![]() What can we do, to keep swimming where there have been outbreaks of swimmer’s itch? Few have a choice of places for a daily dip. An exhaustive search of the professional literature confirmed her expert advice. Unfortunately, as I learnt from Dr Sweta Rai of the British Association of Dermatologists, the only guaranteed way to avoid swimmer’s itch is not to swim in affected waters. These may stay itchy for several days, sometimes causing sleepless nights. #Swimmers itch vs chiggers skin#But – usually after a few hours, though it can take up to two days – the unfortunate human reacts: the skin breaks out in red, itchy lumps. The parasite soon dies, as it cannot live in a human. Mistaking the swimmer for a desirable duck, the confused parasite burrows into the outer layer of human skin. The cercaria might, on its journey, meet a human swimmer. Eventually the cercaria hatches and sets off to find a waterfowl host to begin the cycle again. As lakes and rivers warm up in summer, parasite eggs leave the host bird for an intermediate host, an aquatic snail. These parasites normally live in waterfowl. This parasite (of the family Schistosomatidae) causes ‘swimmer’s itch’ or more correctly cercarial dermatitis: an allergic reaction to the parasite – in its cercarial stage – burrowing into your skin. ![]() Sadly, in summer, there is a serpent in our garden: a tiny, fork-tailed, wormy parasite. ![]() Swimming at sunset, walking across moors or city parks to splash into dawn: these are glimpses of paradise for an outdoor swimmer. ![]()
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