Pubic lice, also known as crabs, are tiny insects that live on body hair. They usually get passed on during sex, but you can catch them through any sort of close physical contact with someone else. They look like nits or lice on your pubic hair, though they’re sometimes found on facial hair or hair elsewhere on your body. 

Getting pubic lice can be embarrassing and uncomfortable, but it’s more common than you might think, and you have nothing to feel ashamed of. It is not a sign of bad hygiene and it can be treated easily.

Public lice are tiny (about 2mm long) and a grey-brown colour. They can be hard to spot. Symptoms of a pubic lice infection include:

  • itching that’s worse at night
  • small blue spots or red pimples on your skin, which are lice bites
  • white or yellow dots on your hair, which are lice eggs 
  • rust-coloured flecks in your underwear, from their poo

They most often live on pubic hair around the penis or vulva. They can also be found in chest hair, armpit hair, beards and even eyelashes. If you have them on your eyelashes they may be crusty or sticky. They do not live on the hair on your head.

Pubic lice are caught through close physical contact with someone who has them - usually sexual contact. Condoms cannot protect you from them although they can stop you getting many other STIs. 

It’s not certain if pubic lice can be caught from bedding, clothes or towels, but some experts think it’s possible.

If you’re worried about pubic lice and need advice, come to one of our free, confidential clinics, where we can check and treat you. Your prescribed treatment will also be free.

If you’re sure it’s pubic lice you can just go to your pharmacist and ask for treatment to buy over the counter.

In either case you’ll be given a special cream or shampoo to get rid of the lice. You apply this all over your body and repeat the treatment a week later.

Make sure the pharmacist or the sexual health expert at our clinic knows if you’re breastfeeding or pregnant so they can give you a cream that’s safe.

We know having pubic lice can be hard to talk about, but they will not go away without treatment. 

Your sexual partner and any recent partners will also need to be treated even if they do not have symptoms.

You might find it difficult or awkward to tell them. If you would prefer, we can contact previous and current partners by text for you, without giving your name. You can also call us, on 0800 328 3383, for details of this service if you're being treated elsewhere. 

While your treatment is working:

  • Wash all bedding and clothing in your household at 50C or higher on the first day of treatment.
  • Put clothing that cannot be washed in a sealed bag for at least a week to kill the lice.
  • Vacuum your mattress.
  • Avoid sex or close physical contact with others until you’ve completed treatment.
  • Do not share clothes, bedding or anything that touches your skin, like razors or flannels.