), an STD assessment is often prescribed by the doctor who diagnoses the infected patient with lice. The objective is to search for other sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes, chlamydia infection, HIV or even syphilis. 

Management of crabs

Be careful, the lack of rapid management of lice can lead to their extension in other areas of the body such as the eyelashes, torso and armpits (by scratching the pubic area, lice can nest under the nails and migrate to other areas of the body that you also touch with your fingers). If these parasites cling to the eyelashes, they can cause eye irritation, conjunctivitis, and even a secondary infection of the eye.

In the event of lice in the eyelashes, the ophthalmologist prescribes vaseline specially designed for the eyes, to be applied to the edges of the eyelids several times a day. She kills crabs by suffocating them.

Pubic pediculosis does not cause serious complications if treated early. On the other hand, there is a risk of secondary skin infection if you have sores on the genitals (due to waxing, shaving or scratching).