What happens if pubic lice are not treated?

Pubic lice often appear around the pubic hair and anus, and crawl back and forth inside the vagina, causing severe itching. Even if you catch one, it is difficult to eradicate the next one, and they will continue to reproduce. Such situations are very simple to deal with, and they can be treated with medication in a timely manner and cleaned regularly to avoid invading the body and causing complications.

The main sites of disease are the pubic hair area and around the anus, and can also be seen in the armpit hair and chest hair areas. Common subjective symptoms are severe itching, which often causes scratches, blood scabs, or secondary bacterial infections such as impetigo and folliculitis. Occasionally, gray-blue or light-blue macules can be seen, with a diameter of about 0.5 cm. They do not fade after finger pressure and are not accompanied by itching. They are commonly seen on the inner thigh, lower abdomen and waist. This is because when pubic lice suck blood, their saliva enters the blood and denatures the hemoglobin. After the pubic lice are killed, these blue spots may persist for several months.

Medication

1. Treatment principles: Early diagnosis and timely treatment; treatment plans must be individualized; regular treatment and follow-up; tracing the source of infection, examination and treatment; sexual partners should be examined and treated at the same time.

2. Treatment options

The ideal treatment should be able to effectively kill both adult pubic lice and their eggs. Before treatment, the patient should shave his pubic hair, and underwear, bed sheets, and quilts should be soaked in boiling water to kill insects. The commonly used methods in clinical practice are as follows:

(2) Drug treatment:

① Lindane (1%) (γ-hexachlorobenzene, γ-666): dosage forms include lotion, shampoo and cream. This medicine has the effect of killing adult pubic lice and their eggs. The method of use is to apply the medicine to the affected area, wash it off after 8 hours, and observe for 3 to 5 days. If it has not healed, repeat the treatment once. Because excessive absorption of this drug can cause adverse reactions in the nervous system, and there are even reports that lindane (γ-666) is toxic to human hematopoietic stem cells, this drug should not be used in pregnant women, children, and those with large areas of epidermal exfoliation or multiple skin lesions on the scrotum.

③ Permethrin (1%): Use this drug to thoroughly wash the infected area, then wash it slowly with warm water for 10 minutes, and observe for 7 to 10 days. If it does not heal, repeat the treatment once;

④ Sulfur ointment (6%): Apply topically, twice a day, for 10 days as a course of treatment. This medicine is for infants.