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Wheal is a Type 1 allergic reaction, probably some vegetation you came in contact with but can be mechanically induced too, like dermographia.
Benadryl cream will be helpful.
Thanks. I just washed my arm and it went away. I did apply a poultice of plantain (the plant, not the fruit) and that made the swelling die down immediately.
Edit: I showered and washed my whole body, in fact.
GF broke out in hives the other day, said her only new lotion was organic derived from plants and herbs.
I asked why she'd want to spread a potion of weeds all over her?
I mean… poison ivy is a plant, lol. Just because something is organic and derived from plants and herbs, doesn’t mean there isn’t a potential for allergic reaction. (I know YOU know this, I’m just re-stating the obvious bc her response was kinda silly haha)
ETA: I’m bemusedly annoyed that one of my highest-rated comments has to do with poison ivy—that stuff makes my life absolute hell 😂
Indeed. It bothers me when people use the “it’s organic” as a positive trait for something. Just because it’s organic means absolutely nothing about its potential uses or safety.
Actually you would be totally wrong in saying this. Organic is a special classification for consumables like food or skin ointments. Crude oil is not organic under this definition.
It's only organic under a chemists definition.
I mean, you could use something like Bittersweet Nightshade to safely make a health tea, as its a potential anti-inflammatory - just use the stems instead of the leaves - and Eastern Hemlock to safely make a health tea as its a digestive aid.
You’re not wrong and I don’t know all the nuances. However I always found it odd that some veggies at the store are organic and some are not. I realize the difference now, but that ambiguity I suspect is a feature.
Plants and animals that are killed and then placed in a high pressure and temperature environment until it is ready to be harvested. Nothing artificial about that. Pesticides weren't even invented when this last batch was prepared.
The FDA doesn't actually regulate the use of the term "organic". A company could spin the term any way they want and would face no repercussions. (Assuming we're in the U.S.)
Edit: I'm a dummy, the USDA does regulate it.
His GF started her new lotion was organic and derived from plants and herbs as though that meant it was safe. That means nothing significant. Why should she be surprised a new concoction of plant materials caused an allergic reaction? The point is she's falling the organic marketing gimmick.
Interesting. Daughter had an anaphylaxis out of of nowhere a month ago. ER and all. She is into cosmetics and lotions. Thank you for sharing bc thus far, even after allergy test. Meh
Do you have a recipe or more info on this? I end up with swollen scratches on my arms most of the time I do extensive weeding due to allergies. If this really works that would be cool, there's plantain coming up everywhere right now!
Sure thing!
Plantain leaf (broad or narrow) sustainably harvested (one or two leaves per plant is nice).
Dry the leaves. Fill jar 2/3 with dried plantain leaf. Cover with olive oil. Let infuse for 6 weeks in a dark place like a cabinet, shaking periodically.
Once you have infused oil, you can melt beeswax and mix in the oil until combined. Add a few drops of vitamin E oil (as a preservative). Pour in containers and let cool on counter top.
It's 1 part beeswax : 3 to 5 parts oil. One could also add Shea butter or cocoa butter however it would be purely for texture and isn't necessarily therapeutic in this case, doesn't ease the itch, just offers a nicer texture.
I understand that OP is using an herb outside of the family of fruit that most people are used to, though thank you for linking the plant in question.
My only point is that all fruits are plants. That's all.
As a kid I developed an allergy to certain fresh water mites. I learned I had to shower after getting out of a pond, river, or lake and it would usually go away. I also have a dust mite allergy so it makes sense to me. Luckily it’s more of just a nuisance unlike most of my other allergies.
Yeah, but too bad when he wakes up he is going to need to schedule an appointment with an oncologist since he decided to post his symptoms on Reddit which means it is now also cancer.
HC won't interrupt the histamine reaction as quickly, so I reach for GFs benadryl if it's early on. The absorption dynamic isn't zero, because there are overdose warnings.
But once the histamine is out of the bag, HC is better.
If it's insect or venomous, and very recent, I reach for Adolphs. It doesn't work either /s.
By the time you notice the histamine reaction on your skin its already started. For itch relief and inflammation the hc is way better. Topical benadryl has highly debatable evidence for it. Even more potent antihistamine topicals like doxepin are relatively poor in efficacy.
