About Body Lice

Overview

People who are refugees, homeless, or victims of a war situation or natural disaster are prone to contracting body lice, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Unlike head lice, body lice are parasites that need blood to survive. They live in the seams of clothing and bedding that infested people own. Once contact is made with the clothing or the person themselves, body lice can spread.

Significance

Infestations can take place at a rapid rate and there is no race that is exempt. The main reason it develops and spreads is because of poor hygiene and conditions that are unsanitary. When clothes and bedding are not changed and cleaned often or if bathing is not done for long periods of time, body lice has a favorable environment to manifest, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms

"Pruritus" is the term used to describe the extreme itching and rash that comes with body lice infestation. This is an allergic reaction that is caused from louse bites. When the body has been infested for a long period of time, a condition called vagabond's disease can develop. This is characterized by discolored, thick skin, especially in the area of the upper thighs, waist and groin.

Types

Lice eggs are called nits and they can be seen predominately in the armpit and waistline of an infested person's clothes. They can take anywhere from one to two weeks to hatch, they are oval shaped and they are whitish yellow color.
Immature lice that hatch from the nits are called nymphs. These immature lice are small and they mature in about nine to 12 days. They start to feed on blood for survival once they are born.
An adult louse is grayish white and about the size of a sesame seed. They have six legs and, as the case with nymphs, they must feed on blood for survival. Adults live on people, and if they fall off, they die in five to seven days.

Transmission

Body lice itself is not life-threatening, but the problem is that they can transmit other diseases. Louse-borne relapsing fever, typhus and trench fever are all examples of these conditions, according to CDC.

Prevention/Solution

Personal hygiene is the treatment for body lice. Clothes, towels and bedding that were infested are washed with water that is at least 130 degrees F and clothes are regularly changed at least once a week. Occasionally, an infested person will be treated with a body lice killing medicine called pediculicide, according to CDC.