Have you ever experience an itchy hair of your genitals that you cannot stop scratching? You are experiencing one of the many crabs’ symptoms. This infection is from an insect that feeds on human blood, and it lives in your body’s pubic hair. However, for children who also have this insect, you can also see it in their eyebrows. The lice can live in the underarm hair or the hair in your intimate area. Also, it is not a serious disease, but it can lead to other health complications. Genital crabs or crabs are the names because the lice have two big front legs that look like a claw of a crab. But these insects do not live in the hair of your head.
Adult pubic lice eggs are very small. You can only see it using a magnifying glass. They are yellow-grey or reddish. The lice lay their eggs in sacs that stick to the hair. Hence, it makes it hard for you to know if the person you have sexual contact with has it or not. Here are some of the crabs’ symptoms that you can experience when you have these insects in your pubic hairs.
1. Itching of the Affected Areas
These insects feed on your blood by biting your skin so that it can drink blood from you. Your body will react to the biting of the insects. It is the reason why you cannot stop itching.
2. Swelling and Irritation
With all the continuous itching, you can damage the skin in your sex organs. Which may lead to a bacterial infection. It is because of the irritation that had happened to your wound from all the scratching.
3. Black Powder in your Underwear
Whenever you see black powder in your underwear, it is a sign that you have a genital crab in your pubic area. Once the pubic lice have made their stomachs full, they release feces that looks like a black powder.
4. Small Spots of Blood on the Skin
You can see many bite marks from the insects all over your body, such as your thighs or lower abdomen. If you wonder how you get these insects in your body’s pubic hair, here are some of the causes.
5. Close Contact
Having contact with the body of someone who has pubic lice. Hugging and kissing someone who has pubic lice can increase the chances of you having it. Another was when you had sexual intercourse with a person infected by an insect. It will be hard to know if someone has this insect in their body since it is small. Condoms or other contraception will not prevent it from transferring to another person.
6. Sharing of Clothes, Towels, and Bedding
Avoid sharing common clothes, towels, or other personal things with a person. You can build a good habit by not sharing with anyone your things and other personal belongings.
7. Self Check
It is easy to know if you have pubic lice. You can do a self-diagnosis without visiting a doctor. However, if you have doubts about the diagnosis, try visiting a doctor. Using a magnifying glass, your doctor will examine you and look for signs of the lice or their eggs if the results show that you have lice and you think you got it through having sexual contact with a person who has it. You should have testing for other infections that can transfer with sexual contact.
This infection is not a serious problem. But possible health complications can still happen if you do not treat it. Examples of complications are discoloration of the skin, wound infection, and eye irritations. Children who have pubic lice may also have it in their eyebrows. Aside from that, you can transfer the insects to other people. So, instead of passing it on to others, have it treated.
Prevention
To avoid having lice living in your pubic area, do not have sexual contact with anyone who has the insect. Encourage other people who you know who have this problem also to get treated so that they cannot pass it on to others in the future.