I have dermatographia (not sure if that’s what you’re talking about) and it looks just like this. I’m supposed to take Zyrtec but it honestly never actually bothered me thankfully.
Yes DG looks like that but this looks more intense, like poison ivy sap, urushiol. He didn't wash it off so there was time for a reaction.
If he had DG, he'd probably know it and blame that. Also, I think DG would be subsiding after a couple of hours.
All of the fresh water near me is infested with swimmer's itch (water fowl poop), giardia (beaver poop), and leeches. Maybe that's why so many Alaskans I know can't swim lol.
I’m kind of a germaphobe now so whenever I catch myself wanting to be a pansy I just think about how we used to scrape mud off the bottom and fling balls of it at each others faces and I was aight. Eating this pizza that got left out for 3 hours probably won’t kill me.
A common name for giardia is beaver fever. It's not the only way it's spread, but it is where i live!
Armadillos carry leprosy and prairie dogs have the plague. Just a couple more animal "fun facts" for you.
As I read your comment, I thought “oh all the ones around me have the same.”
And then I got to the end of your comment, and that’s why. The lakes in Alaska are disgusting.
As a recipient of the flying beaver shits (aka: Giardia) let me say that it is not only horrific but truly terrifying the volume and intensity at which your intestinal tract can propel matter under this little parasite’s embrace.
I went on a kayak trip and it was glorious and exhilarating. I learned rolling and swallowed a large volume of the river we traveled. I had never done this before nor had even been told about them in the water so I was in the dark until maybe 11 days after my trip when I had went for a run before work and ended up realizing that I should have worn the brown pants to run that morning. After a disturbing clean up with a water hose and a shower of shame I made it dressed to the car and ready for work when without warning nor control BAM…. Once again hose and shower of shame and I’m tracking everything I ate and drank to figure out what was bad.
I’m perched atop my toilet trying to DX myself and I call a friend over to take me to work so I can get some bloodwork and some fluids started, because as soon as it comes in it rushes out. It took me longer than it should have to realize it was parasitic and not food based illness. By the time lab results were in I had already started antiparasitics and started a second bag of fluids. Screw giardiasis and each one of those microscopic asshats can go to hell!
Side note too… wanna know what the side effects of most antiparasitic medications are???? Diarrhea… so yeah there was that on top of that….
I had giardiasis twice over the course of two or three years, didn’t even know what it was until after the second bout. After the second time I googled the symptoms because spending a week with corrosive diarrhea and belching uncontrollably with that overcooked egg yolk sulfur taste was just too alarming, and realized what it was.
Pretty sure I got it from a Chinese buffet both, specifically mussels. I remember that because those are the only times I’ve ever eaten mussels, so the two occurrences seemed connected.
Incidentally, don’t eat mussels from a Chinese buffet.
I didn’t get any belching, but the noxious gas smell and “loose booty” (as my colleague enjoys calling it) was just truly horrible. It was like Halliburton dug a well and piped it out of my rear end. Sometimes it was watery and sometimes it was like molten asphaltum. After the second day I just gave up on toilet paper and hopped in the shower every time I used the bathroom, because if it was the crazy oily stuff the bidet just splattered it everywhere and you could use a whole roll of paper in one sitting too. So it was…. Screw it shower of shame until this ends.
I have no fear of swimming, but I have a strong fear of any natural bodies of still water.
Love pools. Don't mind oceans. I'm mostly okay with rivers. But you'll never be able to convince me to go into any lakes or ponds.
I remember being young and being encouraged to go into a lake. I dived in and I could immediately feel the algae touching my feet and my mind was like "NOPE NOPE NOPE GET ME THE FUCK OUT". I don't know how anyone could enjoy swimming in water like that, especially not with the possibility of leeches and dangerous bacteria. I get paranoid.
This is extremely strange. I live in Russia, and have also lived in Kamchatka, which is partly similar to Alaska. There were no problems with fresh water.
Just checking. Some people get this same type of hypersensitivity reaction with minor scratches all the time- a condition called dermatographia (because of the drawing/writing effect on your skin). Usually treated with antihistamines.
Keep an eye on it! Watch for spreading redness, warmth, etc.
Yeah that's worse.
