What is Swimmer's Itch?
Swimmer’s itch is an immune reaction occurring in the skin that has been infected by waterborne parasites. Symptoms, which include itchy, raised papules, commonly occur within hours of infection and do not generally last more than a week.
The trematodes that cause swimmer’s itch are parasitic schistosomes that use both snails and vertebrates as hosts in their life cycles. Most cases are caused by parasites that use waterfowl as the vertebrate host. The papules are caused by localized inflammatory immune reactions, each corresponding to the penetration site of a single parasite, which dies in the skin within hours.
June 13, 2007 7:04 AM | Category: Water Sports