Is "Duck Itch" here yet?

[fatlazyless]

My my my.......itchy itchy itchy....yes, it must be the dreadeded duck itch that I caught while in the shallow water for a couple hours on Monday...and I got it bad...redness....skin eruptions and bubbly looking skin patches....ugh....ugh....ugh....yuuuuuuuuccchhhh.. ...will try to post some up-close photos of my duck itch skin....because a photo is worth a thousand words...scratch....scratch....ouch....pain...pain. ..pain....& misery!

[IslandRadio]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

My my my.......itchy itchy itchy....yes, it must be the dreadeded duck itch that I caught while in the shallow water for a couple hours on Monday...and I got it bad...redness....skin eruptions and bubbly looking skin patches....ugh....ugh....ugh....yuuuuuuuuccchhhh.. ...will try to post some up-close photos of my duck itch skin....because a photo is worth a thousand words...scratch....scratch....ouch....pain...pain. ..pain....& misery!

Wow, that's really too bad about the itch! Where are you located (or where were you in the water - what part of the lake)? Will definitely watch out.

Sherrie (IslandPrincess) found the soap that is useful for poison ivy helped her quite a bit. She's had duck itch a number of times.

[fatlazyless]

To learn a lot about the duck itch or the swimmer's itch, suggest you google "Wikipedia swimmer's itch."

According to Wikipedia, a microscopic waterborne parasite is looking for waterfowl like ducks or geese and will latch onto humans too, and is more common in the shallow water probably because that's where the ducks are more commonly found.

[Sandy Island fan]

We have found that application of sunscreen before going in the water, as well as rinsing after being in the water, helps prevent duck itch. Sorry it's too late for you, FLL, but for others, this might help.....

[fatlazyless]

My girlfriend, age 47, got a similar horrid case of the duck itch too, as she was in the water in the same area for the same time as me on Monday afternoon. Today is Thursday. One of her arms from the hand to the elbow swelled up from all the duck itch so she saw a medical doctor at the Speare Hospital emergency room in Plymouth today. The doctor there diagnosed it as duck itch and said she had an allergic reaction to it and prescribed pregnozone (spelling?). ........ how about that....and am still working on getting three photos of my own duck itch on leg, arm and on my stomach .....medical style photos taken with a cell phone posted here.....watch out......it's the Lake Winnipesaukee duck itch ........and it is definitely out there.........(theme song from the movie JAWS here) .......

[NoBozo]

Based on this FLL report: I will NEVER swim in the lake again. NB

PS: I HATE Ducks...........and maybe Canada Geese as well....OR is it Loons..I can't Decide..They all POOP..don't they..

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

My girlfriend, age 47, got a similar horrid case of the duck itch too, as she was in the water in the same area for the same time as me on Monday afternoon. Today is Thursday. One of her arms from the hand to the elbow swelled up from all the duck itch so she saw a medical doctor at the Speare Hospital emergency room in Plymouth today. The doctor there diagnosed it as duck itch and said she had an allergic reaction to it and prescribed pregnozone (spelling?). ........ how about that....and am still working on getting three photos of my own duck itch on leg, arm and on my stomach .....medical style photos taken with a cell phone posted here.....watch out......it's the Lake Winnipesaukee duck itch ........and it is definitely out there.........(theme song from the movie JAWS here) .......

It was probably Prednisone.

This drug can cause some people to become very aggressive or depressed.

Keep your eye on her just in case she gets these side effects.

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by Rusty

It was probably Prednisone.

p

.....yes, you are correct....it is prednisone and very thankfully it seems to be the antidote to her two swollen hands and arms, and to a much lesser extent, her legs too.

At first we both thought we had poison ivy or poison oak as we had been removing some small oak weed type plants, but it is duck itch or swimmer's itch. We were both in the very shallow water, with lots of motorboat waves constantly rolling in on Monday, Labor Day, and buoy .......oh buoy.......we got that duck itch
bad.......all over except for feet (sneakers w/ socks) and head and neck.

I'm in the water a lot and have had duck itch in the past in very small areas but this was a big, bad, all-over case for me, and for her, and she apparently has an allergy reaction or something to the duck itch causing her arms to swell a lot and her legs a little.

.........duck itch.........bad stuff .....scratch-scratch!

[AC2717]

i read somewhere, on the forum i think, that due to the mild winter, and low water levels this year the level of bacteria is very high this end of the season, vs previous seasons. PLus with the little rain we had areas where water might normally flow freely is not. I am wondering if this is why I have been getting sick the past couple of weeks very frequently with one thig or another. I am going to stay out of the water this weekend and see what happens, or I could be just finally getting over a three week or so colr or flu

GET THESE DAM GEESE OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!

[Dave M]

Working on the dock 2 weeks ago. Wore sneakers and had everything covered except legs. Thats where I got it. Didn't go in last weekend, wife did and she got it.

Dave M

[NoBozo]

I unfairly indicted the Ducks, Geese, and Loons in my above post. Here is an article splaining this "parasite". It doesn't come from wildfowl poop. NB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Itch

PS: I have found the procedure mentioned at the end of the article, (and below) also to be quite effective after encountering jellyfish in salt water. It seems to prevent any reaction to jellyfish stings.