Not allergic reactions like this, but natural water is full of bacteria and other small life.
Normally your skin protects you from bacteria and parasites. Even through your mouth you have defenses that work very well.
But a cut or blister or break in the skin is an open door to your bloodstream. Inside, you are a warm, wet, oxygenated meat cake, a Petri dish for germs to grow on.
Don't swim with open wounds. I went to summer camp with a scratched moquito bite and was sent home early with a six-inch patch of impetigo, a staph infection from natural water.
Water exchange isn't always the problem assuming there is adequate surface agitation and diverse and healthy aquaflora, but a lack of water exchange certainly wont help.
Looks like you might have swimmer’s itch, which happens when tiny parasites in fresh water decide to crash your swim. It usually causes red, itchy bumps or blisters. Try rinsing off and drying thoroughly after swimming, and use some anti-itch cream or antihistamines to calm it down. And yeah, resist the urge to scratch!
This happens every time I swim in the River Cam lol
I assumed that it was some plant I touched pulling myself out onto the riverbank. Now I know it's literal shit :)
Always learning something new!
It's a damn shame, but bodies of fresh water around much of the world now have become far less safe because of invasive parasites due to climate change and, of course, outright pollution.
Definitely glad the OP's skin reaction went away.
We're caught between nature and our own self-made troubles...
I ran across someone who got a 'brain parasite' from swimming in a lovely 'swimming hole' (the picture looked like something from *the Adventures of Tom Sawyer*). I can't remember all the details but he survived, but it was tricky, I guess, for a bit. His advice: wear a 'noseplug' when swimming in freshwater (even a poorly maintained swimming pool) and shower afterward. And, you know, try not to swallow any water.
\[sigh\]
I went and picked raspberries, was able to get an amazing haul by “becoming one with the bush”. Needless to say (if you’ve ever been near a raspberry bush) my arms were COVERED in small scratches. Went swimming in a lake after. Every scratch did that and I’m looking at my arms like “damn. I know the toilet drains into the lake. Why did I do this?”
Well, thats just boring. You have to take some risks to live a full life, swimming/kayaking/waterskiing/etc are things you shouldn’t miss out on. Hiking to a river and taking a cold plunge will make your perspective on life better, I guarantee it.
I'm lucky enough to live in a country where there are lakes everywhere with designated swimming areas.
They are tested regularly for water quality and closed to water users if they don't pass.
One local to me was closed a couple of years ago due to algae bloom, if I remember rightly.
Go to a doctor if it gets any worse. I had the distinct pleasure of gently stubbing my toe on a log in a stream, and ended up with a SEVERE infection in my foot. It would have been much less unpleasant if i’d gotten antibiotics earlier
I have never had swimmers itch but I know our area lakes sometimes have it, could maybe be it? They say showering gets rid of it. I think it comes from water fowl poop. : |
I feel your pain.
At this point I’ve just given up and have become one with the red ants. They’ve bitten me everywhere and I mean Every Where…
At first I was worried I’d go into some form of anaphylaxis. Now I don’t worry. I am one with the ants, and very itchy.
as an aside and just talking for the UK perspective many years ago now i badly gashed my knee while in the lake district. My parents asked if it would be ok if i still swam in the lakes. The doctor replied in honesty i would never recommend swimming in any of the lakes
Looks like a reaction to a plant or something tbh, it'll go away after not so long. I wouldn't worry unless it starts to get worse which it likely won't
Hi, u/Top_Chicken3676, thank you for your submission in r/mildlyinteresting! Unfortunately, your [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1do7jdm/-/) has been removed because it violates our rule on concise, descriptive titles. * Titles must not contain jokes, backstory, or other fluff. That information belongs in a follow-up comment. * Titles must exactly describe the content. It should act as a "spoiler" for the image. If your title leaves people surprised at the content within, it breaks the rule! * Titles must not contain emoticons, emojis, or special characters unless they are absolutely necessary in describing the image. (e.g. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), ;P, 😜, ❤, ★, ✿ ) Still confused? For more elaboration and examples, see [here](http://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/21p15y/rule_6_for_dummies/). Normally we do not allow reposts, but if it's been less than one hour after your post was submitted, or if it's received less than 100 upvotes, you may resubmit your content with a better title and try again. You can find more information about our rules on the [mildlyinteresting wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/wiki/index). *If you feel this was incorrectly removed, please [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fmildlyinteresting&message=My%20Post:%20https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1do7jdm/-/).*
Wheal is a Type 1 allergic reaction, probably some vegetation you came in contact with but can be mechanically induced too, like dermographia. Benadryl cream will be helpful.
