Have you ever gotten Sea lice(rash under suit) from snorkeling?

[luv2gonow]

Hi,

About 15 yrs ago....I think it was Turks and Caicos after snorkeling I noticed that I had a rash underneath the areas where my bathing suits. Guy said it was Sea Lice and it was not to bad except looked ugly....I DONT want it again though.

 

Has anyone heard of this???? With all the carribean destinations....Cruisers should notice this the most with all of the beach excursions and Snorkeling trips.

Any info appreciated.

Thanks

Kerri

[lsycko1]

Yes I had it once in 2001 in Cabo after a snorkling trip. I also got bitten on the beach in Roatan and had large red welts on me for about two weeks after that trip.

 

I usually pack cortazone cream with me, that helps!

[luv2gonow]

Thanks for the response.....

I hope we don't get it......especially my daughter:o

Kerri:o

[firefly333]

You usually get it in shallow water by the sand, not in deep water (in case you wanted to know). People usually get it by walking along the shore in the shallow water. Florida where I lived in Boca, they would put up a sign when the sea lice were present and people would talk about it more since we lived on the ocean in a ocean front condo.

[lawyerrose]

Depends on the time of year. Most prevalent in the spring and early summer. Not just in shallow water. My friend got it under her wet suit while diving in Cozumel and Grand Cayman on a May cruise. I was with her but didn't get sea lice. Some people seem more susceptible - don't know why. Rinsing right away - especially under suit - with fresh water seems to help. Cortisone cream works the best if you get it.

[TigerStar]

< Goes to add cortizone cream to my list of 'What to Take' >

[Minoushka]

I take Caladryl to help with the itch Something got me on our snorkeling trips I was covered in bites ...told jellyfish ...teenie tiny and invisible ..They ITCH AFTER ...a lot

I'm back home now 2 weeks they are disappearing

Sand Fleas in ROATAN horrid ...months to get rid of bites ...itch like crazy!!!In Roatan spray chairs and yourself Bites itch AFter ...when back on board

They should skip Roatan until authorities DO something about the sand fleas

I had welts everywhere YUCK !!!I still have bruises after 5 months

[LemurCat]

Can't say I've ever run into sea lice or sand fleas, but I have swum through an entire school of jellyfish (at the beach in Jersey of all places). Benadryl and oatmeal-and-almond soap came in very handy.

[poobears]

I read about sea lice a few years ago. I remember seeing a lotion you could apply before entering the water that was suppose to prevent bites. You might want to check into it if go during peak times.

[pavteam]

My husband got it while snorkeling in Roatan. He was wearing a rash guard because the water was a little chilly and he dove the deepest in our group. It drove him crazy for about 2 weeks. Now this was at Christmas. Fast forward to March. After a day in the Sun at a Water park in FL and the 1st day in the sun since his erruption cleared, he got them all over again. Something in the sun caused them to come back out. Turns out Sea Lice is actually a misnomer - it is actually a sort of parasite that gets under your skin. The sun brought them back out and it gave me the creeps :-)

[luv2gonow]

Sand fleas......lice that stay in the skin:eek:

Oh god.....I can see I will have to keep the alcohol flowing to stop worrying about this nastiness:p

 

So excited to go to the Caribbean with my daughter and take her snorkeling for the 1st time. I really hope we don't get it.......And I really don't want to NOT do the excursion because I MIGHT get it.

 

I will be going at peak season though....my sailing is out of NY 6-24.

 

Does anyone know if spraying your self with bug spray helps at all......Ahem....sure the ocean water rinses that off anyway right??:o

Thanks

Kerri

[LemurCat]

Sand fleas......lice that stay in the skin:eek:

Oh god.....I can see I will have to keep the alcohol flowing to stop worrying about this nastiness:p

 

So excited to go to the Caribbean with my daughter and take her snorkeling for the 1st time. I really hope we don't get it.......And I really don't want to NOT do the excursion because I MIGHT get it.

 

I will be going at peak season though....my sailing is out of NY 6-24.

 

Does anyone know if spraying your self with bug spray helps at all......Ahem....sure the ocean water rinses that off anyway right??:o

Thanks

Kerri

 

I've never known bug spray to help ...

 

And I'll be honest with you, I'd rather deal with these things than those bloody greenhead flies we get in Jersey. I hate those things with an undying malevolence.

[poobears]

Look up safe sea lotion if you are worried. I'd rather be safe than sorry. The itching would drive me crazy. I do use bug spray while on the beach, seems to keep the biting flies and stuff away.

