Anyone react strongly to sea lice?

Hmmm. Interesting. I am not allergic to bee stings, but do have terrible hay fever, allergies to dogs, cats, trees, dust--basically, anything in the air. I wonder if there is a connect there?

I had sea lice after a swim at Ocean City, MD, but didn't have a clue what it was and freaked out. I went to the doc, and he wasn't sure so he treated me for allergies (which I have seriously) and antibiotics. It cleared up in a few days. You should probably go to the doctor if you are that uncomfortable, IMHO.

We had an explosion of sea lice in the Great South Bay a few years ago. It was the itchiest thing I've ever had (worse than poison ivy) and at times it felt like the itch went down to my nerve endings. I used an over the counter stop itch ointment. The spot that was always a problem seemed to be on my stomach area so i quickly bought a 2 piece bathing suit that looked awful but seemed to keep them off of my body by not trapping them inside the suit. For sure, if you swim with the lice you have to get that suit off immediately upon exiting the water and wash it in a washing machine. The sooner you shower the better. I'm thinking if you used a petroleum jelly they might not be able to stick to your skin.. but that's just a guess. from time to time I feel them in my suit but they're not as bad anymore so i just live with an occasional outbreak. I'm pretty sensitive to this stuff because even the eel grass can irritate my skin if it has those rough barnacles attached.

Are you by any chance allergic to bee stings as well? That was a question asked by the two guides on the Swimtrek tour I did recently. Apparently there's a connection, perhaps the venom is chemically similar? One member of the group answered yes, and handed over one of those emergency sting kits.

Donna, I am so happy to hear I am not crazy! The fever is still here--getting higher and lower throughout the day, and certainly, as with fevers, spiking at night. Miserable. Did you do steroids at all? I have a prednisone prescription from my doctor, after I called yesterday and explained the entire situation to them. It's always strange when you have to educate your medical practioner. Needless to say, between last year and this year, I have had a lot to teach! They had no idea what these were, other than the fact that someone in the office had suffered once, but did not have any reaction beyond itching. I had to convince the woman giving the prescription that this really was a side-effect. When you were hospitalized, what did they do? I'm not sure what course of action to take right now because last year, when I had the combination of man-of-war/sea lice, they did immediate steroid treatment at the St. Croix Emergency room--which also took my insurance, by the way. With this, I'm sort of more interested in waiting it out, but between the headache, the wierd migraine like eye pain, and the fever, I feel terrible. Last night, I was at almost 102, which is definitely high for me, and shivered my way to sleep. Today, my highest has been 101.6 and I have moments where I feel pretty good, and then descend into a cold, sweating mess. Yuck! I would think it was the flu, but both my husband and son are totally fine--no spots, no fever, feeling great--and with the amount of time we spend in close proximity, I don't think there's any way they would be okay if this was the flu. My son even crawled into bed with me last night, slept with my husband and I for much of the night, and was still ready for action all day today. Strangely, despite the spots, which are also on my arm in a place the suit couldn't have caught them, my itching hasn't been as bad as last year. I wonder if that's because last year was so extreme in terms of the level of pain, this just seems like not much comparatively. The burning, swelling sting from last year made these seem more like an irritation--except for the times when, I agree with you, it feels as if they are boring their way right into your nerve endings! I'm glad to hear the Safe Sea actually works. I had asked about it at a dive shop in St. Croix and they looked at me like I was completely crazy. One woman just laughed and told me it sounded like somebody trying to make a buck. After this, they will make several bucks from me!! It's available online at buysafesea.com I will definitely be stocking up. I'm so glad to hear that you've had success with it. I also realize that I may have been hit with it in the Bahamas two years ago. At that time, the doctor told me I had something called felliculitis and put me on 10 days of antibiotics. Of course, now I realize that the spots were only where my suit was and that I'd been swimming a few hours a day. They said it was a bacterial infection due to cruise ships bilging waste into that part of the water. Lovely! Why do we do this sport again??? (And how sick am I--all I can think is that this is costing me training time in the pool!) I am, however, revising some vacation plans that included time in the Mexican Rivera--apparently the world's best place to catch sea lice! Thanks again, Sydne

