Pubic Lice (Crabs)
Pubic lice affect both girls and guys.
Symptoms
- Pubic lice are brown or grey insects shaped like tiny crabs. They live in pubic hair (around the genitals), body hair, facial hair and armpits and feed on human blood. The female lays eggs (nits) that attach to hair and clothing.
- Lice can live up to three months on the human body, but die within 24 hours away from the human body eg. when left on items such as clothes or bed linen.
- The most common symptom is an itch.
- Pubic lice and scabies can co-exist. Scabies is caused by a different insect, but is also passed from person to person.
How do you get it?
It’s spread by direct person to person contact. This is usually by sexual contact, but may also be through sharing of clothing or bed linen.
What’s the treatment?
Pubic lice can be easily treated with creams you can buy from the chemist. Treatment needs to be repeated after three to seven days to kill both living lice and the eggs. Other household members and sexual contacts should be treated at the same time. As lice can live for a day on clothing and bed linen, clothes and sheets should be washed on a hot cycle on the day of treatment.
Animated movie on pubic lice and scabies
What to do
For advice, see your local doctor, family planning clinic or sexual health clinic.
More info
- Read a detailed fact sheet about pubic lice (crabs)
- Find out more about scabies.