If you do contract swimmer's itch, most cases can be resolved with home remedies, like over-the-counter corticosteroid cream or Epsom salt baths. Many local health departments manage reports of swimmer's itch by posting signs around bodies of water where people have contracted it. To prevent swimmer's itch, avoid swimming in warm, marshy waters where ducks and other waterfowl could be infected with the parasite. Learn to manage the swimmers itch by taking a sneak peak into the article below. Transported by a water-borne parasite called cercaria, the swimmers itch can give a tough time to people grappling with the symptoms.
#Swimmers itch parasite skin#
The more you swim in contaminated waters, the more intense and immediate the rash will be. The swimmers itch can be an annoying and troubling skin ailment. But with repeated exposures, the immune system learns to recognize and respond to the threat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Swimmers itch is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to infection with certain parasites of birds and mammals. Swimmers itch is a patchy red pinpoint skin rash associated with itching on the parts of the body that have been in the water. The parasite doesn't affect humans in the long term, as the larvae die shortly after entering the body. If the parasite larvae gets under your skin, it can cause an itchy but otherwise benign rash. It is found throughout the world and is more common during the summer months. The parasites are released into fresh and salt water from infected snails. Swimmer’s Itch is an irritating, yet harmless rash caused by the human body’s allergic reaction to a free-swimming microscopic parasite (cercarial) found in shallow water. Cases of swimmer's itch occur every year, usually in early summer when the water is warmest. The rash, which can appear as small red bumps on the skin, is caused by microscopic parasites that reproduce in lakes, ponds, and oceans. Swimmer’s itch is caused by an allergic reaction to parasites found in some birds and mammals, which can spread to humans when they wade or swim in lakes and streams.