It’s ugly and uncomfortable and well, itchy. Visit the CDC’s Healthy Swimming webpages for more information.Swimmer’s itch is no fun. If you have any questions about the disease described above or think that you may have a parasitic infection, consult a health care provider. This fact sheet, which is based on information from the Centers for Disease Control, is for information only and is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care provider. As long as your swimming pool is well maintained and chlorinated, there is no risk of swimmer’s itch.Īre there other causes of rash that may occur after swimming in fresh and salt water?Ĭontact your physician or the Southern Nevada Health District, Office of Epidemiology at (702) 759-1300. Do not attract birds by feeding them in areas where people are swimming.Encourage health officials to post signs on shorelines where swimmer’s itch is a current problem.
SWIMMERS ITCH FROM POOL SKIN
This is important since the larvae do not penetrate the skin until the water evaporates (the towel should not be used again until it has been laundered).Towel dry or shower immediately after leaving the water.Avoid swimming near or wading in marshy areas where snails are commonly found.Avoid swimming in areas where swimmer’s itch is a known problem or where signs have been posted warning of unsafe water.What can be done to reduce the risk of swimmer’s itch? However, there is no way to know how long water may be unsafe. Since these factors change (sometimes within a swim season), swimmer’s itch will not always be a problem. Many factors must be present for swimmer’s itch to become a problem in water. Once an outbreak of swimmer’s itch has occurred in water, will the water always be unsafe? The greater the number of exposures to contaminated water, the more intense and immediate symptoms of swimmer’s itch will be.Ĭan swimmer’s itch be spread from person-to-person? Because swimmer’s itch is caused by an allergic reaction to infection, the more often you swim or wade in contaminated water, the more likely you are to develop more serious symptoms. If itching is severe, your health care provider may prescribe lotion or creams to lessen your symptoms.Ĭan you get swimmer’s itch more than once? Scratching may cause the rash to become infected. Colloidal oatmeal baths, such as Aveeno.What is the treatment for swimmer’s itch? Itching may last up to a week or more, but will gradually go away.Pimples may develop into small blisters.Small reddish pimples appear with 12 hours.Within minutes to days after swimming in contaminated water, a person may experience tingling, burning, or itching of the skin.What are the signs and symptoms of swimmer’s itch? Also, they do not towel dry themselves when leaving the water. Larvae are more likely to be swimming along shallow water by the shoreline.Ĭhildren are most often affected because they swim, wade, and play in shallow water more than adults. The larvae cannot develop inside a human and they soon die.Īnyone who swims or wades in infested water may be at risk. Humans get swimmer’s itch when the larvae (cercarial) burrow into the skin. These parasites, in the form of larvae, are released from infected snails to swim in fresh and salt water, such as lakes, ponds, and oceans used for swimming and wading. The microscopic parasites (which live in birds and mammals) can infect snails. Swimmer’s itch, also called cercarial dermatitis, is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to infection with a parasite.
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