From Slate Magazine · Jessica Stoya · · 3m
Husband Returns With Crabs, Now Living Nightmare
Husband claims crabs from road beds, but wife fears infidelity.
In brief
Husband claims crabs from road beds, but wife fears infidelity. Wife suspects husband cheated after discovering pubic lice, but medical sources say crabs can spread non-sexually. Originally reported by Slate Magazine.
Wife discovers crabs
My husband travels a lot for his job, and last week, I discovered he had crabs.
“crabs”
Husband claims non-sexual transmission
He swears up and down that he didn’t; he insists he must have picked them up from one of the beds he slept in on the road.
“he insists he must have picked them up from one of the beds he slept in on the road”
Medical sources confirm non-sexual transmission
The Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) all agree that while pubic lice (otherwise known as crabs) are usually transmitted through sexual contact, they can be, albeit more rarely, transmitted through non-sexual contact and via bedsheets, towels, and other personal items.
“pubic lice (otherwise known as crabs) are usually transmitted through sexual contact”
Crabs do not cause illness
Each of these pages also states that you can’t get sick from crabs. Meaning, they’re not like certain kinds of ticks, mosquitoes, or fleas that can transmit potentially dangerous illnesses.
“you can’t get sick from crabs”
Wife’s emotional reaction
If there’s anything else fueling your feelings of repugnance, you want to know what that is and understand it so it’s not clouding your thinking when you move to the second question: Where is your confidence in this conclusion of infidelity coming from?
“Where is your confidence in this conclusion of infidelity coming from?”
Wife considers divorce
Honestly, I’m contemplating divorce. Is what he claims happened actually possible?
“I’m contemplating divorce”
Medical sources confirm non-sexual transmission
The Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) all agree that while pubic lice (otherwise known as crabs) are usually transmitted through sexual contact, they can be, albeit more rarely, transmitted through non-sexual contact and via bedsheets, towels, and other personal items.
“pubic lice (otherwise known as crabs) are usually transmitted through sexual contact”
Crabs do not cause illness
Each of these pages also states that you can’t get sick from crabs. Meaning, they’re not like certain kinds of ticks, mosquitoes, or fleas that can transmit potentially dangerous illnesses.
“you can’t get sick from crabs”
Wife’s emotional reaction
If there’s anything else fueling your feelings of repugnance, you want to know what that is and understand it so it’s not clouding your thinking when you move to the second question: Where is your confidence in this conclusion of infidelity coming from?
“Where is your confidence in this conclusion of infidelity coming from?”
Wife considers divorce
Honestly, I’m contemplating divorce. Is what he claims happened actually possible?
“I’m contemplating divorce”
Medical sources confirm non-sexual transmission
The Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) all agree that while pubic lice (otherwise known as crabs) are usually transmitted through sexual contact, they can be, albeit more rarely, transmitted through non-sexual contact and via bedsheets, towels, and other personal items.
“pubic lice (otherwise known as crabs) are usually transmitted through sexual contact”
Crabs do not cause illness
Each of these pages also states that you can’t get sick from crabs. Meaning, they’re not like certain kinds of ticks, mosquitoes, or fleas that can transmit potentially dangerous illnesses.
“you can’t get sick from crabs”
Wife’s emotional reaction
If there’s anything else fueling your feelings of repugnance, you want to know what that is and understand it so it’s not clouding your thinking when you move to the second question: Where is your confidence in this conclusion of infidelity coming from?
“Where is your confidence in this conclusion of infidelity coming from?”
Wife considers divorce
Honestly, I’m contemplating divorce. Is what he claims happened actually possible?
“I’m contemplating divorce”
Here's the gist
Wife suspects husband cheated after discovering pubic lice, but medical sources say crabs can spread non-sexually.
