Pubic lice can nestle in the pubic hair. These are also called plates.
In adult males and females, the pubic area generally covered in pubic hair, a somewhat coarse hair type. Pubic lice (or flats) can settle in these hairs. These small insects can be transmitted through sexual contact, by wearing clothes or using bed linen from someone who is infested with pubic lice.
Pubic lice are generally brownish in color and about the size of a pinhead. They are quite flat in shape and on the skin they often look like small scabs.
The lice have pincer-like legs, with which they cling to the pubic hairs, in which they lay their eggs. The eggs look like small brown dots and are called nits. They attach to the base of the hair, close to the skin. Adult lice feed on human blood. They pierce the skin with their jaws, after which they suck blood from the small blood vessels in the skin. Proteins are released into the skin via their saliva.
If someone has been infected with a pubic house for a few days, or has already been infected before, the proteins are antibodies attacked in the skin. This releases chemicals that cause itching and inflammation in the pubic area. That’s the first sign of contamination. Fortunately can pubic lice infestation (medical term: pediculosis) are treated with over-the-counter medications.
