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Fishing Holes and Swimming Season is Upon Us - Beware!
The snow has finally melted,
tulips are starting to spring up and the thermostat
broke 60 degrees. “Mom, it’s hot outside!
Let’s go to the park! When can we go swimming?”
Each year countless water fanatics are
plagued with a patchy red pinpoint skin rash associated
with itching on the parts of the body that have been
in the water. Enter Swimmer's itch. Although typically
not severe, the itching occurs within 48 hours and may
last up to a week. After the initial fleeting itching,
it will disappear without treatment. The main causes
of Swimmer’s itch are parasites from aquatic/migrating
birds. The life cycles of these parasites involve snails
as the first host and aquatic birds or some mammals
as the final host (read: seagull and duck poop).
Swimmer's itch crops up when a number
of factors come together at the most favorable times.
Such times include in summer when the water temperature
reaches the appropriate level for snails to reproduce
and grow rapidly, when migrating aquatic birds infected
with the parasite return from their winter habitats
or domesticated aquatic birds return to full activity
and the frequency of swimmers and bathers reaches its
peak during this period.
It’s everywhere! It’s everywhere!
Not many areas are exempt from possible contact with
the irritating itch. Its major cause was first identified
in Douglas Lake, Michigan, USA. At one time or other
in the past 70 years since it has been reported in almost
every country in the world.
The best way to tell if you actually
have Swimmer’s itch, and not chickenpox, poison
ivy, herpes, or some rare skin diseases is word of mouth
or public notice that where you swam is known to have
had the itch occur there.
Don’t worry though, treatment is
not always necessary if there are only a few itching
spots. You can purchase an antihistamine or corticosteroid
cream from your local pharmacy. Note: if the initial
itching is brutal, then scratching can cause open skin
and skin infections may develop. Consider seeing a dermatologist
if the symptoms last longer than 3 days. At that point,
you may need a prescription to help reduce the itching.
The ailment is really a disease of aquatic
birds, therefore reducing the possibilities of the birds
getting infected should be the main focus in getting
rid of Swimmer’s itch. In some small ponds and
lakes the snails that harbor the parasite can be killed
by chemicals. That may not be environmentally feasible
in all situations, though. A newer approach has been
to place a drug for treatment of the parasite into food
bait. Other drugs are currently being tested.
Unfortunately, the shallow and warm
lakes are easy targets to catch Swimmer’s itch.
Of course those are the little neighborhood fishing
holes that kids love to play in. Keep your ears open
or call the city/township office to see if there are
any health alerts on your favorite swim locale.
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