Pubic lice, also called crabs, are parasites found in the pubic hair of a person. Just like head lice, crabs also suck blood to survive and cause a lot of itching and redness. If the affected area is scratched too much, it can lead to secondary infection. Though they are not life threatening, the discomfort and itching, and the risk of infection and transmission make crabs very undesirable. Pubic lice spread through sexual contact with an already infected person or using lice-infested bedding or clothing. Unfortunately, using a condom does not prevent transmission of pubic lice.
There are medicinal lotions, oils, and creams available that can help you get rid of pubic lice. Consult a doctor before using it as it can have some content that may not agree with your skin or health. There are also some natural ways in which you can get rid of the lice. Tea tree oil is effective at treating pubic lice. After taking a shower, apply tea tree oil or Margosa oil on all the hairy areas of your body. Let the oil stay for about five minutes, rinse the areas off and towel dry. Using a lice comb, take all the nits off the hair shafts. You need to follow the procedure after five days again as there is a possibility of hair shafts being infested by nits, which may hatch and wreak havoc again. You can also draw a warm bath and add one cup of apple cider vinegar to the bathtub water. Soak in it for 15 minutes, towel dry the area, and comb the hair with lice comb. Apply a mix of pennyroyal oil, distilled water, and garlic on the pubic hair for three consecutive days to get rid of crabs.
After getting rid of crabs, it’s also important to disinfect the clothing and bedding. Wash everything in extremely hot soapy water. The clothing and bedding must then be ironed with a hot iron. Things that cannot be washed, like soft toys, must be packed off completely for at a week so that all the lice suffocate and die. And, of course, one must avoid sexual contact with an infected person at all costs. Once someone is infected, the entire family of the infected person needs to be very careful about the spread of lice. And you need to be very careful and keep checking for the infestation time and again as lice have a tendency to recur.