Photo: Getty Images
Two Texas women have gone viral on TikTok after sharing their experiences dealing with a rash they got after swimming in lakes.
Reagan Caussey of Dallas made the trip to Austin to visit her aunt, according to BuzzFeed News. She went paddleboarding and swimming at Lady Bird Park with some friends. The next morning, she woke up with an "extremely itchy red rash" all over her legs and arms. Her friends didn't have the same experience, though.
"I did not think it was from the water. I took Benadryl and it didn’t go away. It kept getting worse and worse," Caussey told BuzzFeed News, saying she originally thought the reaction was to her aunt's cats.
Caussey didn't know what the rash was from until a friend of hers shared a video on TikTok of another woman who was going through the same thing. Alisa Nappa shared photos of a rash she got after swimming at Barton Springs in Austin in a TikTok video.
"It’s embarrassing to post photos like this but I feel like people should know. You can get swimmers itch at Barton Springs too 😭 it’s so bad," Nappa captioned the video.
Swimmer's itch (cercarial dermatitis) is an allergic reaction to microscopic parasites, according to the CDC. The parasites are released from infected snails into fresh and salt water. If it comes into contact with a swimmer, "it burrows into the skin causing an allergic reaction and rash." Swimmer's itch is most common in the summer, it's not contagious and can't be spread from one person to another. Not everyone who comes into contact with the parasite will get a rash, it just depends on the sensitivity of your skin. It takes about a week or more for the itch to go away.
"I appreciate that these people posted about swimmer’s itch so people don't overreact when they get these types of rashes and can pay better attention to what's going on and just be more informed about the environment. It’s just about being smart and taking those extra precautions when you get out of the water," Brent Bellinger, a senior environmental scientist overseeing the lakes in Austin, told BuzzFeed News.
You can watch both Reagan and Alisa's videos below, and scroll down to learn how to protect yourself against swimmer's itch.
Here's what the CDC suggests you do to reduce the likelihood of getting swimmer's itch:
- Do not swim in areas where swimmer’s itch is a known problem or where signs have been posted warning of unsafe water
- Do not swim near or wade in marshy areas where snails are commonly found
- Towel dry or shower immediately after leaving the water
- Do not attract birds (e.g., by feeding them) to areas where people are swimming
- Encourage health officials to post signs on shorelines where swimmer’s itch is a current problem
For more information about swimmer's itch, click here.