#Swimmers itch ocean skin

Before swimming, create a water-proof barrier by applying baby oil, creams containing DEET, Swimmer’s Itch Guard, or similar products on exposed skin to prevent the larvae from burrowing.

You may hear swimmer’s itch called duck rash, clam digger’s itch, pelican itch, or another name in various parts of the U.S. Both fresh water and marine, or salt water, varieties of parasites are known to cause the uncomfortable rash. Though swimmer’s itch was first identified in 1928 at Douglas Lake Cheboygan County, nearly every state, Canada, and over 30 countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa have since reported incidences of a similar swimming-related skin rash. The rash may be mistaken for mosquito bites, chiggers, chicken pox, impetigo, or thought to be the result of touching poison ivy or stinging nettles. Itching may continue for a week gradually decreasing in severity.

The spots continue to increase in size for about 24 hours and cause intense itching. Soon, often within 30 minutes, a small red spot appears at each site of entry. Transparent and less than 1/32 inch in length, they can’t be seen without a microscope.Īt first, an affected person may feel a tingling, burning, or itching of skin that was directly exposed to the lake water. Because humans are not a suitable host, these tiny larva die after piercing your skin. When larvae encounter individuals swimming or playing in shallow water along the shore, they may burrow into exposed skin as they search frantically for a vertebrate host. Common mergansers, mallards, Canada geese, swans, grackles, and red-winged black birds have all been confirmed as common vertebrate hosts.Īs the larva hatch and leave the snail, they swim quickly in search of one of their new host as most larva can only survive about 24 hours and will not live out of water. The vertebrate host is usually a bird but can be rodents such as mice or muskrats. As part of their life cycle, these flatworms require a snail host and a vertebrate host. Swimmer’s itch, or schistosome cercarial dermatitis, is an allergic reaction that occurs when the larval (cercarial) stage of certain parasitic flatworms from the Schistosomidae family burrow into a person’s skin. If you live or vacation in Michigan, it’s likely you have heard of, or personally experienced, an uncomfortable skin rash suffered by individuals after swimming in an inland lake.