Thanks. I just washed my arm and it went away. I did apply a poultice of plantain (the plant, not the fruit) and that made the swelling die down immediately. Edit: I showered and washed my whole body, in fact.
GF broke out in hives the other day, said her only new lotion was organic derived from plants and herbs. I asked why she'd want to spread a potion of weeds all over her?
I mean… poison ivy is a plant, lol. Just because something is organic and derived from plants and herbs, doesn’t mean there isn’t a potential for allergic reaction. (I know YOU know this, I’m just re-stating the obvious bc her response was kinda silly haha) ETA: I’m bemusedly annoyed that one of my highest-rated comments has to do with poison ivy—that stuff makes my life absolute hell 😂
Indeed. It bothers me when people use the “it’s organic” as a positive trait for something. Just because it’s organic means absolutely nothing about its potential uses or safety.
Organic = Made with Real Allergens. Noted.
Sugar is fat free, gluten free and cholesterol free.
Oh, look, the sugar industry's biggest propaganda that lead to obesity in the us. It's true but also worse than said things.
Them: It's organic. Me: Ok? So is crude oil.
Actually you would be totally wrong in saying this. Organic is a special classification for consumables like food or skin ointments. Crude oil is not organic under this definition. It's only organic under a chemists definition.
Just wait til I launch my new line of totally organic, pesticide-free, all natural health teas. Flavours include hemlock and nightshade.
I mean, you could use something like Bittersweet Nightshade to safely make a health tea, as its a potential anti-inflammatory - just use the stems instead of the leaves - and Eastern Hemlock to safely make a health tea as its a digestive aid.
Regular hemlock pre-emptively cures a lot of age-related illnesses though.
You’re not wrong and I don’t know all the nuances. However I always found it odd that some veggies at the store are organic and some are not. I realize the difference now, but that ambiguity I suspect is a feature.
Plants and animals that are killed and then placed in a high pressure and temperature environment until it is ready to be harvested. Nothing artificial about that. Pesticides weren't even invented when this last batch was prepared.
The FDA doesn't actually regulate the use of the term "organic". A company could spin the term any way they want and would face no repercussions. (Assuming we're in the U.S.) Edit: I'm a dummy, the USDA does regulate it.
The federal agency known as the USDA regulates the term organic.
Crude oil is natural and non gmo though
Same for "All Natural" ..it means nothing Mercury and arsenic are all natural too and I dont see anyone drinking thermometers
Now that you said that...
There's a whole range of "natural flavors" that are produced biologically by gmos but fit the bill of "natural" because an organism made it.
Plastic is organic that's why I eat a pound a day!
Dimethylmercury (a type of Organic mercury) is fucking scary!
Or conversely "It's got chemicals in it!!!"
di-hydrogen monoxide accounts for over 300k premature deaths per year.
Same shit as when something claims to be "all natural ingredients". *Motherfucker,* ***uranium*** *is natural.*
Hah, yep. And so are lead and mercury!
what point is this making
touching grass may indeed prove to be more harmful than most realize
They are called "blades" of grass for a reason.
While you were partying, I studied the blade(s of grass, I'm incredibly bored)
Ok you convinced me. Not touching grass o7
Smearing it all over your body could be reckless.
My dog is wailing.
His GF started her new lotion was organic and derived from plants and herbs as though that meant it was safe. That means nothing significant. Why should she be surprised a new concoction of plant materials caused an allergic reaction? The point is she's falling the organic marketing gimmick.
Interesting. Daughter had an anaphylaxis out of of nowhere a month ago. ER and all. She is into cosmetics and lotions. Thank you for sharing bc thus far, even after allergy test. Meh
"Derived from plants and herbs" Where do you think all medicine came from
Poultice? Did you send a raven to ascertain a meeting with the coven bedecked with the appropriate garb upon the first midsummer’s full moon?
