I take it the whores think there is some health benefit from shaving?
Are they afraid of catching crabs off the punters? Can a bare public area still get infested?
Pubic lice (Phthirus pubis) are tiny parasitic insects that live on coarse human body hair, such as pubic hair.
As well as being found in pubic hair, the lice are also sometimes found in:
•underarm and leg hair
•hair on the chest, abdomen and back
•facial hair, such as beards and moustaches
•eyelashes and eyebrows (very occasionally)
Unlike head lice, pubic lice don't live in scalp hair.
Pubic lice are spread through close bodily contact, most commonly sexual contact.
Symptoms of pubic lice
After getting pubic lice, it can take several weeks before any symptoms appear. Symptoms are the same for men and women and include:
•itching in the affected areas
•inflammation and irritation caused by scratching
•black powder in your underwear
•blue spots or small spots of blood on your skin, such as on your thighs or lower abdomen (caused by lice bites)
Itching is the most common symptom of pubic lice and is an allergic reaction to their saliva. The itching is usually worse at night, when the lice are most active.
What do pubic lice look like?Adult pubic lice are very small (2mm long) and aren't easy to see. They're a yellow-grey or dusky red colour and have six legs.
Pubic lice are sometimes known as crabs because they have two large front legs that look like the claws of a crab. These are used to hold onto the base of hairs.
The lice lay their eggs (nits) in sacs that are stuck firmly to hairs and are a pale brownish colour. When the eggs hatch, the empty egg sacs are white.
Although pubic lice and lice eggs are small and difficult to see, they may be visible in coarse hair anywhere on your body (apart from hair on your head).
How do you get pubic lice? Pubic lice aren't related to poor personal hygiene. They're usually spread through close bodily contact with an infected person.
The lice crawl from hair to hair, but can't fly or jump. They need human blood to survive, so will only leave the body to move from one person to another.
The most common way pubic lice are spread is through sexual contact, including vaginal, anal and oral sex. Using condoms and other methods of barrier contraception doesn't protect you against pubic lice.
Other types of close bodily contact, such as hugging and kissing, can also spread the lice.
It's also possible – though much rarer – for pubic lice to be spread through sharing clothes, towels and bedding.
