What are pubic lice?

If you’re itchy around your groin and think you have pubic lice, don’t panic. There are a couple of steps you’ll need to take, but there’s a straightforward way to treat and get rid of pubic lice.

This can help if:

• you think you have pubic lice

• you want to know how to prevent public lice

• you want to know how to treat pubic lice.

What are pubic lice?

Pubic lice, sometimes called pubic hair ‘crabs’, are tiny insects that live in pubic hair (the hair that covers your genitals). They're usually passed on through sexual contact, but can also be transmitted through indirect contact, such as by sharing a towel. Similar to head lice, it can be annoying and uncomfortable, but the good news is that pubic lice are easy to treat.

Symptoms of pubic lice

Pubic lice often (but not always):

• makes you itchy around your genitals or bum

• causes tiny blue spots to develop on the skin around your genitals

• leaves spots of blood on your underwear where you've been bitten

• have lice or tiny eggs that you can see in your pubic hair.

You can also get them in your armpits or even in your eyelashes, as they can be transferred when you scratch.

Treating pubic lice

If you’re not sure if you have pubic lice, get it checked out by your doctor. You might feel awkward or a little embarrassed to show them, but they’re used to dealing with this, and the interaction will be over pretty quickly anyway.

When you know you have pubic lice, you can get a treatment from the chemist. If the doctor hasn’t given you a prescription or told you what to get, ask the chemist about what treatments they have. If you’re shy about talking about it in public, ask to talk to the chemist privately, as they usually have a space to chat away from other people.

The treatments can come in different forms such as lotions, creams, shampoos or mousses. You can also ask the chemist for an antihistamine to help with the itching.

Other things you’ll need to do to get rid of the lice include:

• Telling people you live with, frequently share a bed with or have sex with, so that they can treat it, too. Yes, it can be an uncomfortable conversation, but it’ll stop the lice from spreading even more and prevent you from getting them again. 

• Wash your clothes, sheets, doona, pillowcase and towels in the washing machine using hot water and dry them in a dryer. Alternatively, get them dry cleaned.

• If you don’t have a dryer and can’t get them dry cleaned, put the items in a sealed plastic bag for 14 days so that any lice on them will die.

If the pubic lice or itching doesn’t go away, or you have itching but no visible lice, it’s worth getting checked out at a medical centre or sexual health clinic. Learn more about getting a sexual health check.

Taking care of yourself

Getting your treatment, making sure everything gets washed and having to tell some people can be pretty stressful. Take time to practise some self-care to unwind and take your mind off the situation. If there’s someone not involved in the situation that you trust and know will be non-judgemental, let them know how you’re going. It can feel less isolating to know that someone else knows what’s going on and has your back. Want to chat to someone anonymously? There’s always our Online Community and PeerChat.

Want to know more?

Just Ask ReachOut, our AI tool that gives you reliable, anonymous answers to your questions, generated from ReachOut articles and resources.

Ask ReachOut