we were on vacation in northern michigan this week. While we were there both kids got swimmers itch.. My daughter was covered with bright red spots so I took her to the dr as she looked so pitiful. The dr gave us steriods and hydrocortizone cream. I have heard that there is a preventative cream to put on before you swim in a lake to keep the critters from biting you. Has anyone used the prevention cream?? did id work??
I knwo swimmers itch is common in MIchigan.. Any other states have swimmers itch>>
i should google but i'm lazy,
what is it??? little parasite things that bite like fleas?? or an allergy to the seaweed/algea stuff.
We are headed to Silver Beach in MI in a few weeks and i know the kiddos will be in the water. I"ve never heard of it.
I've lived in Michigan all my life and have spent summers in lakes and have never heard of it LOL. I googled it to learn about it and found this http://swimmersitchguard.com/ no idea if it works or not. Hope your daughter gets better quickly!
I live in MI and we have never gotten that. We have gotten deer fly bites but that's about it.
We live near Silver Beach, Lillym, the health dept checks the water weekly so you should be fine! Have fun and enjoy the area!
Totally common round here. Nothing works that I've found. I'm really sensitive to it, so generally avoid the lake.
For whatever reason... I tend to NOT get it when I'm swimming with my dog. Don't know why ... Something he's excreting in the water, maybe? Cleaner water for sure in dog beaches than people beaches (microbe and parasite counts are about 1/8th in the dog beaches as opposed to people ones, here, anyways. I tend to escape the itch BOTH at the dog park AND of private property with him. (So its not the groups of dogs keeping birds and raccoons away, although I'm sure that helps. Ditto a smaller food source because there are so few people). But again... I have no real idea.
Wow, Lisa. I've never heard of it before. I appreciate that you wrote this - it's an eye opener!
I'm sorry about your daughter. Hope the itch goes away and the bites heal really soon!
Dawn
Its common here in Minnesota. I have always been told once the water gets to 70 degrees the die off. Calmy lotion works best for us.
We used to swim in lakes that had signs warning of bacteria that could cause swimmers itch.
All you really have to do is soap up and shower off after you've been in the water.
Some people are ultrra sensitive... if you are one of those then it's probably best to stay out of lakes and such.
The creams and lotions do not work. The best method of prevention is to always rinse or wash as soon as possible after leaving the water. We always shower and soap up well after swimming and have never gotten it though it is common in our region.
I would go with finding warnings where the bacteria is high and just not swim there. That does not sound like fun.
