Brazilian Bikini Waxes Aid the Decline of Pubic Lice

 

Pubic lice (Pthirus pubis)

Pubic lice (Pthirus pubis) have three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Eggs (nits) are laid on a hair shaft The number 1. Females will lay approximately 30 eggs during their 3-4 week life span. Eggs hatch after about a week and become nymphs, which look like smaller versions of the adults. The nymphs undergo three molts (The number 2, The number 3, The number 4) before becoming adults The number 5. Adults are 1.5-2.0 mm long and flattened. They are much broader in comparison to head and body lice. Adults are found only on the human host and require human blood to survive. If adults are forced off the host, they will die within 24-48 hours without a blood feeding. Pubic lice are transmitted from person to person most commonly via sexual contact, although fomites (bedding, clothing) may play a minor role in their transmission. Credit: CDC

It appears that college students, and the general public, have one less sexually transmitted health issue to worry about. Recent reports indicate that pubic lice, the crab-shaped insects that dwell in the human groin area, are on the decline. Scientists have noted that the recent trend in pubic hair removal, such as Brazilian bikini waxing, may play a major role in this decline.

Citing surveys and research by other scholars, scientists at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, reported in a 2011 study that a majority of college men and women in the U.S. and Australia remove all or part of their pubic hair. Other research from the U.K. shows that 99 percent of women older than 16 years remove some hair from the underarms, legs, and pubic area. And Sydney Australia’s main sexual health clinic hasn’t seen a woman with pubic lice since 2008 and male cases have fallen 80 percent from about 100 a decade ago.

Reference: “Gender, Self-Objectification and Pubic Hair Removal” by Linda Smolak and Sarah K. Murnen, 8 January 2011, Sex Roles.
DOI: 10.1007/s11199-010-9922-z

2 Comments on "Brazilian Bikini Waxes Aid the Decline of Pubic Lice"

  1. Thanks for the article. I’ll be traveling next week to Rio and I’ll keep a keen eye on the groin of my partners. Only totally bald girls admitted.

  2. Dame Streeter | June 10, 2013 at 2:50 pm | Reply

    great post

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