#LAKE MICHIGAN SWIMMERS ITCH SKIN#

Antihistamines can be used to help relieve the itching while topical steroid creams may help to reduce the swelling. Over-the-counter drugs are available to reduce the symptoms of swimmer's itch. Swimmer's itch, although extremely annoying and uncomfortable, is not a communicable or fatal condition. For swimmer's itch, itching is limited to points of cercarial entry and will not spread or develop into water blisters.

#LAKE MICHIGAN SWIMMERS ITCH SKIN#

Chigger bites are usually located at points where clothing contacts the skin such as wrists, waist, ankles, etc. The itchy, reddened, and raised areas are sometimes confused with bites from chiggers or mosquitoes and the symptoms may be misdiagnosed as those resulting from poison ivy or stinging nettles. Usually the reddened areas reach their largest size after approximately 24 hours. Many suffering from swimmer’s itch experience the most severe itching early in the morning. Symptoms include intermittent periods of itching that will continue for several days. At each point of entry a small red spot may appear and begin to itch. This may occur either while swimming or immediately after leaving the water. Those who are sensitive may feel a dull, prickly sensation as the larvae burrow into the skin. Some who are exposed to the larvae never develop the itch. Your continued support in both is very much appreciated.Not all people are sensitive to swimmer’s itch. The cost of this work is significant both in terms of dollars spent and volunteer time. Your LCA board takes the issue of swimmer’s itch very seriously. Into the future we plan to partner with the Walloon Lake Association and Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council to purchase technical equipment that will allow us to analyze our own samples for schistosomes and for enteric bacteria. Please see the study results highlighted above. In addition to staying connected with other lake associations that are dealing with this problem, LCA hired Freshwater Solutions to perform a study of our lake. In 2018, the LCA joined the Swimmer’s Itch Consortium of Northern Michigan. The LCA has taken a number of steps in order to keep our lake healthy. The flight distance from there to Lake Charlevoix is less than 25 miles, a relatively short hop for these birds. One major concern centers around a State of Michigan program that trapped broods of infected merganser ducks and relocated them to the Sutton’s Bay area over the past few years. An online survey of LCA members showed 12-15 instances of human effects from swimmer’s itch. To date, Lake Charlevoix has not had a major problem with swimmer’s itch. It is concerning that several LCA members reported observing more merganser broods on the lake in 2018. In the past, mergansers were typically seen on Lake Charlevoix for a few weeks in the spring, but most of them flew further north to breed. While the worms have been found in geese and gulls, the most common carrier is the merganser duck. Many lakes in our part of the state have experienced significant human impact from swimmer’s itch and we don’t want to be one of them.

The bad news is that while our body’s immune system does a great job of killing off the invaders, the process also results in a case of dermatitis, an allergic rash where small red dots appear and then grow in size for the next 24 hours with intense itching. The good news is that they can’t live in us. When these worms are looking for a duck or goose to inhabit, they sometimes encounter humans instead. The worms have a three-part life cycle in which they live in both waterfowl and aquatic snails. These are the critters that cause swimmer’s itch. The villain goes by the name of Schistosomal cercaria, the larval stage of an aquatic flatworm. Along with their beautiful appearance, some of these creatures are hosts to nasty microscopic parasites that can ruin the joy of a day in the water. For some, however, their arrival can be a cause for concern.

Whether flying just above the water or bobbing along the shoreline, these gentle creatures can evoke feelings of beauty, grace and a sense of peace. The return of migratory water fowl to our beautiful lake. Due to the unfavorable results of the 2018 Swimmer’s Itch Study and coupled by the fact that numerous nearby lakes currently do have a swimmer’s itch dilemma, the LCA board is committed to performing further Lake Charlevoix Swimmer’s Itch Research in 2019.

Lake michigan swimmers itch