Pubic Lice Home Remedy

Pubic lice home remedy will help you understand the parasitic insects and find easy home remedies to help treat and kill them.

What are Pubic Lice and where are they found?
They are parasitic insects found primarily in the pubic or genital area of humans and are commonly referred to as "crabs" (because they really do look like mini crabs). Occasionally they can be found on other coarse body hair, like hair on the legs, armpits, mustache, beard, eyebrows, or eyelashes. If pubic lice is found on the eyebrows or eyelashes of a child, this may be a sign of sexual exposure or abuse. Pubic lice infestation is found worldwide and occurs in all races, ethnic groups, and levels of society. Animals do not get or spread pubic lice.

What are the symptoms?
Many of the symptoms of pubic lice are similar to those of head lice and body lice:

• Intense itching in the genitals or anus area
• Mild fever
• Feelings of fatigue and being run-down
• Irritability
• The presence of lice or nits (eggs) in pubic hair

What do Pubic Lice look like?
There are three different forms of pubic lice: the egg (also called a nit), the nymph, and the adult.

• Nit: Nits are lice eggs. They are oval shaped and usually yellowish or white. Pubic lice nits take about 6-10 days to hatch. They are usually hard to see and can be found firmly attached to the hair shaft.
• Nymph: When the nit (egg) hatches, the immature louse is called a nymph. It looks like an adult pubic louse but is smaller. They take about 2-3 weeks after hatching to mature into adults capable of reproducing. A nymph must feed on blood in order to live.
• Adult: An adult pubic louse tends to look like a mini crab when viewed through a strong magnifying glass. They have six legs - the two front legs are larger and look like the pincher claws of a crab (hence the nickname "crabs"). Pubic lice tend to be tan to grayish-white in color. The females lay nits and are usually larger than males. Like their nymph form, the adult pubic lice must feed on blood in order to live. If the louse falls off a person, it will die within 1-2 days.

How do you get Pubic Lice?
They are usually spread through sexual contact and are most common in adults. Sometimes pubic lice can be spread by close personal contact, especially if sharing personal items like clothing, bed linens, or towels that have been used by an infested person. There is a common misconception that pubic lice are spread easily by sitting on a toilet seat (this was even a rumor in my office!) but this would be extremely rare because lice can't live long away from a warm human body and they don't have feet designed to walk on smooth surfaces like as toilet seats (phew!).

If you already have it or become exposed to pubic lice, it is recommended that you investigate the possibility of having other sexually transmitted diseases (even though pubic lice, aka "crabs", are not considered an STD. See your physician.

Pubic Lice Home Remedy

• Comb it!The first thing to try is using a fine toothed comb to remove all the nits and lice. Make sure to soak the comb in hot water for 15 minutes first which will help kill some/all of the crabs to prevent just redistributing them.
• Petroleum jelly.Using a small comb, remove the nits (eggs) and kill the adult lice by spreading petroleum jelly onto infested ares (eyelids, eyebrows, and/or pubic area to smother them. Do this 2X per day for 8-10 days.
• Non-soap cleanser.Saturate the pubic hair area with a non-soap cleanser, then blow-dry until it hardens. Leave the hardened cleanser on for at least 8 hours (or overnight), then shampoo out.
• Medical Lotions.Look for lice treatments that contain piperonyl butoxide and pyrethrins, or that contains 1% permethrin.

Pubic lice home remedy is intended to provide basic information about pubic lice infestation; however, you should contact a physician if your condition does not improve after trying the above lice home remedy.

References:
Center for Disease Control

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