not a fan of roses: blog 
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swimmer's itch
Published Jul. 1, 2009Views: 475
Just returned from a family vacation at the Iowa Great Lakes. We rented a house on Spirit Lake from Sunday to Sunday. I got this fun itch on Thursday. The picture (taken on Sunday) shows only a small sampling of my bites. Others from my family were in the water on Thursday, but I'm the only one who came out looking like swiss cheese. I'm very glad I was only floating on a raft. Not sure how my face would look if I actually would have been swimming in Spirit Lake.
Are there lakes in NC with swimmer's itch as well?
Wiki definition -
Swimmer’s itch, also known as duck itch, cercarial dermatitis, and Schistosome cercarial dermatitis[1]:432, is a short-term, immune reaction occurring in the skin of humans that have been infected by water-borne trematode 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. These avian schistosomes cannot complete their life cycles in mammals, but can accidentally infect humans, giving rise to mildly itchy spots on the skin. Within hours, these spots become raised papules that are more intensely itchy. 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.
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GOLO member since July 20, 2007
July 1, 2009 8:37 a.m.
GOLO member since August 28, 2008
July 1, 2009 8:39 a.m.
Best source of prevention is to rinse off with fresh water once you leave the lake.
I've also heard this mainly occurs near the shoreline and not in the deeper areas of the water.
GOLO member since December 9, 2007
July 1, 2009 8:40 a.m.
I got the bites on Thursday. They looked their worst (and itched non-stop) Thursday - Saturday. I skipped a friend's wedding on Saturday b/c I didn't want anyone to get grossed out by how my arms and legs look.
After those first few days the redness and raised areas decreased. I'm hoping all signs of the bites will be gone by the time I return to work on Tuesday.
GOLO member since December 9, 2007
July 1, 2009 8:42 a.m.
GOLO member since April 10, 2008
July 1, 2009 8:44 a.m.
GOLO member since August 28, 2008
July 1, 2009 8:45 a.m.
Hope your symptoms are gone soon...
GOLO member since February 6, 2008
July 1, 2009 8:48 a.m.
GOLO member since February 20, 2009
July 1, 2009 8:48 a.m.
GOLO member since June 25, 2009
July 1, 2009 8:57 a.m.
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