Wrestling Beast's blog

Rolling around with another guy, maybe you're skin to skin, maybe you're crotch to crotch, or maybe you're as clothed as you would be in an ordinary MMA training center. Having wrestled with a couple of guys, one day you find strange fuzzy brown things on your crotch. Taking your tweezers to pluck one off, you find that it moves! A little research later and your worst fears are confirmed, you're infested with public lice, a.k.a. crabs! WTF, what do you do now?

Let me tell you, once you've found out that you have PL, the next two months are going to be some of the most uncomfortable of your life. I have acquired PL twice and have gotten rid of them both times, so let me give advice to anyone else who finds they have this problem as well. I am a very hirsute individual, so let me tell others like myself what I have found to be helpful.

When it comes to PL, it sucks to be hairy. PL can go anywhere where you have hair, they are adapted to attach to human hair with claws that will swing from hair to hair like Tarzan swings from vine to vine. If you think they are confined to your crotch, that is a total lie. They can go into armpits, chest hair, belly buttons, arm and leg hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, facial and even parts of the head hair. A hairy body is ideal for PL to congregate and breed, the hair does a great job of hiding them. If you are smooth-chested, then you are less likely to acquire and spread them, but most men do not shave their crotches.

The usual advice for any kind of lice infection is necessary to follow, the CDC is a good start : https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/treatment.html But don't stop at the treatments for head lice, they may not be totally comprehensive when dealing with PL. Don't rely solely on over-the-counter lice killing shampoos found in treatment kits, they give a false sense of security. Showering, bathing and hot tubs will not kill PL. Here are three things I recommend doing in combination to help with infestations for my hairy brethren :

1. Remove, or if that is impractical, trim the hair as much as possible. Your hair gives all the protection of the Amazon to lice. The first thing you need to do is to reduce the amount of material the lice can use to hide from you. Trim your hair at least, especially around the armpits, the chest, and the groin. When you have a lot less hair, then the lice are far more vulnerable. Trimming to the skin will make it very difficult for the lice to maneuver around. Waxing may be necessary for severe infections, but boy will it hurt. Using an electric razor can save time, but clean it very thoroughly afterward to keep lice and nits off it.

2. Use an electrified lice comb. These devices will kill lice on contact and can be run all across the hair. They are most effective on smooth areas like your chest plate, your arms and thighs and your head hair. They can be somewhat painful to use in the crotch area. Irregular skin can result in the contacts making contacts, giving you an annoying shock that feels like a pin-prick. You will encounter many false positives using the comb, but it will cut down the numbers especially in areas you cannot see. I use the LiceGuard Robicomb, which is relatively inexpensive and works well.

3. Pluck! Getting rid of nits is best accomplished with a pair of tweezers, once you know what to look for. When you think you have nits, pluck them away. They may be already hatched eggs, but one less nit is one less louse. Take time too look for live PL and pluck them too, squeeze them with your tweezers to kill them. Pulling a louse off your body with tweezers will require a little force, the louse won't detach himself from you willingly. Spend 5-10 minutes in the bathroom a day going over areas, especially those where you've found nits. You will go back to suspicious spots time and again on your body, but vigilance will grant you victory. When in doubt, pluck. You may think you have fully eradicated PL from a particular area on your body on day one, only to find a straggler on day two or three.

After a while, things may calm down. You may see neither PL or nits and think you are cured, but they may come back. Two weeks after you begin treating is the time to renew your vigilance. If you see more PL around this time, then nits have been hatching. There are places you may not be able to reach, like a hairy bum, so that is where they may have their last refuge. Do not despair and do not let up.

Social responsibility is an absolute must. Once you find out, you should tell your spouse or your recent sexual partner(s) so they can investigate whether they need to treat. Adult PL are about the size of a grain of rice, most people don't know what to look for. PL can jump to children and animals too, so they will need to be checked out. Also, no more wrestling, boxing, martial arts or combat sports for you until the infestation is gone. Body contact can spread PL, so do have some consideration for others and don't spread it. Tell your recent wrestling buddies that you have had a PL issue and advise them to check themselves. Everyone should check themselves a few days after a wrestling encounter, especially if it was a "hot" one. If you try to keep secret, you may become reinfected again.

There are lice-repellent shampoos you can use before a wrestling encounter to reduce the risk of infection and I would suggest using one. However, they only reduce the risk of infection like a condom, they are no true guarantee that the lice will not find a place to attach themselves onto you.