Body Lice

What are Body Lice?

Body lice are small insects that are about the size of a sesame seed.  They are about 2.3 to 3.6 mm in length. They are spread through close contact with other people who have become infected with the lice.  Pets do not have a role in transmitting body lice. Body lice live in seams and folds of clothing, and feed on the human skin. Waste matter and eggs are deposited onto human skin. They can live in clothing for up to one month, and will die within 5 to 7 days after they fall off a person if they are at room temperature.   They also like to live on bedding and will travel to the skin several times a day to feed on blood. The most common sites for body lice to live are places where seams in clothing are most likely to touch the skin, such as the groin, waist and armpit.

 How do I know if I have Body Lice?

The main symptom of body lice is itching. The itching is often intense.  If you suspect you do have body lice, and upping your personal hygiene does not help, contact your doctor.  A skin infection could also develop from excessive scratching, in which a doctor will also need to be seen then.

Those who are at the highest risk for body lice include those that work with homeless people, war refugees, or victims of a natural disaster. Complications can develop from body lice, such as secondary infections.  With secondary infections, the body lice will scratch and dig into the skin.  This causes the person infected with the body lice to itch. Skin could become irritated, and could be rubbed raw, causing secondary infections.  The skin could also change, becoming thicker and discolored if the body lice is allowed to live on the skin for a long time. The thicker skin and discoloration usually happen on the upper thighs, waist and groin area.  If the body lice are allowed to spread, it could carry some diseases that are bacterial, such as typhus.  This rarely happens.

Body Lice Treatment and Prevention

If you have body lice, your doctor will be able to tell from an exam of the skin. Your clothing could also be examined.  The doctor will most likely have you wash yourself with hot water and soap.  All clothing and bedding should also be washed in hot water and soap to kill the body lice.   The water should be at least 60 degree Celsius.  Use a high heat drying cycle.   If an item can not be washed, place in a sealed bag for two weeks to kill the lice.   An over the counter product can also be used, such as Nix or Rid. If these have not worked for you, tell your doctor and he or she may prescribe a prescription cream.  However, do note that these creams can be very toxic to humans, so only use as directed.  A body wash may also be prescribed.  These body washes and creams usually contain malathione, benzyl alcohol, or permethrin.

One can prevent body lice by washing or bathing daily.  Body lice tend to infect that do not wash on a regular basis and do not wash bedding and clothing on a regular basis.  Wash all bedding at least once a week to prevent body lice.  Do not share bedding with anyone that has body lice.  Towels and clothing should also not be shared.

Even the cleanest persons can have body lice.  An infected person with body lice could come close to you, and the lice could jump onto you, creating an infestation.  It is best to get the infestation taken care of before it becomes out of control.

6 replies
  1. Sally
    Sally says:

    The article states that washing the clothes with hot water will work. If you do not have access to hot water, you could most certainly try your luck at the freezer. Place clothes in the freezer for a few hours and this will kill any eggs and body lice. I had to do this when we were without hot water for a few days.

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  2. Jasmine
    Jasmine says:

    Body lice can happen to even the most clean. I got it once and it was hard for me to understand why I got it. I kept thinking I have good hygiene. But someone that I had spend some time with did not have the best hygiene and the body lice jumped off her onto me. Imagine my surprise when after a few days of itching, I went to the doctor and heard him say you have body lice. I was embarrassed but I got the condition taken care of asap. He reassured me that even the cleanest of people get it and that as long as I took proper steps to treat myself and my home, I would be fine.

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  3. Eeeew
    Eeeew says:

    I have never heard of body lice before. I always just hear of hair lice. No matter what, I guess it all just depends on how clean of a person you are. I know that it states even the cleanest of people can get body lice, but still. I am a very clean person. I am sort of grossed out by the fact that I could even get this. I wash my bedding each week, sometimes twice a week. Clothes only get worn once and then tossed in the hamper to wash. I really hope that I never am unlucky enough to have body lice!

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  4. Joseph.
    Joseph. says:

    I have never had any kind of lice. And for that I am glad. I am itching just now thinking about it. Does anyone else do this as well? Anyways, are there any home remedies that are all natural for body lice? I usually only try to follow natural home remedies and I am sure that there are others out there that feel the same way.

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  5. it happens to everyone
    it happens to everyone says:

    Body lice can happen to anyone. Trust me, I have had it and it is not a picnic. I am a very clean person. I shower once a day and wash bedding all the time. I happened to get body lice when I was helping at a homeless shelter. I was itchy and went to the doctor right away because a friend of mine had warned me many homeless shelters do indeed have hair lice or body lice. Doctor confirmed that body lice was what I had. I immediately washed all bedding, all clothes, and all towels. I even had a carpet cleaner service come in and do my carpets, furniture and beds. I am not sure if that was necessary but I figured since body lice like to live on clothes, why not carpets and on the bed or the sofa. I bagged up all stuff that could not be washed. It was a long and tedious process but it was something that had to be done or else the body lice was never going to go away.

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  6. Kelly P.
    Kelly P. says:

    I have a few facts about body lice that I can share with everyone. Body lice lay twice as many eggs as head lice, and their adult life span is about 25 days. During these 25 days, they will lay about 180 eggs! They like to suck blood every 5 hours. If there is no blood present, the louse will only be able to survive 3 to 4 days as most. This really will make one think about getting the area treated if they suspect that they do have lice, as they can multiply rather quickly!

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