[prose]

Good advice about the Safe Sea lotion. We used it in Cozumel when we've been there in May and June (sea lice season) and had no bites. It is also a sunscreen 15 or 30 SPF. I'll be taking it to Mexico again in a couple of weeks.

[Minoushka]

Who makes safe sea lotion ?where is it availablE?

[prose]

Google Safe Sea lotion and you will see all of the places that sell it. I got my last bottles at Diver's Supply, but the google search brought up Amazon.

[CMM]

My daughter got somthing like you describe- red bumps inflamed all along her swim suite bands- took her to the pediatrician and he said it was due to hot tubs and they see it all the time.

 

She had been in a dunk tank game at a picnic so I think that had done it. (She hadn't been cruising/snorkling anywhere.)

[lsycko1]

I take Caladryl to help with the itch Something got me on our snorkeling trips I was covered in bites ...told jellyfish ...teenie tiny and invisible ..They ITCH AFTER ...a lot

I'm back home now 2 weeks they are disappearing

Sand Fleas in ROATAN horrid ...months to get rid of bites ...itch like crazy!!!In Roatan spray chairs and yourself Bites itch AFter ...when back on board

They should skip Roatan until authorities DO something about the sand fleas

I had welts everywhere YUCK !!!I still have bruises after 5 months

 

LOL.. our entire group looked like leppers after leaving the beach that day!

[MrCo9]

I have never gotten it and I have dove the Caribbean over 100 times and snorkeled more than that. Here's good information from a Cancun website.

 

If you are visiting the Caribbean between March and August then you should know about "sea lice" and how to avoid them. In Cancun they are called Agua mala (bad water) or pica pica (itchy, itchy) and throughout the world as Seabathers Eruption. Sea lice are responsible for an itchy painful rash when swimming in the warm Caribbean Sea, at certain times of the year. Safe Sea is widely regarded as the best preventative treatment to avoid this itchy pest that could spoil your vacation.

 

Sea lice are not lice at all, however. They are the microscopic larvae of the thimble jellyfish (Linuche unguiculata). Around the size of speck of pepper, sea lice float freely through the warm seas during the late spring and early summer months. Areas of bare skin normally escape unscathed, but if they go through your bathing suit the fabric acts as a net and their venom can be triggered leaving large red welts and blisters - and often in the most sensitive of areas!

Skin irritation becomes noticeable between 4 and 24 hours after swimming and being exposed to sea lice, and some people have reported a prickling feeling while in the water. A sea lice rash is not a pretty sight. Large red spots, or welts begin to form and can blister and are accompanied by intense itching. The number of spots can be in the hundreds, irritation normally resides within a week.

 

Mainly due to the itchiness you may have trouble sleeping. Other, more rare, symptoms can include, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle spasms, fever, and a general sense of malaise.

 

Sea lice season extends all the way through from March until August, but the highest risk months are April, May, June and July. Outbreaks are sporadic though and not normally consistent throughout the whole of the sea lice season. The best source of warnings for when outbreaks are happening are those in the area. Talk to other vacationers, the lifeguards and in many cases other hotel staff will know. Look out for leaflets handed out either on the beach or in your hotel lobby.

 

A sea lice irritation is a kind of dermatitis i.e. an inflammation of the skin. Many of the treatment methods are similar to other kinds of dermatitis such as eczema. An antihistamine such as diphenhydramine will soothe the itching plus a hydrocortisone cream of 0.5% should be applied. If the affect is severe then a corticosteroid steroid cream may be considered. I am not 100% sure but I suspect this will not require a prescription in Cancun, not a lot of things do!

For comfort applying calamine lotion will also help. Safe Sea is not a treatment it is a preventative measure and therefore should not be applied after an attack has already occurred.

[TigerStar]

Thank you MrCo9 for your post.

[luv2gonow]

Look up safe sea lotion if you are worried. I'd rather be safe than sorry. The itching would drive me crazy. I do use bug spray while on the beach, seems to keep the biting flies and stuff away.

 

Thanks I will certainly order this:D

I love these boards:)

Thanks

K

[cantwait06]

wow I have never heard of this! Good to know!

[snownyet]

we got a taste of pica pica in curacao a few years ago. Felt just like someone was poking us with needles. Got out of the water and had no after effects.

[iamsteph]

i am most thoroughly creeped out :(

[KJPG]

Oh, this is just like being in school and someone getting lice - everyone else starts to itch, just thinking about it...