Body Lice Infestation (Pediculosis Corporis) on Darker Skin

00:00 Moving on to body lice pediculosis humanus corporis.

00:06 It's less common in comparison to head lice.

00:09 It's usually in first people in extreme states of poverty or personal neglect, for example, unwashed and wearing the same clothing for long periods of time.

00:22 The risk factors are crowded living conditions, for example, refugee camps and crowded busses and trains.

00:31 Another risk factor is shared bedding and or clothing with infested person.

00:38 Body lice is usually larger than the head lice.

00:41 It leaves and lays eggs on clothes and only crawls into the body to feed.

00:49 It can survive up to ten days away from the human body.

00:57 The following is a patient presenting with infestation with body lice.

01:03 You can see the crusting and excoriations on the body.

01:06 Some lesions look papular.

01:09 Some lesions have puncture or wheals from fresh bites.

01:16 And as I mentioned, the excoriations are due to the intense pruritis that one m ay experience with this infection.

01:25 Predators can be absent in some individuals.

01:27 It doesn't mean that absence of pruritis the patient doesn't have the infection.

01:36 Complications can be severe as and they can serve as a vector for diseases such as epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever.

01:50 The diagnosis is usually clinical, and identification of the lice or its needs in clothing confirms the diagnosis.

02:00 Less frequently observed at the crawling or the lice feeding on the skin.

02:07 The differential diagnosis again is that of scabies, and one m ay have simultaneous infection with both body lice and scabies, so be careful and make sure you look for that as well.

02:22 Treatment involves the fact that infested clothing and bed linen should be heat washed, dry, cleaned, or discarded.

02:31 Insecticides are recommended only in cases of widespread infestation.