...."periodic brisk toweling of the extremities is effective in preventing Swimmer's Itch".

I do this while still IN the water, and while emerging from the water to Rinse the parisites off the skin before they penetrate.

[Newbiesaukee]

Actually, it can come from duck feces even though the organism that causes it is a parasite. These life-cycles can be very confusing and the Wikipedia article could be better written. Besides, it would sound worse if we called it "snail itch."

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

Actually, it can come from duck feces even though the organism that causes it is a parasite. These life-cycles can be very confusing and the Wikipedia article could be better written. Besides, it would sound worse if we called it "snail itch."

"Duck (or 'Snail') Itch" seems to only affect the legs and ankles. Toweling-off definitely helps, but swimming in deep water discourages the affliction. (Onshore wind concentrates the nasty micro-critters in the shallows).

Snail "browse" (food=algae) is encouraged by Phosphorus and the Nitrates that are being increasingly introduced into the lake. (Compounds found in lawn fertilizers).

When I polled my fellow Winnipesaukee summer campers—from "yesteryear" —none could remember having "Duck Itch".

Quick relief can be found with a doctor's prescription to 0.1% Triamcinolone Acetonide. (Also known under various trade names that can include the suffix, "cort"). 0.1% Triamcinolone Acetonide is to be used sparingly, and applying a teeny-tiny amount gives near-instant relief to Duck Itch and similar "bites"; astonishingly, just one application may be enough.

More on the "Duck Itch" topic here:
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7985

[fatlazyless]

...From the Dept. of Meds for the Uninsured:

Well.....about seven days after getting this miserable duck itch, it is slowly losing its redness and itchiness and slowly healing up. Probably, the worst area is the inside of both my arms from the elbow to the wrist on the inside, and specifically the inside corner of my right elbow. Other areas were stomach, knees to ankles, and one spot on forehead ...... at least it makes me appreciate my good health when I do get a duck itch rash.....Ivarest which is similar to calamine lotion ...... and Pabst Blue Ribbon .....have helped to ease the itchiness pain .....

And......talk about a good find.....the Dollar Tree store next to the Gilford Walmart has 1-oz tubes of 1.0% Hydrocortisone Cream for one dollar.......God bless that Dollar Tree!

[ApS]

I have paid as little as $3 for a prescription of Elocon, Aristocort, Hydrocortisone Valerate, Betamethasone Valerate, or Triamcinolone Acetonide. (and may have received free samples). They're available in an ointment or a cream base; for me, ointment works best around water.

At your next checkup, ask your doctor—and hold on to that tube. It appears to work for years following its expiration date.

[fatlazyless]

Well......more on this duck itch saga........yesterday......the emergency room bill for my girlfriend came in the mail from Speare Hospital in Plymouth......and it totaled out to about $929 for her one hour E.R. visit to treat her two swollen hands and arms on the first Thursday after Labor Day at 5:30-pm......the duck itch was contracted supposedly from the invisible parasitic microscopic worms in the shallow and very wavy(at the time) Winnipesaukee water on late Monday, Labor Day afternoon;

........about $929.......which gets broken down to........325 for the medical doctor to examine and prescribe prednisone.......600 for the emergency room for the nurse and the hospital visit.....and 4 for two prednisone tablets....plus getting the prednisone prescription filled was additional.....not sure how much at this time...


.........what a bunch of crooks! ......how the H can this one hour E.R. visit cost so much.....and after her insurance company processes her claim.....I expect to be left paying her $500 deductible.....


.....so what has happened to paying about 65-dollars, total, for a visit to the local E.R. ?

.................

One thing I have noticed lately is that this time of year, there is always a group of about ten or so ducks directly in front of my spot on the lake......diving for the acorns on the sandy bottom.....which fall from the two large overhanging oak trees....the ducks seem to just love eating those acorns ......and these mallard ducks will swallow the newly fallen acorns whole....apparently with no problems....

[jrc]

For something like this, I would call my doctor and a he would prescibe prednisone over the phone. I would go to CVS and be set for $10. But since it's free lets go to the emergency room.

Don't worry, pretty soon we will have unionized governement doctors with no evil profit motive to take care of us and it will all be free! Everything will be free soon, mortgage, food, phone, medicine, someone else will pay.

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by jrc

For something like this, I would call my doctor ...... But since it's free lets go to the emergency room.

She called her regular doctor, who was too busy to see her on that Thursday, and she (her doctor) after hearing a description of her swollen arms and hands, over the phone, told her (my girlfriend) to go to the "clinic" at the hospital.

[Winnisquamguy]

Originally Posted by jrc

For something like this, I would call my doctor and a he would prescibe prednisone over the phone. I would go to CVS and be set for $10.

Not sure what kind of doctor you go to but for a doctor to prescribe something over the phone by just listening to the symptoms seems like he would be setting himself up for a malpractice lawsuit. Doctors use to do this years ago not sure they do it very often anymore.I agree he would have been better paying the $25 dollar co-pay than the $500 he is going to end up paying.