Hi there, I just got back from the 5-mile St. Croix Coral Reef Swim--a terrific race for anyone considering it. I've done this 4 times, and despite what I am going to ask about, I highly recommend the race. I saw tons of turtles, rays, and had a great 5 days in the sun. Given all of that, during last year's race, I was stung by a man-of-war, and "sea lice." The man-of-war sting was extreme, and required a hospital visit as I developed a systemic reaction. (This kind of sting is almost unheard of in St. Croix so don't let it put you off the race!) This year, I seem to have been attacked by sea lice again. The last two days, in addition to the bumps and itching, I have had a headache, felt feverish, had the chills, and generally felt like I have light flu symptoms. I am also sleeping really badly. I've been up since 4, totally unable to get back to sleep. I didn't equate the other symptoms with the reaction until I did some reading. Now, I'm pretty certain they're related. Has anyone confronted this? My concern, based on looking at some things online, is that now that I've started these kind of reactions, they will continue to get worse the more times I encounter the little beasties. I hesitate to use the prednisone I have leftover from last year's man-of-war sting, but I'm feeling pretty lousy. (No pun intended!) What have you done in the past? And have you tried Safe Sea, the supposed prevention lotion? I love the sport, but I'm paying for it dearly in terms of how I feel! Thanks for any advice. Congrats on the race! To answer your question, I have TERRIBLE problems with sea lice; I live in the Caribbean and they come in by the millions during March/April/May. They are those little brown splinter-like organisms with an orange speck on the end and their stings are much worse than Jellyfish because they are so tiny they get caught in your suit and stay there. Everyone had told me to use vinegar after I swam. Doesn't work, trust me; it is an old wives' tale. The Safe Sea you are referring to DOES work a whole lot. It reduces my stings by at least 75%. Use it, as a matter of fact, I am almost out and need more. If you know of where on the internet I can buy it, let me know for our next season. We can always tell when the sea lice come, no one is in the ocean! The first year I encountered them, I got really sick with a high fever and could wear no clothing on my torso at all, so I stayed indoors with a sheet around me. They are horrible, so you have another person who knows exactly what you are talking about! donna

i encountered the sea lice on the 5 mile st croix swim 2 years ago. i had never heard of them and was very surprised when it happened. they stung but the stinging went away after a while. i had only one spot near my suit where i had a mark. no one could explain to me what they really are. i didn't require any medication fortunately but had the one mark for a while. can someone explain exactly what they are?

i encountered the sea lice on the 5 mile st croix swim 2 years ago. i had never heard of them and was very surprised when it happened. they stung but the stinging went away after a while. i had only one spot near my suit where i had a mark. no one could explain to me what they really are. i didn't require any medication fortunately but had the one mark for a while. can someone explain exactly what they are? Hi mary!! Long time, huh? Sea lice are the eggs that jellyfish lay; they are about the size of the comma on your keyboard; they are brown with an orange speck on the end and usually they are found in pockets of ocean water; thousands and millions at a time. And to think that something so small can hurt so many of us so badly, especially those of us who are susceptible to any kind of stings. They are an enemy of mine down here for about 2 months or so. I had over 600 stings the first year on one single swim. Had to be hospitalized (in a third world country of all things) due to fever and hallucinations, but I am susceptible to stings to begin with. Safe Sea is the best product so far on the market! I urge everyone to buy it; I believe it comes in a blue plastic bottle and it does help immensely! donna

Dear Syned and Donna (yes long time :) after doing a pubmed search and finding out these are indeed what i had originally thought, the larval jellyfish. i can give you what is recommended to be standard treatment. it seems that some people are more sensitive to exposure than others. many result in a typical maculoopaular rash, especially under suits, etc. standard treatment would be an antihistamine such as benadryl and a topical steroid cream. however, in more severe situations, prednisone orally would be prescribed. i understand that presenting with a fever a physician may be hesitant to give oral steroids but if the history is well docuemented then it is very reasonable. if you were admitted, i imagine they would want to r/o all other things that cause headache, fever, chills, myalgia, and so forth. this is primarily a dermatitis that can have some more severe symptoms such as you both describe and again if the physician felt comfortable with the possible cause, then a course of IV steroids might be also considered. also of course, perhaps some antibiotics for nothing more than to prevent secondary infections (i'd hold off on the abx if it were me). i think it's just hard bec/ when you present with a rash, and the other symptoms mentioned, they need to r/o every other possible cause (which are many) don't know if i've helped, but i'd push the steroid issue since this is indeed an immune response. having worked in a burn center for a long time with trauma surgeons, i am used to seeing very unusual rashes, etc. and can see how it would be perceived if the physicians aren't familiar with the syndrome. good luck and feel better! donna, am i likely to encounter these in the gulf of mexico next week where i'm swimming?? mary d.

Oh, Sydne, when I say I feel your pain, I truly do mean it. I was hospitalized in a 3rd world country so they don't do much to start with anyway. No prednisone here. I really don't know what the treatment should be once a person is stung multiple times. I would think that the doctors who are treating you would know best even if they aren't familiar with "sea lice." But the venom from sea lice has to be similar to some forms of jellyfish as that is their parents. I do know that after I get stung, whether it be only a dozen stings or hundreds, it takes about 8 days or more for me to fully recover. The stings then fester and become oozing sores and this is when the fever starts. (usually 2 days or so after being stung). But when I found Safe Sea, my stings are so much less that I actually continue to swim in the ocean for several miles when sea lice are present. it is a great preventative. I put a lot of that stuff on on my face, arms, torso, stomach and when I get out, I may have only a dozen little stings or so. And, they don't get to the festering sore stage, so this product does help. I guess you should follow your doctors orders and see if the predisone works (steroid). It may, but in the future, I know I'll have a swimming friend who advocates Safe Sea (until something better comes on the market)!!! donna