What can you tell me about crab lice?
January 21, 2008
How do you deal with crab lice? First of all, how often should I expect to get them (say, on average every N bathouse visits, sex club visits or random tricks - what is N)? Second, what is the best way to get rid of them? Third, if fast action is part of the way to get rid of them, how soon can you tell you have them? -- I am asking because I had several bad experiences with crabs. They seem to like me - I don't know if it's my karma, my hairiness or what.
The first time didn't even involve sex (I am telling the truth) - it was at a hippie-dippie Hot Springs I was staying at; several days later I had crabs, and my fuck buddy that I went with did not, so I must have just sat down on the wrong redwood deck. The second and third times I got them (a few years later) it was definitely from sex - at my local gay bathhouse. I don't understand it because I wash VERY thoroughly at the beginning and end of the experience (it's a bathouse, after all) and my friends who do the same, and who go WAY more often than me, say they almost never get crabs from it. I find that having crabs a really disgusting experience and after those three times, I am so paranoid that I find myself doing laundry and dousing myself with RID (used for killing crab) the second I feel any unusual itching or prickling in my pubic area (and I know I've had sex with a stranger very recently). Now I'm going paranoid the other way - wondering if I'm being *too* paranoid and didn't really have crabs (the last time I did this). Can you help me understand things with some real info?
The first time didn't even involve sex (I am telling the truth) - it was at a hippie-dippie Hot Springs I was staying at; several days later I had crabs, and my fuck buddy that I went with did not, so I must have just sat down on the wrong redwood deck. The second and third times I got them (a few years later) it was definitely from sex - at my local gay bathhouse. I don't understand it because I wash VERY thoroughly at the beginning and end of the experience (it's a bathouse, after all) and my friends who do the same, and who go WAY more often than me, say they almost never get crabs from it. I find that having crabs a really disgusting experience and after those three times, I am so paranoid that I find myself doing laundry and dousing myself with RID (used for killing crab) the second I feel any unusual itching or prickling in my pubic area (and I know I've had sex with a stranger very recently). Now I'm going paranoid the other way - wondering if I'm being *too* paranoid and didn't really have crabs (the last time I did this). Can you help me understand things with some real info?
Sounds like quite a situation! I think I can help, but I'd like to start with a little "Crab 101" lesson first.
Crab lice are small insects in a rough "crab" shape that itch like hell and like nesting in the pubic hair of humans. This includes groin hair, but can also include hairy legs, asses, chests, armpits, and the like. They tend to avoid the top of a person's head - that's head lice, another breed. They're quite small. One can easily fit inside the letter "O" at 10-point type, and their eggs are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. It typically takes a week to three weeks until you start itching after you are exposed, but can start a lot sooner if you manage to pick up a few adults.
Because crabs are often found in the genital region, they're easily spread sexually. They can be transmitted through nonsexual means as well, such as sharing towels, clothes, or bed linens of someone who has crabs. Washing with soap and water does not help either prevent or kill crabs. Worse yet, when "infected" with crabs, you have to kill them all. If you miss even just one or a single egg, they'll return and remultiply in several weeks time.
The standard way to get rid of crabs is to drop into your local pharmacy and pick up a kit (such as RID) for eradicating lice. It should have a special shampoo for the infected areas, and a special super-fine comb for picking out and removing eggs and dead lice. Be sure to read the instructions carefully, as you need to put on the shampoo for a certain amount of time in order for it to work. Additionally, most pharmacies have special types of laundry detergent that you can use for washing your clothes and bedding when you have lice. The special detergents will kill any live crabs or eggs in the wash. (Be sure to do all your wash thoroughly! If you put away "sterile" clothes back in a drawer next to ones that have eggs on them, you just defeated the purpose!). Use the same detergent or shampoo to wash your combs, etc. In the event that RID doesn't kill them all, see your doctor. There are a number of prescription lice-killers that are more powerful than the over-the-counter variety. They're tougher on the skin but can be highly useful with really tough batches of crabs.
Although the directions do not discuss it, some people will have off their pubic hair when they have crabs. While this will certainly help spot and remove them, it's also a bit of overkill. My suggestion is to ask a partner with good eyesight to examine your crotch area with a pair of tweezers and a lighter. Pick out any crabs and eggs you see and burn then in the lighter. This will increase the effectiveness of your shampoo treatments. You will then want to take a look at his pubic areas, just to make sure you haven't exposed him to anything.
