![]() ![]() ![]() However, repeated exposures can result in severe reactions. Swimmers itch is an itchy skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to the larval forms of parasitic flatworms released from aquatic snails into fresh and salt. Schistosomes spend their life cycle as parasites in the bodies of water snails and in the blood stream of aquatic mammals, ducks or other waterfowl. Swimmer’s itch usually resolves within 1–3 weeks without treatment. Swimmers itch is a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to small worm-like parasites called schistosomes (shiss-toe-soams). Short course of oral corticosteroid for a severe reaction.Immediate towelling after exiting the water to reduce skin penetration of the parasites.To reduce the risk of cercariae on the skin: Use of chemical molluscicides such as copper sulphate or copper carbonate in small lakes to kill potentially infested snails.Reduce vegetation in high-risk areas to make the environment less favourable for the water snails.Feed birds with a drug to treat the parasite.To reduce parasite numbers in the environment: What is the treatment for swimmer’s itch? Preventative measures What is the differential diagnosis for swimmer’s itch? ![]() Cercariae may accidentally attach to human skin, penetrate the skin, die, and cause a local allergic reaction. Cercariae may penetrate the skin or are ingested by the aquatic bird/animal, develop into an adult worm, and the cycle starts again. The miracidium enters the snail, elongates into a sporocyst, then matures into a cercaria which burrows out of the snail into the water. An egg hatches in the water to become a free-swimming miracidium in search of a specific snail species. The adult worm lives in a bird/animal, and the eggs are excreted via the intestines in the faeces. Swimmers itch (also called clam diggers itch or cercarial dermatitis) may appear after playing in lakes, oceans, and other bodies of water. Schistosomes are parasitic flatworms with a lifecycle that involves aquatic birds (eg, ducks, geese, gulls, swans) or mammals (eg, beavers, muskrats), specific species of aquatic snails, and warm fresh or salt water. Swimmer’s itch is a disease of aquatic birds and humans are accidentally affected. However, it is only after repeated exposure to cercariae that the allergy develops and a rash eventuates. Young children are particularly susceptible as they tend to remain in shallow warm water where the snails are found in the highest numbers. Swimmer’s itch is uncomfortable, but it usually clears up on its own in a few days to a week. Swimmer’s itch can affect anyone swimming in waters with infested snails. Swimmers itch, also called cercarial dermatitis, appears as a skin rash caused by an allergic reaction to certain microscopic parasites that infect some. ![]()
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