![]() ![]() The brisk rubbing motion with a towel can help to stop the larvae from penetrating your skin.Cercarial dermatitis on lower legs, four days after spending a day in the shallows of a lake Dry yourself off with a towel after your shower.Most of the beaches around the lake have showers available on the lakeside. Take a shower as soon as you get out of the water.Avoid swimming close to the plants and vegetation at the water’s edge as these can be a particular habitat for the parasite.Some useful advice as suggested by CIPEL (International Commission for the protection of Leman Waters): Rarely, in very severe cases, steroids taken by mouth may be needed. Again, get advice from a pharmacist before using this. For example, antihistamines may not be safe in certain medical conditions or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.Ī mild corticosteroid cream such as 1% hydrocortisone can also sometimes be helpful. Always read the packet leaflet carefully and get advice from your local pharmacist to make sure that they are safe for you to use. However, do take care when using antihistamines as some can make you drowsy and so you should not drive or operate machinery whilst taking them. Antihistamine liquid is available for children. It’s important to control itching because scratching can damage your skin further and sometimes lead to a secondary bacterial infection which may need treatment with antibiotics.Ĭalamine lotion or an antihistamine may help to treat itching. However, most of the time, itching is quite intense. If you have just a few itchy patches, you may not need any treatment. The rash will eventually go away of its own accord but it may take between 10-20 days to disappear completely. What treatment do I need if I get ‘duck fleas’? If you’ve developed swimmer’s itch before, you may develop a more severe rash the next time you are exposed to the parasite. So, skin under a swimsuit can be protected and therefore spared from the rash. The rash will develop on areas of the skin exposed to the water. Occasionally, blistering can occur over the next few days. After a few hours, the spots tend to become bigger and more ‘pimple-like’ or bumpy. If symptoms do develop, at first you may notice tiny red spots at the points at which the larvae have penetrated your skin. However, you can still become ‘sensitized’ to the parasite and the next time that you are exposed to it, symptoms can develop. On your first exposure to the parasite, you may not have any reaction or develop any symptoms. However, your body can develop an allergic reaction to the parasite and it is this that causes the rash. The parasite actually dies when it enters your skin. Whilst you are swimming in the lake, immature forms of the parasite larvae can penetrate ‘mistakenly’ through your skin rather than finding their usual host, a duck. Swimmer’s itch is not caused by fleas exactly but by a worm-like parasite whose usual host is the ducks that live in the lake. They can lead to an itchy skin rash known as ‘swimmers itch’ or ‘swimmers dermatitis’. ![]() ‘Duck fleas’ (or ‘puces de canard’ in French) are actually a relatively common problem that can result from swimming in Lac Leman. ![]()
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