Everything You Need To Know About Swimmer’s Itch In Utah

With temperatures in Utah rising, it's no surprise that many are heading to lakes, ponds and reservoirs to cool off and have a good time.  

However, with all that fun in mind, there is an issue; swimmer’s itch.  

For Southern Utahns, Sand Hollow Reservoir is the place where it happens most, and it isn’t uncommon to see it in other places where snails, birds and mammals are. The Center for Disease Control said that a parasite from these snails, birds and mammals is released into the water.  

Swimmer itch is the microscopic parasites coming into contact with human skin. There are several factors and severity to swimmer's itch. Just like the name, itching, redness a rash and even blisters in more severe cases can be signs of swimmer's itch.  

The season for swimmer’s itch is usually in Summer when the parasite can live. It doesn’t seem to like cold environments.  

So, how do you prevent it? 

The most obvious answer is to avoid lakes, pools, reservoirs and oceans that have reported swimmer’s itch cases. That can be difficult since cases aren’t always reported. If you do contract swimmer’s itch don’t keep swimming there since it is bound to happen again. 

Make sure to towel off or use clean water to rinse off after swimming in these areas. Also, just avoid places that tend to have snails, maybe.  

Have your officials post signs of areas that warn swimmers of potential swimmer’s itch.  

Some treatments for swimmer’s itch: 

• Use corticosteroid cream 
• Apply cool compresses to the affected areas 
• Bathe in Epsom salts or baking soda 
• Soak in colloidal oatmeal baths 
• Apply baking soda paste to the rash (made by stirring water into baking soda until it reaches a paste-like consistency) 
• Use an anti-itch lotion