Pubic lice, also known as crabs, are tiny insects that attach to the skin and hair near your genitals. They are a different type of louse from head lice and body lice. Pubic lice are usually spread through sexual contact, but they can also be spread through close personal contact or sharing personal items like towels or sheets with an infected person. Pubic lice feed on human blood, and their bites can cause severe itching. Symptoms of pubic lice include intense itching in the genital region, visible nits or crawling lice, and pubic lice can spread to other areas with coarse body hair, including the legs, chest, armpits, beard or mustache, and eyelashes or eyebrows, more commonly in children. Treatment includes applying over-the-counter creams and lotions that kill the parasites and their eggs. To prevent pubic lice, it is important to avoid any close physical contact with people who have it, avoid sharing personal items like clothes or towels, limit your sex partners, and make sure your partner(s) get treated if you had pubic lice. If you think you have caught pubic lice from sexual contact, you should visit your doctor or a sexual health clinic so you can be checked for the lice and any other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) .