To cure pubic lice for good you have to get serious.
Treating yourself is easy - but not enough.
Since pubic lice infestation is considered a sexually transmitted disease, you must treat your partner as well or you'll get it right back.
A person could have pubic lice and not even know it, so don't call your partner a liar if he or she insists they are clean.
If you have it, your partner has it, end of story.
If your partner won't consent to treatment, it's hardly worth treating yourself.
And it's best if you're both treated at the same time.
If you're treated, but afterward have a single encounter with an infected person, you must treat yourself again.
And, since we're talking STD exposure, if you've acquired pubic lice you may have acquired a second STD and should be checked by a health professional since STDs, like people, run in pairs.
As for treatment, here are 3 options: chemical treatment, shaving, and heat-killing.
Chemical treatment is probably most popular.
The same chemicals that treat head lice treat pubic lice.
You don't need to see a doctor for this, although, like I said, it's a good idea to get checked for other sexually transmitted diseases.
You can buy over-the-counter head lice treatments, such as Nix or Rid, or equivalent generics.
Of course, you have to treat the pubic area, not your head.
Since the lice live around hair, you need to treat any hairy areas including the pubic area, the adjacent inner thighs, and back toward the buttocks.
The hairier you are, the greater an area you have to treat.
It is of utmost importance to leave the product on as long as the package directs you to.
The chemicals don't kill on immediate contact.
Shaving is another option you may use alone or in combination with chemical treatment.
Shave off all the pubic hair, adjacent thigh hair, and back toward the buttocks.
You'll probably have to repeat this every few days for a week or two to make sure no lice were missed.
For patients uninterested in shaving or concerned about chemical use, a third option is heat treatment.
The Lousebuster was developed for treatment of head lice, but could be used on other areas of the body as well.
Just be sure not to burn yourself with this hot-air device.
The hot air works by drying out the lice and eggs, eventually killing them through dehydration.
Again, a single treatment may not be effective.
In addition to the above measures, you'll want to wash all your bed linens, towels, and clothing in hot water.
Avoid sharing these items with others, especially children.
So, how do you know if you're cured? To start, how did you diagnosis yourself in the first place? Probably you were itching in the genital area, then found small, crab-like bugs in the pubic or groin area.
Or perhaps you saw small black dots in the groin area that appeared to move.
To answer the question, when you've treated yourself thoroughly, washed linens, towels, and clothing, and haven't had symptoms nor seen lice for at least two weeks afterward, you can consider yourself cured.
Again, make sure your partner does the same, and give him or her this article to read.
Treating yourself is easy - but not enough.
Since pubic lice infestation is considered a sexually transmitted disease, you must treat your partner as well or you'll get it right back.
A person could have pubic lice and not even know it, so don't call your partner a liar if he or she insists they are clean.
If you have it, your partner has it, end of story.
If your partner won't consent to treatment, it's hardly worth treating yourself.
And it's best if you're both treated at the same time.
If you're treated, but afterward have a single encounter with an infected person, you must treat yourself again.
And, since we're talking STD exposure, if you've acquired pubic lice you may have acquired a second STD and should be checked by a health professional since STDs, like people, run in pairs.
As for treatment, here are 3 options: chemical treatment, shaving, and heat-killing.
Chemical treatment is probably most popular.
The same chemicals that treat head lice treat pubic lice.
You don't need to see a doctor for this, although, like I said, it's a good idea to get checked for other sexually transmitted diseases.
You can buy over-the-counter head lice treatments, such as Nix or Rid, or equivalent generics.
Of course, you have to treat the pubic area, not your head.
Since the lice live around hair, you need to treat any hairy areas including the pubic area, the adjacent inner thighs, and back toward the buttocks.
The hairier you are, the greater an area you have to treat.
It is of utmost importance to leave the product on as long as the package directs you to.
The chemicals don't kill on immediate contact.
Shaving is another option you may use alone or in combination with chemical treatment.
Shave off all the pubic hair, adjacent thigh hair, and back toward the buttocks.
You'll probably have to repeat this every few days for a week or two to make sure no lice were missed.
For patients uninterested in shaving or concerned about chemical use, a third option is heat treatment.
The Lousebuster was developed for treatment of head lice, but could be used on other areas of the body as well.
Just be sure not to burn yourself with this hot-air device.
The hot air works by drying out the lice and eggs, eventually killing them through dehydration.
Again, a single treatment may not be effective.
In addition to the above measures, you'll want to wash all your bed linens, towels, and clothing in hot water.
Avoid sharing these items with others, especially children.
So, how do you know if you're cured? To start, how did you diagnosis yourself in the first place? Probably you were itching in the genital area, then found small, crab-like bugs in the pubic or groin area.
Or perhaps you saw small black dots in the groin area that appeared to move.
To answer the question, when you've treated yourself thoroughly, washed linens, towels, and clothing, and haven't had symptoms nor seen lice for at least two weeks afterward, you can consider yourself cured.
Again, make sure your partner does the same, and give him or her this article to read.