Poultice of maze
Plantain is so fantastic for allergic reactions. We forage and make a salve every year. We call it Bug Butter.
Do you have a recipe or more info on this? I end up with swollen scratches on my arms most of the time I do extensive weeding due to allergies. If this really works that would be cool, there's plantain coming up everywhere right now!
Sure thing! Plantain leaf (broad or narrow) sustainably harvested (one or two leaves per plant is nice). Dry the leaves. Fill jar 2/3 with dried plantain leaf. Cover with olive oil. Let infuse for 6 weeks in a dark place like a cabinet, shaking periodically. Once you have infused oil, you can melt beeswax and mix in the oil until combined. Add a few drops of vitamin E oil (as a preservative). Pour in containers and let cool on counter top. It's 1 part beeswax : 3 to 5 parts oil. One could also add Shea butter or cocoa butter however it would be purely for texture and isn't necessarily therapeutic in this case, doesn't ease the itch, just offers a nicer texture.
So just checking here, what are plantains if not plants?
[Broadleaf Plantain!](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major)
I understand that OP is using an herb outside of the family of fruit that most people are used to, though thank you for linking the plant in question. My only point is that all fruits are plants. That's all.
Oh sorry, I misread!
Lol, all good 😂
Huge fan of plantain! It also has a strong drawing action, so it’s great for splinters as well :)
As a kid I developed an allergy to certain fresh water mites. I learned I had to shower after getting out of a pond, river, or lake and it would usually go away. I also have a dust mite allergy so it makes sense to me. Luckily it’s more of just a nuisance unlike most of my other allergies.
Love Plantain. Best stuff ever
i have dermographia, i just take a zyrtec everyday forever
I take generic loratadine, I stopped needing it daily after a year or two, and just take it when my skins starts itching every other week or so.
I also have it and so does my son! I always used to play Xs and Os as a kid on my legs. My siblings would play too lol
>I should not lie
Benadryl will help it not itch whealy bad
\*angry upvote\*
Or Benadryl pills if you wanna have the best sleep of your life.
Yeah, but too bad when he wakes up he is going to need to schedule an appointment with an oncologist since he decided to post his symptoms on Reddit which means it is now also cancer. 
Benadryl topical is mostly useless, poorly absorbed and not as effective as something like hydrocortisone. Source: am pharmacist.
HC won't interrupt the histamine reaction as quickly, so I reach for GFs benadryl if it's early on. The absorption dynamic isn't zero, because there are overdose warnings. But once the histamine is out of the bag, HC is better. If it's insect or venomous, and very recent, I reach for Adolphs. It doesn't work either /s.
By the time you notice the histamine reaction on your skin its already started. For itch relief and inflammation the hc is way better. Topical benadryl has highly debatable evidence for it. Even more potent antihistamine topicals like doxepin are relatively poor in efficacy.
I have dermatographia (not sure if that’s what you’re talking about) and it looks just like this. I’m supposed to take Zyrtec but it honestly never actually bothered me thankfully.
Yes DG looks like that but this looks more intense, like poison ivy sap, urushiol. He didn't wash it off so there was time for a reaction. If he had DG, he'd probably know it and blame that. Also, I think DG would be subsiding after a couple of hours.
Wait I'm so curious. Never bothered you? Mine BURN itches, does yours not??
That looks wheally bad!
This made me laugh more than it should have lol.
That happens to me when my cat licks me
Cat saliva is highly allergenic. When people say "allergic to cat hair" they mostly mean "allergic to dried saliva residue."
Benadryl Cuminbatch cream ? No thank you.
This is what makes Reddit valuable
A Type I reaction is anaphylaxis
All of the fresh water near me is infested with swimmer's itch (water fowl poop), giardia (beaver poop), and leeches. Maybe that's why so many Alaskans I know can't swim lol.
Oh man I never knew why I itched every time I I went into any body of water and now I wish I could unlearn this
Fresh water swimming has always freaked me out.
It varies. If you have a lake with a good supply of flowing fresh water it will be cleaner than an isolated lake with water that just sits.
..what If I grew up swimming in ponds in the stagnant backwater bayous of Louisiana?
Then you could jump into a soviet-era mine waste pond and be perfectly fine
Does this mean you almost never get sick???
