Fact or Fiction: Skin Parasites
Estimated Completion Time 2 min
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Image: Photo courtesy CDC/Dr. Amanda Loftis, Dr. William Nicholson, Dr. Will Reeves, Dr. Chris Paddock
About This Quiz
This quiz might make your skin and scalp start to itch -- reading about fleas, ticks, lice and bedbugs tends to have that effect. Take this quiz to learn more about skin parasites.
START QUIZ
There are three types of skin parasites.
almost fact: There are two types.
Skin parasites are either external or internal.
Internal parasites are usually harder to get rid of than external ones.
almost fact: It depends on the specific parasite.
External parasites tend to jump on and off the skin, but internal ones stick around.
Skin parasites are contagious.
almost fact: Only external parasites are contagious.
Not all are contagious, but they definitely can be.
Most skin parasite infestations can be taken care of with over-the-counter products.
almost fact: Over-the-counter topical medications generally work, but oral medications aren't as effective.
Not true. In fact, if over-the-counter products don't work on a rash, it's a sign that your problem was probably caused by a skin parasite.
Flea bites are clusters of tiny pink bumps.
almost fact: The bumps are dark red with a white, ridged outline.
Flea bites are dark red, but they're ringed in pink.
Many people and animals are allergic to flea saliva.
almost fact: Every mammal is allergic to flea saliva.
Just the bites are enough to cause itching, but if you're allergic to flea saliva, it will also cause a rash.
Fleas can carry E. Coli bacteria.
almost fact: Fleas can carry bubonic plague.
E. Coli isn't a worry with fleas, but there is a risk of bubonic plague, or the Black Death.
Fleas have hard bodies, which makes them resistant to scratching.
almost fact: Fleas are resistant to scratching because they bury themselves in your skin.
Yep, fleas are unaffected by scratching, and it's also impossible to crush or pinch them.
After they bite you, ticks insert a feeding tube into your skin.
almost fact: They make a tiny hole with their pinchers, through which they suck blood.
Yes, ticks use a feeding tube called a hypostome.
It usually takes a couple of hours for a tick to be filled with blood.
almost fact: It only takes a few minutes.
A tick could actually be on your body for two days.
The best way to get a tick off your body is to hold a lit match near it.
almost fact: The best way is to rub it with petroleum jelly.
Both of these options could actually make the tick inject more saliva into your skin. Plucking it off with tweezers is the best way.
Lice eat your blood and other body secretions.
almost fact: Add dead skin to that list.
Yes to all of it -- lice consume blood, body secretions and dead skin.
There are three types of lice that infest the human body.
almost fact: There's only one type, but they can infest three different parts of the body.
Lice vary slightly depending on what body part they prefer: head, body or pubic region.
The three types are indistinguishable to the naked eye.
almost fact: Head and body lice look very similar, but pubic lice are different.
Head and body lice look alike, but white pubic lice do resemble crabs -- hence the nickname.
Body lice live in clothing.
almost fact: They live in your body hair.
Yes, body lice live in clothes, and they can be spread through shared clothing or towels.
Head lice lay eggs all over the scalp.
almost fact: They actually lay their eggs on your hair.
The lice lay eggs and affix them to your hair with saliva.
Pediculosis is the scientific name for lice infestations
almost fact: It's pericutosis.
Baby lice are called nits.
almost fact: Nits is the word for lice eggs.
Nits are the empty lice egg shells. They're easy to identify in the hair but hard to remove.
Bedbugs are drawn to their victims by body heat and oxygen.
almost fact: They are attracted to body heat, but also to exhaled carbon dioxide.
Body heat and carbon dioxide are what does it -- so maybe you'd be safe sleeping in a freezer?
Scabies mites usually enter your body through the hands or feet.
almost fact: They start at the feet and end at the hands.
True. Scabies mites will usually pick either the hands or feet for their burrowing entry point.
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Photo courtesy CDC/Dr. Amanda Loftis, Dr. William Nicholson, Dr. Will Reeves, Dr. Chris Paddock
