It can be a fine line of distinction between allergy and sensitivity reaction, and for many people, exposure to chlorine can lead to uncomfortable and unsightly skin symptoms, sneezing, coughing, and eye irritation. Studies have suggested that frequent swimming in chlorinated pools and exposure to cleaning products containing chlorine may increase the risk of developing asthma and other respiratory allergies, both in adolescents and in adults.” That said, the ACAAI notes that chlorine exposure may “indirectly contribute to allergies by irritating and sensitizing the respiratory tract. Chlorine is also drying to the skin and can irritate existing dermatitis.” This is not an allergy but is actually ‘irritant dermatitis’ (like a chemical burn), caused by hypersensitivity to this natural irritant. “Chlorine reactions may include itchy, red skin or hives (itchy bumps). As such, many people refer to this as a “chlorine allergy.”īut the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology states this sensitivity to pool chemicals isn’t a true allergy. In severe cases, an allergic reaction can be deadly.įor some folks out there, swimming in a chlorinated pool can trigger a bunch of symptoms, including itchy, watery eyes, rashes, hives, or dry, itchy skin. For many people, pet dander, pollen, foods, or dust can trigger such responses. These can include hives, itching and redness of the skin, sneezing, or watering eyes. Your immune system is responding to a trigger in the environment that it believes to be a pathogen and as such, certain annoying, persistent symptoms may emerge. However, repeated exposures can result in severe reactions.When your immune system overreacts to a substance your body has become hypersensitive to, that’s an allergy. Swimmer’s itch usually resolves within 1–3 weeks without treatment.
Use of chemical molluscicides such as copper sulphate or copper carbonate in small lakes to kill potentially infested snails.Reduce vegetation in high-risk areas to make the environment less favourable for the water snails.Feed birds with a drug to treat the parasite.To reduce parasite numbers in the environment: What is the treatment for swimmer’s itch? Preventative measures What is the differential diagnosis for swimmer’s itch? Cercariae may accidentally attach to human skin, penetrate the skin, die, and cause a local allergic reaction. Cercariae may penetrate the skin or are ingested by the aquatic bird/animal, develop into an adult worm, and the cycle starts again. The miracidium enters the snail, elongates into a sporocyst, then matures into a cercaria which burrows out of the snail into the water. An egg hatches in the water to become a free-swimming miracidium in search of a specific snail species. The adult worm lives in a bird/animal, and the eggs are excreted via the intestines in the faeces. Schistosomes are parasitic flatworms with a lifecycle that involves aquatic birds (eg, ducks, geese, gulls, swans) or mammals (eg, beavers, muskrats), specific species of aquatic snails, and warm fresh or salt water. Swimmer’s itch is a disease of aquatic birds and humans are accidentally affected. However, it is only after repeated exposure to cercariae that the allergy develops and a rash eventuates. Young children are particularly susceptible as they tend to remain in shallow warm water where the snails are found in the highest numbers.
Swimmer’s itch can affect anyone swimming in waters with infested snails.
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