Pubic lice (commonly known as “crabs”) are small parasitic insects that live in coarse body hair such as pubic hair. They are about 2mm long and yellow-grey in colour. The eggs appear as brownish dots that are fixed to the body hair and are called nits.

As well as pubic hair around the genital area they can also be found in leg or underarm hair, hair on the chest or abdomen, beards, and less commonly in eyebrows or eyelashes. They do not live in head hair- pubic lice are different from the head lice that some people get on their scalp.

Close body contact or sexual contact with someone who has pubic lice is the main route for spreading the lice from person to person.

It can also be possible to pass on pubic lice by sharing towels, bedding and clothing.

Symptoms that you should look out for include:

• Itching in the affected areas, which is usually worse at night
• Irritation and inflammation in the affected areas. This is sometimes caused by scratching.
• Brown eggs on coarse body hair such as pubic hair and black powdery spots in your underwear (lice droppings)
• Light-blue spots (which clear up within a few days) or very tiny specks of blood on the skin.
• Crusted or sticky eyelashes, if they are affected.

It can take several weeks after coming into contact with pubic lice before the signs and symptoms appear.

If you're itching or have been in contact with pubic lice then it's worth carefully examining your genital skin. You may notice tiny dark eggs or pubic lice clinging onto your pubic hair. The diagnosis can be made in the sexual health clinic if need be.

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Public lice will not go away without treatment.

Treating public lice is simple and involves using a special lotion, cream or shampoo. These can be purchased over the counter at most pharmacists.

The itching might continue for a few days, even if you have been successfully treated. Any eggs in your body hair that remain after treatment can be removed by a special comb that you can get over the counter from the pharmacy.

You should also do the following steps to kill any remaining lice, preventing re-infection.

• Wash your towels and bedding in a washing machine on a very hot cycle (50^oC or higher).

• Vacuum your mattress to remove any lice.

• Do not share clothes, bedding or hygiene products (such as razors).

• Do not have close body contact (including sexual contact) with anyone else during treatment.

Make sure that your sexual partner is also treated for pubic lice at the same time, even if they don’t show any symptoms. This is because they could be infected but are in the few weeks before the symptoms start to show.