We hear about lice infestation or pediculosis that can affect parts of the body. There are three different types of lice. The head lice are commonly found in the scalp or head. The body lice stay in the seams of the clothes. The pubic lice or crabs are found in the pubic hair of a person. Crab lice are more common to adults than children. They have one common symptom, lice bites can cause itchiness and discomfort to someone who has lice infestation.

Pubic Lice Identification

Pubic lice are also known as crabs. It is called that because of the crab-like appearance it has. If you look at the crabs or pubic lice pictures, they are colored grey. They are smaller than the head and body lice. Aside from their crab-like appearance, they are oval-shaped. They have six legs that are similar to claws. A crab louse crawls slower than the other two lice.  A mature female pubic louse can lay as much as 30 eggs or nits. The pubic lice prefer to stay near coarse hair. They can also be found on the hair in the armpits, eyebrows, beards and mustache. Pubic lice stay deep in the hair but they do not live under the skin.

The crabs or pubic lice have three stages. The first stage is the eggs or nits. They are usually hard to find because they attach firmly to the hair shaft. They are whitish in color. It takes seven days to hatch. The second stage is the nymph. The nit hatches into baby louse known as nymph. Nymphs grow into adult in seven days. They need to feed on blood in order to grow. The third stage is the adult pubic lice or crabs.

Pubic Lice Symptoms

Adults are the ones mostly affected by these lice. Pubic lice or crabs are usually transmitted through sexual contact, although you may still be affected if you use things used by an infected person. You cannot be infected while sitting on a toilet seat. These lice like to stay in warmer places and near the hair. The main symptom of crab lice is itchiness. Itchiness can get worst during night time because this is the time the crab lice feed on the blood. Too much scratching can cause the lice to spread and may cause wounds.

Sometimes the lice bites can cause some area in the pubic area to be inflamed. It may have reddish color and the skin is slightly elevated. There may also be sores near the genital area due to itching.

Prevention for Pubic Lice

Since you get the pubic lice mostly from sexual contact, being careful with your sexual partners is the best prevention. Having multiple sex partners will not help you get rid of crabs or pubic lice.

Crab lice can also be transmitted through beddings, so it is advisable to avoid using the things owned by an infected person. It is also suggested to get rid of the beddings to avoid further contamination.

Treatment of Crab Lice

Someone who has pubic lice should consult a doctor immediately. Unlike having head lice where you can use different treatments on your own, you need to visit a doctor to help you with pubic lice. The doctor will prescribe medicine or over the counter treatments for the crabs or pubic lice. It is important to remember to follow the directions carefully. Remember that these products contain insecticides, so make sure that you do not over use it. It may cause you more problems if you do that.

One suggested treatment for pubic lice is prescription wash that has permethrin. You can also use Malathione lotion.

Concerns about Pubic Lice

The main concern about people having pubic lice is their incessant scratching. Continuous scratching can result in secondary bacterial infection. When the scratching does not stop, the skin can be broken. Sometimes it may result to skin infection that may be described with redness around a large area of skin. When this infection occurs, there may be fever, discomfort when urinating or there is some pus coming out of the genitals.

Pubic lice are generally harmless, but if not checked or examined properly by a doctor, it can turn into sexually transmitted infection. This is the one that can turn it into something harmful.

If the pubic lice have been treated, there should be a follow-up with a doctor.

Lice infestation can be bane to anyone who has it. It does not matter if it is head lice, body lice or crab lice. What one has to remember that the best way to deal with it is to be equipped with information about it and how to treat it.

No matter how many times you try to describe a certain object it is still clearer when you see pictures of it. It is true with the different kinds of lice that may infest our body. Even if you describe it countless of times, you can understand it better when you are presented with pictures of lice. You would be more aware of what they look like and know better on how get rid of them. There are different pictures of lice that you can view and help prepare you to battle these lice infestations.

Lice Pictures

Head lice can be a common afflictions for young children, it can a parents’ nightmare if they learn that their children may have lice infestation. With these head lice pictures you can help identify if your child has live lice. Aside from identifying head lice you can also see pictures of the nit or the louse egg. Since nits can be mistaken for dandruff, if you look at a picture of these nits you can see the difference between nits and dandruff.

In this picture of head lice and nit you can see that the head louse has six legs, it is mostly found in the scalp. It is grayish to black in color. The head louse is almost the same size of a sesame seed. On the other hand the nit is being shown clinging tightly to the hair shaft. It is whitish to yellowish in color. The mostly stay near the upper portion of the hair strand where it is dark. It cannot survive on warm temperature.

Pictures of Head Lice Effects

Aside from identifying the physical appearance of lice, it would also be to your advantage to see how head lice can affect your head. There are several pictures of head lice and its effect on a person’s head or scalp. It shows some of the things that may happen if the infestation is not quickly remedied. The pictures of head lice effect can range from simple rashes due to scratching to sores that may lead to infection. Looking at these pictures of lice effects warn us of what might happen if the lice infestation goes untreated.

Pictures of Body Lice

In terms of physical appearance, body lice and head\ lice have little differences. The main difference is that body lice mostly stay near the seams or edges of the clothing like shirts. The body lice transfer to the body when it needs to feed. In this picture of body lice you can see the nits or lice eggs that are scattered on the seams of the shirt. Instead of laying their eggs on the body, they usually lay it on cloth fibers as seen on this picture of nits of body lice. Body lice thrive on unsanitary environment. They usually afflict those who people who are unhygienic or do not take a bath.

Pictures of Body Lice Bites

Here are some examples of what might happen to someone that is infested with body lice. As you can see in the picture of body lice bites there are red marks scattered around the stomach area of the victim. Some are already swelling due to multiple bites and lack of medical attention. Some of the body lice bites form lesions as well.

Pictures of Lice Treatment

Aside from seeing and understanding more clearly the physical appearance of lice you also need to look at the pictures of head lice treatment that are available over the counter. Some of them are in shampoo form or cream. It is important that you can identify them so that you will not mistakenly purchase some other treatments.

There are also pictures of head lice home remedies. Some people would not want to use treatments made of chemical so they would rather use home remedies that are safer and gentler to the hair and scalp. It can give you helpful hints if you look at the pictures of these lice home remedies so that you will be able to choose the right kind of ingredient to use.

Looking at the different pictures of lice can help you identify the different kinds of lice like the head lice, body lice and pubic lice. You will be able to differentiate them. You will also be aware of some of the effects these lice can do to the specific parts of the body where they stay. The pictures of lice can also help you be aware of what to do in case you will directly be affected by it. They can give you the head start on what to do and what not to do. You can also tell immediately what kind of lice you are affected with. The pictures of lice can also help you spread the information to people you know that may have a hard time dealing with lice.