Crab or Pubic Lice

Phthirus pubis (Linnaeus)

Overview
Adult crab lice are only a little over half the size of body or head lice, rarely more than 2mm long; their last two pairs of legs terminate in hooked mitts that resemble crab claws. These lice are confined to coarse pubic hair and sometimes armpits, eyebrows and eyelashes. Pubic lice move very little in the pubic region and produce few eggs. The most common method of transmission of crab or public lice is by sexual intercourse. When infested pubic hair detaches, lice can hatch on underwear, towels, in beds, or on toilet fixtures. If their immediate environment is above 10ºc, a pair of pubic lice could infest another person without personal contact.

Appearance
This insect is easily differentiated from the head louse and body louse by the strong thick claws of the mid and hind legs, while the claws of the fore legs are long and fine. The body is broader than long, contrasting with both other species of Pediculus humanus.


Boy Louse
Girl Louse 		Note: They aren't really pink or orange.
They've been stained to show up better in the pic

Life cycle
The egg is slightly smaller than that of Pediculus and it is glued to a body hair with more cement. The egg hatches in 7 - 8 days. The three nymphal stages do not wander far from the hair, which is grasped with the tarsal claws. Several hours are usually taken to complete each bloodsucking meal. They occasionally are found on eye lashes and eye brows.

The nymphs become adults in from 13 - 17 days and it seems probable that the length of adult life is not more than one month.

Crab lice usually die within 24 hours if separated from their host. This short survival and their sluggish movement inhibit the spread of crab lice, except through intimate (sexual) personal contact or in extremely crowded living and sleeping conditions where they can and do spread readily. Crab lice may be (but rarely are) spread by nits on loose hairs left on bedding, towels and toilets by infested persons.

Treatment
The quickest way to get rid of crab lice is eradication by destruction of habitat - shaving. If the lice have nowhere to live, they can't effect you. This involves shaving the pubic region as well as legs, chest, armpits, butt, etc, etc. While this is the quickest way to get rid of the lice, it is also the most uncomfortable over a longer period of time, because as the hair grows back it itches or becomes ingrown. If your going to shave, make sure you moisturise and use a scratchy sponge to remove the dead layer of skin and help prevent ingrown hairs.

Your second option is to use one of the lotions, sprays or creams that are available at your chemist (or the chemist some place where you'll never be recognised *winx*).

  • Paralice is an aerosol in a tacky 70's style orange and green can. Paralice isusefull for both headlice and pubic lice and has pyrethrum as its main constituent. If you decide to go into an irrational cleaning frenzy, paralice can also be sprayed on bedding and furniture (just bear in mind that the bugs cant survive long when away from the human body anyway)

    Drawback one is that Paralice will sting - Heck, it will BURN when sprayed on your balls. the good news is that the burning sensation will only last for about 10min - IF youdon'tt scratch or rub.

    Drawback two is that you will have to treat yourself more than once. When you treat yourself the first time, you kill all the hatched lice. 5 days later, you should treat again to kill any that have hatched since you last treated. If you want to be absolutely sure, a third treatment 5 days after that is often a good idea.

  • Benzyl Benzoate is the active ingredient in most of the lotions used to treat crabs and scabies. This one will also sting. This one will also require the same sort of treatment regimee

  • Lyclear is a cream with the active ingredient Permethrin. A mate of mine reckons its a one treatment wonder. Feel free to make up your own mind.

You will also need to wash towels, bedding, etc. Wash in hot water and dry in full sun. The advantage of drying in the sun is that the humidity is a lot lower than a tumble dryer. If you're still unsure then, by all means, iron the hell out of everything.

References:
NOTE: I do not necessarily endorse these sites or the messages they carry - They are just sites that I got some info from.





Any further questions?
Let me know so that I can make these pages better...

Name/nick (optional):
Email (optional):
Question: