A cream rinse containing formic acid may facilitate the removal. Incidence and Epidemiology Pediculosis corporis is now uncommon in developed countries. It mainly affects the poor and neglect and flourishes in overcrowded, dirty situations where individuals seldom change their clothes. There is great variation in the number of eggs and lice on the clothing. In most cases the number of lice is small but in some thousand of lice may be present.
Transmission is mainly by direct close body contact or by sharing infested clothing.
Lice on a cooling dead body will look for alternate lodgings, and doctors asked to certify death in a vagrant should be aware of this. Clinical Features Intense pruritus is the chief complaint. It is due to sensitization to salivary antigens of the lice. Excoriation with secondary bacterial infection and hyperpigmented changes are common physical findings. When the lice are not feeding, they stay in the clothing.