It takes repeated exposure to the tiny parasites before your immune system recognizes the invaders, setting off the reaction. But not before triggering an incredibly annoying and itchy allergic reaction.īut why do some people develop swimmer’s itch while others who spend time in the same waters don’t? It simply comes down to a person’s own sensitivity to the parasitic infection, Brent Bellinger, a senior environmental scientist overseeing the lakes in Austin, told BuzzFeed News.īecause it’s an allergic reaction, not everyone who encounters or is attacked by the larvae will develop a rash. Since humans are not the normal host - they prefer to invade birds or nonhuman mammals’ bodies - this is the end of the parasites’ life cycle and they soon die.
The snails, once infected, release their own larvae that can infect people by burrowing into their skin. Tiny larvae, which tend to congregate in shallow waters by shorelines, hatch from these eggs and instantly look for their next host: a specific species of aquatic snail. The parasites produce eggs that are then released via the animals’ feces. The parasites that cause swimmer’s itch are called cercariae, and they naturally live in the blood of animals such as ducks, geese, swans, and raccoons that live in or around lakes, ponds, and oceans. It’s also sometimes known as clam-digger’s itch or duck itch. It can happen anywhere people frequently swim, either fresh or saltwater, with the right combination of conditions. The rash is called swimmer’s itch, or cercarial dermatitis, and it’s actually a pretty common occurrence in the summer across the US and around the world. It wasn’t until one of her friends sent her a TikTok of another woman who came down with a similar-looking rash after paddleboarding in the same lake, around the same time, that she realized she was having an allergic reaction - to a microscopic parasite.
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