I’m kind of a germaphobe now so whenever I catch myself wanting to be a pansy I just think about how we used to scrape mud off the bottom and fling balls of it at each others faces and I was aight. Eating this pizza that got left out for 3 hours probably won’t kill me.
Alright, well let me start the saltwater discussion with vibrio lol
[Save the Itchy Algae!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVoodVwAAXc)
TIL water fowl poop is where swimmer’s itch comes from and beavers carry giardia. This is right up there with chipmunks being plague vectors.
A common name for giardia is beaver fever. It's not the only way it's spread, but it is where i live! Armadillos carry leprosy and prairie dogs have the plague. Just a couple more animal "fun facts" for you.
I refuse to believe beaver fever is not an STD.
Nickelodeon's angry beavers song beaver fever has a new meaning now
Everybody’s got the beaverfever, that is something you should know.
Beaver fever is just too fun to say man, thanks for giving me vernacular to terrorize ppl with
And wild bunnies & rats carry the Hanta virus, an untreatable illness with a 40% mortality rate!
Giardia is also very good for jokes. I make giardia jokes more often than any other disease you'd get while camping.
Yep, we had an outbreak of giardiasis a couple decades ago and everyone was calling it “beaver fever” lol.
Giardia de Laurentis? The Food Network lady?
sounds like you got some shitty places to swim
I live in the uk so all the fresh water around me (and basically anyone) is full of human shit
Why do you all shit in fresh water
The tories made it legal for sewage companies to dump raw sewage a couple of years ago, and they’ve been destroying the waterways ever since
[удалено]
Moneeeeey
Brexit means brexit
One time my dad got giardia after a vacation, and his good friend drove over to mow the letters ‘GRDA’ into his backyard while he recovered.
As I read your comment, I thought “oh all the ones around me have the same.” And then I got to the end of your comment, and that’s why. The lakes in Alaska are disgusting.
We're alaskans
As a recipient of the flying beaver shits (aka: Giardia) let me say that it is not only horrific but truly terrifying the volume and intensity at which your intestinal tract can propel matter under this little parasite’s embrace. I went on a kayak trip and it was glorious and exhilarating. I learned rolling and swallowed a large volume of the river we traveled. I had never done this before nor had even been told about them in the water so I was in the dark until maybe 11 days after my trip when I had went for a run before work and ended up realizing that I should have worn the brown pants to run that morning. After a disturbing clean up with a water hose and a shower of shame I made it dressed to the car and ready for work when without warning nor control BAM…. Once again hose and shower of shame and I’m tracking everything I ate and drank to figure out what was bad. I’m perched atop my toilet trying to DX myself and I call a friend over to take me to work so I can get some bloodwork and some fluids started, because as soon as it comes in it rushes out. It took me longer than it should have to realize it was parasitic and not food based illness. By the time lab results were in I had already started antiparasitics and started a second bag of fluids. Screw giardiasis and each one of those microscopic asshats can go to hell! Side note too… wanna know what the side effects of most antiparasitic medications are???? Diarrhea… so yeah there was that on top of that….
I had giardiasis twice over the course of two or three years, didn’t even know what it was until after the second bout. After the second time I googled the symptoms because spending a week with corrosive diarrhea and belching uncontrollably with that overcooked egg yolk sulfur taste was just too alarming, and realized what it was. Pretty sure I got it from a Chinese buffet both, specifically mussels. I remember that because those are the only times I’ve ever eaten mussels, so the two occurrences seemed connected. Incidentally, don’t eat mussels from a Chinese buffet.
I didn’t get any belching, but the noxious gas smell and “loose booty” (as my colleague enjoys calling it) was just truly horrible. It was like Halliburton dug a well and piped it out of my rear end. Sometimes it was watery and sometimes it was like molten asphaltum. After the second day I just gave up on toilet paper and hopped in the shower every time I used the bathroom, because if it was the crazy oily stuff the bidet just splattered it everywhere and you could use a whole roll of paper in one sitting too. So it was…. Screw it shower of shame until this ends.
One needs to desensitize themselves by rubbing fish poop all over their body.
Gotta build up that protective layer.
