Shaving your pubic hair, whilst it might make you feel better, does not get rid of the crabs but does remove their eggs. The crabs will cling on to you and crawl to other body hair. If you do decide to shave, do it a long while after you have applied the lotion.
You cannot get rid of pubic lice by washing or shaving, as the lice only need a minimal length of hair on which to lay their eggs. Therefore you do not need to shave your pubic hair. You can treat yourself at home with an insecticidal lotion or cream which is available over the counter from a pharmacy.
They're usually found on the pubic hair, but can also be found on other parts of the body where a person has coarse hair (such as armpits, eyelashes, and facial hair). Anyone can get crabs and they are very common.
Crabs are tiny lice that live in pubic hair or other coarse body hair. Scabies are tiny mites that burrow under the skin of the hands or genital area to lay eggs. Both types of parasitic insect can be easily spread to another person.
You can usually see pubic lice by looking closely, or you may need to use a magnifying glass. Pubic lice are tan or whitish-gray, and they look like tiny crabs. They get darker when they're full of blood. Crab eggs (called nits) on the bottom part of your pubic hairs.
Crabs don't spread through quick, casual touching, like handshakes or hugs. And it's really, really rare to get crabs from a toilet seat — crabs don't live very long when they're away from a human body, and they can't hang onto smooth surfaces.
Shaving your pubic hair, whilst it might make you feel better, does not get rid of the crabs but does remove their eggs. The crabs will cling on to you and crawl to other body hair. If you do decide to shave, do it a long while after you have applied the lotion.
If you have pubic lice (crabs), you may experience intense itching in your genital region. Pubic lice can spread to other areas with coarse body hair, including the: Legs.
It is usually pretty easy to determine whether you have crabs. You should be able to see tiny crab-shaped insects and clumps of white eggs at the base of your pubic hair. Fortunately, crabs are quite common and easily treatable.
The pubic lice organisms are visible to the naked eye in affected areas. The lice are typically seen attached to hair in public areas but may sometimes appear in other areas of the body where coarse hair is present (such as beard, chest, armpits, etc.).
Common causes of genital itching include contact dermatitis, jock itch, scabies, yeast infection, and folliculitis. Your healthcare provider can help you determine the cause and point you to the best treatment and prevention strategies.
Around 1 to 2 of every 100 Australians are estimated to have public lice.
Eliminating Crabs
Yes, crabs are annoying and bothersome, but at least they are easy to get rid of without prescription medication. This can be done with over the over-the-counter insecticidal creams, lotions, and shampoos.
If left untreated, you can develop infections from scratching. It can also cause your skin to change color and become scaly and scarred.
Sexual transmission - You can get crabs when you have skin-to-skin contact with another person. Even when there is no sexual penetration, you can get (or give) crabs. Non-sexual transmission - You can get crabs from sleeping in an infested bed or using infested towels.
It can take up to 3 weeks after coming into contact with pubic lice before you notice any symptoms. They are spread through close body contact with someone who has them, most commonly sexual contact. The lice crawl from hair to hair but can't fly or jump.
There's no medical or hygienic reason for removing some or all of your pubic hair. But the removal process can be painful and cause many side effects, including: Genital itching, sometimes severe.
Pubic lice symptoms often show up about five days after you get infested. Symptoms of crabs include: Pruritus (severe itching) in hairy areas, especially pubic hair. Specks of blood in your underwear.
From the gynecologist's perspective, shaving regularly to eliminate pubic hair has drawbacks. Razors harbor bacteria and cause some abrasion of the skin; especially in a moist environment. This creates a setup for a bacterial skin infection.
A lice-killing lotion containing 1% permethrin or a mousse containing pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide can be used to treat pubic (“crab”) lice. These products are available over-the-counter without a prescription at a local drug store or pharmacy.
Pubic lice and their eggs attach very strongly to hair; they won't wash or brush off, nor do they fall off. They cannot survive for long without a human 'host' to feed from. This means that you are very unlikely to catch pubic lice from clothing, bed linen, shared towels or toilet seats.
Life Cycle:
Pubic lice (Pthirus pubis) have three stages: egg, nymph and adult. Eggs (nits) are laid on a hair shaft . Females will lay approximately 30 eggs during their 3–4 week life span.
They can also be spread through contact with the clothing and bedding of someone with crabs. Animals cannot get or spread pubic lice. If left untreated, the affected area will continue to itch. Repeated scratching of the infested area can result in other serious skin infections.
Laser hair removal or electrolysis
Laser hair removal and electrolysis are both considered “permanent” methods to denude pubes: both eliminate hair follicles so hair doesn't grow back.