Of Lice and Men Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bed bug

The commonest bed bug is Cimex Lectularius. Due to the use of DDT, it was rarely found in developed countries by the 1940s, but pesticide bans and increasing travel have seen its dramatic increase since 1995. You could pick one up from a theatre seat, someone else's clothing, an hotel bed or second-hand furniture amongst other things, and then all you can do is to call in the Pest Control boys.
Largely nocturnal, these little beasts will bite you painlessly (they kindly inject anesthetic into your skin before biting), and drink up to three times their own weight of your blood. They reproduce easily so one or two bed bugs can easily become several hundred.
You could end up with a nasty allergy or a rash, as well as marks where you have been bitten.
One the bright side (there is one, you ask?) their presence in your home is not a sign that you are dirty. They can get in through tiny apertures and are attracted by the carbon dioxide you exude as you breathe. They don't actually care if you live in a palace or a pit.

Answer: Thread worms

Thread worm eggs can be found in soil and ingested if you haven't washed your hands properly. The eggs hatch in the intestine and the worms live for five or six weeks before laying their eggs around the outside of the anus. The eggs are microscopically small but itchy and oozy, and may fall off into clothes and bedding where they can live for up to two weeks. They are so small they can get transferred as dust particles and end up anywhere, including on your toothbrush.
Children are often not good at washing their hands so eggs are easily transferred between them, and once they put dirty fingers into their mouths, the life cycle of the worm begins again.
Fortunately, apart from being unpleasant, thread worms don't usually cause much harm, but the whole family needs to be treated once they have been diagnosed.
Go buy a nail brush and USE IT!

Answer: Scabies

Scabies can be caught from shared clothing or bedding, but much more likely from direct contact with infected skin. The scabies mite burrows into the skin to lay its eggs, and it's this burrow that looks like a pencil mark. The eggs take 21 days to hatch and itchy rashes can appear anywhere on the body; sores may develop because of the victim scratching, and secondary infections such as impetigo may also develop.
Scabies can be treated by special creams and ointments, or by oral medication.
It's necessary to wash all clothes and bedding in hot water in order to kill the mites and eggs, and thorough vacuuming of beds, carpets and upholstery is required.
Are you itching yet?

Answer: Pulex irritans

Pulex irritans is more likely to be caught from a pig than from a human nowadays, but in centuries gone by they infested people and houses. These fleas are up to 4mm long and dark brown to black in colour. They tend to bite you on your arms and legs, and make two or three bites in a row rather than the one bite you might get from other species. A lump forms which will have a red halo, and you may get an allergic reaction.
They don't necessarily live on you because you are dirty - they aren't fussy who they infest - and it is possible to treat the problem.
C. felis is the cat flea, C. canis is the dog flea, and Nosopsyllus fasciatus is the rat flea - all of which will happily make a meal off you if nothing better is available.

Answer: Tapeworms

Tapeworms are common in animals. T. solium are the ones that infect humans and they are a class of worms called 'Cestoda'. Flat in shape and with segmented bodies, they can be caught by touching infected faeces and then putting your hands near your mouth. Swallowing water contaminated with infected faeces will also do the trick, as will eating raw, contaminated beef, fish or pork.

The result will be a swollen belly, stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting. It is easily treated with tablets. Almost unbelievably, there are people who - voluntarily - swallow tapeworm eggs as a way of keeping themselves slim. I think I'd rather be fat.

Answer: A fungal infection

Often called 'Tinea', ringworm is a fungal infection. It mainly affects children but anyone can get it. Personal hygiene is the best way to prevent its spread, and you should not share hats, combs, towels, clothes etc. Proper laundering of your clothes and sports equipment is also necessary.
Cats and dogs can catch ringworm and pass it on to you, so animals with patchy-looking fur should be avoided if they aren't yours - and treated by a vet if they are.
Treatment consists of anti-fungal creams, lotions and powders, and sometimes tablets.

Answer: Human bot fly

Dermatobia hominis, to give it its proper name, parasitizes primates and other animals as well as humans. It is also known as the American warble fly.
The fly uses mosquitos to deposit its eggs on your skin. It captures a mosquito (I don't know how this is done), and attaches its eggs to the mosquito's body. It then lets the mosquito go so it can fly off and bite you. The eggs may hatch into larvae while the mosquito is feeding, or they may drop off onto your skin. The larvae use the hole made by the mosquito to get under your skin, and there they stay for eight weeks, after which they drop off to pupate in the soil. The adults are small, and grey and look a bit like blowflies.
Apparently the larvae can't survive unless the wound is healthy, so the victim (you) rarely has a problem with infection. Happy? Me neither.

Answer: Ticks

A tick bite is usually painless and you wouldn't know you had one unless you saw it. They have four stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, nymph and adult. The nymph, which is about the size of a poppy seed, is most likely to bite you and will swell to many times its original size as it steals your blood. If it isn't disturbed it may cling on for a week before dropping off. Unfortunately, ticks can carry many diseases that affect both humans and animals. Probably the best known ones are Lyme disease, which is spread by deer ticks, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is spread by a variety of ticks. Left untreated they can make you very ill. Good advice is to make sure you have your legs and arms covered when walking in tick country, as the ticks cling to grasses and plants, waiting their chance to jump you. Prompt removal of any that do get through, followed by cleansing and subsequent monitoring of the site, should ensure you survive the experience.

Answer: Mosquitos

Mosquitos do their damage by carry viruses and bacteria in their saliva, which is injected into the bloodstream of their victims as they feed. Not all mosquitos are harmful though; some are just a nuisance. There are at least 3500 kinds of mosquitos and mostly they are active in the evenings and at night. If you are unlucky you could end up with nasty diseases such as malaria, dengue, tularemia, yellow fever or West Nile virus. On the other hand, if you know you are in an affected area, you could dress sensibly, use a mosquito net and an insect repellant, and you might survive unscathed.

Answer: Crabs

The medical term for louse infestation is 'pediculosis'. Lice can't survive long off the body and are transmitted by contact. They have to suck blood to survive. Their eggs are called 'nits' and can easily be seen attached to the hairs of their victims.
The adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, and thrives in unsanitary conditions. For example, soldiers on active service where they can't keep clean may well be infested. This was particularly so in the trenches of WW1. Anyone living in close proximity to others, without benefit of washing facilities, is likely to suffer.
As well as carrying some nasty illnesses such as typhus and trench fever, lice can make their hosts feel generally unwell - hence the expression 'feeling lousy'. Frequent bathing and hot laundering of clothing will get rid of them but while they are in situ they will make their host itchy and uncomfortable.