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Your Sexual Health

What are Crabs? How Do You Get Rid of Them?

Crabs (pubic lice) are parasites that prefer the pubic region of the body, but will be content on any hair they find. However, these lice seem not to prefer the hair on top of our heads. They do not care whether you are a woman or a man. Crabs can be seen if you look for them. A person who is infected with scabies can inadvertently transmit them to another person. You do not need to be having sex to become infested.

Crabs can only be transferred to another person through intercourse. Along with this, they can be spread if you share the same bedding or clothing of an infected individual. Extreme itching in the pubic area may be a cause of concern. With crabs the severe itching usually begins after the fifth day of exposure. Crabs can get anywhere you have hair on your body though they usually are not found in the hair on your head.

What methods are available to treat crabs? There are treatments available without a prescription that includes creams and medicated shampoos. It is not necessary to shave your pubic hair to remove crabs. Read the treatment directions and follow them completely. You will have to wash all your items in hot water and dry on a hot setting. Items that cannot go in a washer should be placed in a large plastic bag that you leave outside for up to 72 hours or longer if needed. It is important to remember that person can become re-infected once treatment has completed.

Permethrin & Lindane are non-prescription treatments that work well in eliminating crabs. Though remember, if you still have symptoms to contact your health care professional.

Is it a wise choice not to get treatment for crabs? No, if you choose not to treat this very uncomfortable problem, it will get worse. In addition to the infestation and the discomfort, the constant re-infections will cause a serious skin infection. It is not necessary to let it get this bad when there are non-medical treatments available.

If you or your sexual partner has been infected with crabs, both have to be treated. It is just as important to tell everyone you have had sex with so they can also be treated. Do not have sex until you and the people you have had sex with, have been completely treated. All of your symptoms should have disappeared before resuming intercourse, or you could infest each other again. If there are any other members in your household, they should also be checked for crabs.

Millions of people get this annoying pest every year. Crabs are the common term for pubic lice. They look like crabs under a microscope, but can be seen by the naked eye with close inspection. Crabs are different from head or body lice, although the same intense itching occurs, albeit in a different area of the body. The other transmissible tiny parasite that can cause itching in the genital area is scabies. Normally you do not have any symptoms of crabs until at least five days after a possible infestation has occurred. Adult crabs look like whitish flecks on the genitals and itch a bit more. Sky-blue spots, which fade to brown, are bites and defecation. Scabies, however, are IN the skin, so you will see bumps, perhaps blisters, and crusty skin. It is extremely easy to transmit either by skin-to-skin contact. It is also possible to get crabs from bedding, clothing, or toilet seats.

Large items such as bedding items can be placed in a plastic bag and stored away from everything else, such as in the garage or basement, for at least a month. During this time, lice and nits that hatch will die without blood to feed upon. After the pests are gone, you may still have some itching due to skin irritation or allergic reaction. Hydrocortisone cream can take care of that. It is very important to remember that if you have had contact with anyone who might have crabs, you should be examined. Others in the household may require treatment if symptoms begin. It is best to abstain from sexual contact for 48 hours after treatment. Examine yourself after one week to determine if any nits remain. To avoid catching crabs again make sure sex partner(s) are treated too. Telling a partner might be uncomfortable, but it is important that they get treatment as soon as possible.

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KissMeGoodnight.com : 2006

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