Podcast 610: Swimmers Itch

<p><strong>Contributor: John Winkler, MD</strong></p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Swimmers itch is due to a flatworm parasitic infection that causes an itchy rash after the worm burrows into the skin</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The flatworm is passed between bird and snail hosts</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The itch is due to the death of the parasite under the skin which leads to an extremely itchy reaction.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The rash can be difficult to identify, often erythematous and macular but can develop papules and vesicles eventually scaling</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The treatment is diphenhydramine for milder cases and steroids for more severe cases.</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Kolářová L, Horák P, Skírnisson K, Marečková H, Doenhoff M.</span> <a href= "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22915284/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Cercarial dermatitis, a neglected allergic disease.</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2013 Aug;45(1):63-74. doi: 10.1007/s12016-012-8334-y. PMID: 22915284</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Summarized by Jackson Roos, MS4 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD</span></em></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The Emergency Medical Minute is excited to announce that we are now offering</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">AMA PRA Category 1 credits™</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">via online course modules. To access these and for more information, visit our website at</span> <a href= "http://www.emergencymedicalminute.com/cme-courses"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">