(Spirit Lake)– The annual scourge known as “swimmer’s itch” is back in the Iowa Great Lakes.
DNR officials say they recently started getting reports of the irritation from swimmers. They say no one particular area or lake appears to be worse than another.
Swimmer’s itch is caused by flatworms, a parasite. The flatworm eggs are transferred to water by bird droppings. The eggs hatch and infect snails, from which the free swimming form of the flatworm larvae emerges. In the absence of a suitable host such as a bird, the parasite will attempt to penetrate the skin of humans. It quickly dies after that, causing an allergic reaction below the skin resulting in welts and itching.
To hep reduece the risk of swimmer’s itch, officials recommend limiting the amount of time spent in the water, avoid beaches being pounded by waves, and to quickly dry off once getting out of the water.
Officials say symptoms of swimmer’s itch generally disappear after a few days. They recommend using calamine lotion or an antihistamin as treatment.