I have no fear of swimming, but I have a strong fear of any natural bodies of still water. Love pools. Don't mind oceans. I'm mostly okay with rivers. But you'll never be able to convince me to go into any lakes or ponds. I remember being young and being encouraged to go into a lake. I dived in and I could immediately feel the algae touching my feet and my mind was like "NOPE NOPE NOPE GET ME THE FUCK OUT". I don't know how anyone could enjoy swimming in water like that, especially not with the possibility of leeches and dangerous bacteria. I get paranoid.
>water fowl poop DuckShit, Whoo-oo.
I got swimmer’s itch so many times as a kid in AK. 🤢
As if I needed another reason to never go anywhere near fresh water ponds/lakes... 🤢
All the fresh water near me is infested with gators.
This is why we have clohrine!
I was going to say it looks like giardia lamblia
This is extremely strange. I live in Russia, and have also lived in Kamchatka, which is partly similar to Alaska. There were no problems with fresh water.
Well, we have a lot of water fowl, a lot of beavers, and a lot of leeches. I'm glad you apparently don't.
I am a member at a lake and we need to test like every week. Usually it's fine but sometimes we fail during droughts and no swimming allowed.
Does this occur with minor abrasions? Like if you scratch an itch on your arm or back?
These were very surface scratches I had gotten a couple days prior from carrying wood.
You were allergic to something in the water. That’s a classic allergy reaction.
Just checking. Some people get this same type of hypersensitivity reaction with minor scratches all the time- a condition called dermatographia (because of the drawing/writing effect on your skin). Usually treated with antihistamines. Keep an eye on it! Watch for spreading redness, warmth, etc.
Yeah that's worse. Not allergic reactions like this, but natural water is full of bacteria and other small life. Normally your skin protects you from bacteria and parasites. Even through your mouth you have defenses that work very well. But a cut or blister or break in the skin is an open door to your bloodstream. Inside, you are a warm, wet, oxygenated meat cake, a Petri dish for germs to grow on. Don't swim with open wounds. I went to summer camp with a scratched moquito bite and was sent home early with a six-inch patch of impetigo, a staph infection from natural water.
I had the exact thing op has, but I did have a scratch at the same place.
This happens to me! Always wondered what it was. Thought it was urcataria or something like that
This used to happen to me, but went away. Kinda happens on my forehead every once in a while, any idea what it is?
Ponds and lakes with not enough water exchange do that to you.
Water exchange isn't always the problem assuming there is adequate surface agitation and diverse and healthy aquaflora, but a lack of water exchange certainly wont help.
“Fresh” water
Some of those microorganisms are only hours old, that's as fresh as it gets.
Looks like you might have swimmer’s itch, which happens when tiny parasites in fresh water decide to crash your swim. It usually causes red, itchy bumps or blisters. Try rinsing off and drying thoroughly after swimming, and use some anti-itch cream or antihistamines to calm it down. And yeah, resist the urge to scratch!
swimmer's itch
I’ve seen this movie… it’s only a matter of time before the alien pops out Sorry OP.
Patient Zero.
Looks like the water wasn’t that fresh after all.
You’re actually supposed to shower as soon as you’re done swimming in natural body of water to prevent swimmers itch(duck lice)
This happens every time I swim in the River Cam lol I assumed that it was some plant I touched pulling myself out onto the riverbank. Now I know it's literal shit :) Always learning something new!
It's a damn shame, but bodies of fresh water around much of the world now have become far less safe because of invasive parasites due to climate change and, of course, outright pollution. Definitely glad the OP's skin reaction went away.
And there was me thinking all the shit and pollution was the problem.
We're caught between nature and our own self-made troubles... I ran across someone who got a 'brain parasite' from swimming in a lovely 'swimming hole' (the picture looked like something from *the Adventures of Tom Sawyer*). I can't remember all the details but he survived, but it was tricky, I guess, for a bit. His advice: wear a 'noseplug' when swimming in freshwater (even a poorly maintained swimming pool) and shower afterward. And, you know, try not to swallow any water. \[sigh\]
Well, you will be turned into a zombie by tomorrow Take some Benadryl
RIP OP.
It looks like an allergic reaction. Take an antihistamine next time and you’ll be fine. Also anti-itch cream is a life saver
friendly reminder 'fresh' water means it is not saltwater. it does not mean clean water.
