On Air Conditioning and Swimmer’s Itch

Monday we went for a run in the Canicule heat. For the most part we skirted woods where we could, and stopped twice at the same fountain to drink, splash ourselves, and recover from the heat. In so doing we cooled ourselves and stayed hydrated.

After the run we went to the Plage De Promenthoux for l’apéro, which was mainly chips and a drink or two. We also stood in the water for a group photo. “That’s a lot of shells” I thought. The bottom of the water was sandy with a few stones. It was obviously around 21°c.

I thought “We shouldn’t be standing in this water for so long, given the risk of duck flees at this temperature, and I was proved right, especially two days ago when I had an unbearable itch that made sleeping deeply uncomfortable. It also made sitting and more uncomfortable.

‘Puce de canard’ or Swimmer’s itch is caused by parasite larvae that live within aquatic snails. They are released in 21°c waters in depths from 0-50 centimetres of water if my memory is correct. The parasite larva are released by the host, and find human skin, and dig into it. The human body kills the larvae within 24-48hrs and then people itch badly.

With 29°c heat in a Minergie building at night the itch was unbearable. The next morning I tried not to scratch. I tried a frozen water bottle applied to areas that were itchy, and then after sun milk. This worked, but only temporarily.

When the itch is at its worse, is when the body is eliminating the remains of the parasites so there’s nothing to do, except wait for the discomfort to be over.

Exceptionally I did try one thing. I turned on the air conditioning on for the entire night, while I slept, and that worked, either because my body had finally vanquished the infection, or cooling calmed the skin enough for the discomfort to be lessened. I believe that air conditioning really helped just because it’s cool air. The pores close, and the itch lessens.

I was last infected by Puce de Canard years ago, so I am not doing badly. Last time I was curious, to understand what the issue was, in order to avoid future occurrences.

I went for a swim today, so the phobia is either not here yet, or I expect that it was a perfect storm that made me feel such discomfort two days ago.