I've noticed in my many years of swimming at Coney, as the water cools, the itching begins. It starts with one or two red marks. Now, as the water nears 50F, I have about 10 welts the size of a quarter. Everyone calls it "sea lice", which sounds frightening. It is also incorrect, according to this medical article on the Divers Alert Network. No, according to the CDC what I have is the more innocuous sounding "swimmer's itch". Microscopic parasites that are looking for a duck to call home, but they settle for me. Ew. I think I'd rather be lunch for the jellyfish larvae.....
Towel off well, my friends....
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Those of us who are still swimming in Cold Spring Harbor are also experiencing this...but we are developing mosquito-bite-like eruptions on the areas of our skin that are NOT covered by clothing -- mostly on our faces and necks -- so I'm not sure it's the typical "jellyfish larva" sting. These "bites" materialize a day or so after swimming and then itch like mad for days...!
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