Flat lice

Flat lice

Flat lice have a broad and flat shape, hence the name flat lice, and thrive best on hairy skin areas, especially around the genitals. This means that they are easily infected via sexual contact, and flat lice are therefore considered a venereal disease.

What are flat lice?

Flat lice (Phirus pubis) are broad grey-white lice that are approximately 2 mm long. The female louse lays whitish-yellow eggs which hatch after 7-8 days. The lice look like small flat crabs.

The lice thrive best in coarsely hairy areas around the genitals and rectum, but can also be found in other hairy places on the body, such as e.g. thighs, armpits, eyelashes and eyebrows. Flat lice are unable to live in thick and long hair growth, and are therefore rarely seen on the scalp. This distinguishes flat lice from ordinary head lice. Bed bugs are slow to move and normally only move a few millimeters a day.

Causes of bed lice infestation

Flat lice are transmitted by close body contact, usually through sexual contact. Infection can also happen through bedding, clothes and towels, but this is less common.

Symptoms of flat lice

Bed bugs cause a strong itch which is caused by an allergic reaction to the bites. Bed bugs have substances in their saliva that can give some people a bluish color at the bite site, which can last for several days. Bed bugs and eggs can be detected if you look carefully. The eggs sit several after each other on a strand of hair like "pearls on a string".

Good advice for flat lice

• Sexual partners should always be examined if flat lice have been detected in the partner, so that both can be treated. Condoms do not protect against flat lice and you should therefore refrain from sex until the treatment has been completed.

• Lice in parents can be transmitted to children through close body contact, such as when sharing a bed. Children should therefore be checked if their parents have flat lice.

• Bed linen and clothes are washed at 60 degrees or put in the freezer (minimum minus 20 degrees) for 8-12 hours. Lice die within a day without body contact and you therefore do not need to clean duvets, beds etc.

• If flat lice are found in the eyebrows or eyelashes, the lice and hair with eggs are picked off with tweezers. Vaseline must be smeared on the edge of the eyelid several times a day.