![]() This is why symptoms usually do not appear until the swimmer dries themselves in the sun or takes a freshwater shower without first removing the affected clothing. Once the swimmer leaves the ocean, the organisms stuck against the skin die and automatically discharge their nematocysts when crushed, dried out, or exposed to freshwater. However, due to their microscopic size and sticky bodies, large concentrations of larvae can become trapped in minute gaps between skin and clothing or hair. Initial swimmer exposure to the free-floating larvae produces no effects, as each organism possesses only a single undeveloped nematocyst which is inactive while suspended in seawater. The reaction is identified by severe itching around small red papules 1mm to 1.5 cm in size located on areas of skin that were covered by water-permeable clothing or hair during ocean swimming. Symptoms can last from a few days up to two weeks, the shorter time being the norm. It is unusual to notice the eruptions immediately. Symptoms generally arise later after one takes a shower. ![]() It should not be confused with swimmer's itch. The cause is sometimes attributed to " sea lice" or " sea ants", but sea lice (Caligidae) are crustacean parasites of fish only. Seabather's eruption is an itching dermatitis caused by a hypersensitivity reaction to the immature nematocysts of larval-stage thimble jellyfish ( Linuche unguiculata), sea anemones ( Edwardsiella lineata) and other larval cnidarians.
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