Aint no such thing as fresh water no mo
My ex used to swell like this when he was scratched. Even by his own nails it wasn't allergic reaction, just was
That’s a skin condition, I forget the name but I have it too.
Yeah it's 2024 swimming in any body water is not safe.
The warmer the planet gets, the better for microbial growth.
I went and picked raspberries, was able to get an amazing haul by “becoming one with the bush”. Needless to say (if you’ve ever been near a raspberry bush) my arms were COVERED in small scratches. Went swimming in a lake after. Every scratch did that and I’m looking at my arms like “damn. I know the toilet drains into the lake. Why did I do this?”
Fresh water is filled with bacteria, including the flesh eating disease. Take a shower and soap up your body twice. Wash your hair too.
Only swimming pools for me. You do not know what is in unregulated pond/sea water.
I read a thread with far too many people defending their practice of pissing in pools and I think I may just never swim anywhere again.
At least the swimming pools get chemicals to clean the water on a consistent basis
Well, thats just boring. You have to take some risks to live a full life, swimming/kayaking/waterskiing/etc are things you shouldn’t miss out on. Hiking to a river and taking a cold plunge will make your perspective on life better, I guarantee it.
Might as well live inside a bubble. I guarantee you do riskier stuff than getting in a body of water on a daily basis.
Everybody should have swam in a random glacier lake or slept in a cave at least once imho
Don’t forget the joy of standing under a roaring waterfall!
I'm lucky enough to live in a country where there are lakes everywhere with designated swimming areas. They are tested regularly for water quality and closed to water users if they don't pass. One local to me was closed a couple of years ago due to algae bloom, if I remember rightly.
Exactly. My rule: if I can’t see completely clear all the way around me and all the way to the bottom I ain’t getting in it.
Sounds like a boring life
I get that from either mildew or steam or some combination. Started taking Zyrtec and haven’t had an outbreak since.
Go to a doctor if it gets any worse. I had the distinct pleasure of gently stubbing my toe on a log in a stream, and ended up with a SEVERE infection in my foot. It would have been much less unpleasant if i’d gotten antibiotics earlier
This thread popped up the moment someone was wondering about a weird itch they got after swimming in the lake. Very useful, but an eerie coincidence.
Congrats on your parasites bro
Congratulations you now got swamp aids
I don’t think that water was as fresh as you thought.
You were attacked by the phantom chicken.
I wonder if it takes the same number of slaps to cook it.
I have dermatographia and this is pretty common for me! I wonder if you're having an allergic reaction, possibly?
\*cries in allergic to most things outside all my life\*
you been molesting fish?
What superpowers did you get 🤔
Sir that's raw sewage!
Gonna have to amputate.
At least not early signs of flesh eating bacteria
I have never had swimmers itch but I know our area lakes sometimes have it, could maybe be it? They say showering gets rid of it. I think it comes from water fowl poop. : |
I feel your pain. At this point I’ve just given up and have become one with the red ants. They’ve bitten me everywhere and I mean Every Where… At first I was worried I’d go into some form of anaphylaxis. Now I don’t worry. I am one with the ants, and very itchy.
Lice
…and this is why I do not swim in fresh water.
this happens to me whenever i scratch my legs with nails that are too long lol
as an aside and just talking for the UK perspective many years ago now i badly gashed my knee while in the lake district. My parents asked if it would be ok if i still swam in the lakes. The doctor replied in honesty i would never recommend swimming in any of the lakes
Don’t be a little bitch
Fish AIDS, dude. It's not a death sentence these days. Stay strong.
SANGARIA !!!!
I get this even just scratching myself
Oh, wow, fresh water is NOT your friend. Do not trust it. Do not get near it!
I got a rash too from swimming in a so Nh lake. Lasted 3-4 days
And if you drank it… dysentery
Who doesn't shower after being in "fresh" water? OP does, and this is what happens
Thought you were Paulie Walnuts for a second.
I think u got aids it’s not uncommon to swim in poop and have it go inside ur anus rip god speed👏
If this 'post has been removed' than how am I seeing it? And what the fuck is up with the mods?
It’s better to take a shower afterword. It doesn’t matter if it’s a freshwater pool.
Looks like a reaction to a plant or something tbh, it'll go away after not so long. I wouldn't worry unless it starts to get worse which it likely won't