Ok, lesson finished. Now for your concerns. For starters, the frequency with which you are exposed to crabs will depend on how effective you have been with informing your partners. You can clear up your crabs all you'd like, but if you repeatedly sleep with someone that has them, you'll get them back. The same goes for how well your partner notified his partners. You may be exposure yourself to crabs a second time because your partners didn't handle themselves responsibly. There's no mathematical rule to how often you should expect to get crabs, as it depends on the number of partners you have and the frequency by which you sleep with them. But keeping everyone informed will most definitely help.
As for your paranoia, don't get too out of control. Next time you itch, as a partner to take a good look at your body up and down with the tweezers and lighter not too far away. He can use a magnifying glass if it helps. Try to point to him where it itches. Sometimes he may find something, other times it may be just a touch of dry skin or whatever. Either way, it may set your mind at ease. In my own case, 19 out of 20 times when I have my partner give me a check, he doesn't find anything. But every few years that 20th time comes up and he does. It sucks, but it's a part of life. Deal with it like you would any other minor medical irritation and move on with life.
Incidentally, it's not a bad idea to be checked by your doctor for sexually transmitted diseases if you have crabs. According to Dr. Goldstone (one of my current favorite gay people) in his book, The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex: A Medical Handbook for Men, one-third of men with crabs also have another STD.
Crab lice are small insects in a rough "crab" shape that itch like hell and like nesting in the pubic hair of humans. This includes groin hair, but can also include hairy legs, asses, chests, armpits, and the like. They tend to avoid the top of a person's head - that's head lice, another breed. They're quite small. One can easily fit inside the letter "O" at 10-point type, and their eggs are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. It typically takes a week to three weeks until you start itching after you are exposed, but can start a lot sooner if you manage to pick up a few adults.
Because crabs are often found in the genital region, they're easily spread sexually. They can be transmitted through nonsexual means as well, such as sharing towels, clothes, or bed linens of someone who has crabs. Washing with soap and water does not help either prevent or kill crabs. Worse yet, when "infected" with crabs, you have to kill them all. If you miss even just one or a single egg, they'll return and remultiply in several weeks time.
The standard way to get rid of crabs is to drop into your local pharmacy and pick up a kit (such as RID) for eradicating lice. It should have a special shampoo for the infected areas, and a special super-fine comb for picking out and removing eggs and dead lice. Be sure to read the instructions carefully, as you need to put on the shampoo for a certain amount of time in order for it to work. Additionally, most pharmacies have special types of laundry detergent that you can use for washing your clothes and bedding when you have lice. The special detergents will kill any live crabs or eggs in the wash. (Be sure to do all your wash thoroughly! If you put away "sterile" clothes back in a drawer next to ones that have eggs on them, you just defeated the purpose!). Use the same detergent or shampoo to wash your combs, etc. In the event that RID doesn't kill them all, see your doctor. There are a number of prescription lice-killers that are more powerful than the over-the-counter variety. They're tougher on the skin but can be highly useful with really tough batches of crabs.
Although the directions do not discuss it, some people will have off their pubic hair when they have crabs. While this will certainly help spot and remove them, it's also a bit of overkill. My suggestion is to ask a partner with good eyesight to examine your crotch area with a pair of tweezers and a lighter. Pick out any crabs and eggs you see and burn then in the lighter. This will increase the effectiveness of your shampoo treatments. You will then want to take a look at his pubic areas, just to make sure you haven't exposed him to anything.
Ok, lesson finished. Now for your concerns. For starters, the frequency with which you are exposed to crabs will depend on how effective you have been with informing your partners. You can clear up your crabs all you'd like, but if you repeatedly sleep with someone that has them, you'll get them back. The same goes for how well your partner notified his partners. You may be exposure yourself to crabs a second time because your partners didn't handle themselves responsibly. There's no mathematical rule to how often you should expect to get crabs, as it depends on the number of partners you have and the frequency by which you sleep with them. But keeping everyone informed will most definitely help.
As for your paranoia, don't get too out of control. Next time you itch, as a partner to take a good look at your body up and down with the tweezers and lighter not too far away. He can use a magnifying glass if it helps. Try to point to him where it itches. Sometimes he may find something, other times it may be just a touch of dry skin or whatever. Either way, it may set your mind at ease. In my own case, 19 out of 20 times when I have my partner give me a check, he doesn't find anything. But every few years that 20th time comes up and he does. It sucks, but it's a part of life. Deal with it like you would any other minor medical irritation and move on with life.
Incidentally, it's not a bad idea to be checked by your doctor for sexually transmitted diseases if you have crabs. According to Dr. Goldstone (one of my current favorite gay people) in his book, The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex: A Medical Handbook for Men, one-third of men with crabs also have another STD.
