Duck Itch 2011
 

Well last weekend after being able to spend the first considerable amount of time in the water over the course of a weekend both my stepsons and my self ended up with a wonderful case of Duck Itch, or as my wife from maine would say swimmers Itch. In any case I can't remember having duck itch myself for many many years, I am usually very tolerant and have little problem even when others are. However this year be it from the lack of action on the lake, the late start for everyone that lives close by, thus there has not been much local churning of the water, I have gotten the dreaded Duck Itch.

I am on the North side of Long Island.... WHat have other noted in other parts of the lake.

my youngest son picked it up last summer while we stayed at Long Island Bridge Campground. We swam the campground beach and the Moultonboro town beach on LI as well as around some of the islands by Dow/Whortleberry. My guess is it's going to be a bad season if you are getting into it this early with the water temps still a bit low.

I've read the ways to evade the dreaded itch are:
1.) don't linger in shallow areas (move around a bit)
2.) don't "sun dry" yourself...wipe off with a towel
3.) and of course avoid areas frequented by waterfowl or where waterfowl waste would drift into.

It would be nice if areas could be treated to kill this parasite but I guess the only preventative is to drive off/kill the local waterfowl.

duck itch prevention
 

Hi All,
Sorry to hear you've got the duck itch! What a nuisance. After a really horrible case my husband caught 2 years ago that required a dr.'s attention we were advised that a good thick layer of sunscreen can help ward off the bacteria that causes the rash. I dont have the RX we were given by the dr. to clear up the rash but I will get the name of it and post later. It was great at stopping the spread and cleared the lumps up really quickly.

We're on black cat now and havent had a problem. My husband got it in Paugus Bay. I try to be really diligent in not letting the ducks hang out in our area. I certainly make sure guests know NOT TO FEED THEM! I'm sure my neighbors think I'm mean when they see me shoeing them away but I dont want anyone to have to deal with duck itch, its awful.

I have never experienced duck itch. Is it similar to getting poison ivy?

worse
 

It feels like its under the skin, in the muscle and no matter how much you scratch, it doesn't go away. Benedryl helps with the itch though

More like similar to getting the biggest, itchiest mosquito bites you've ever gotten.

sounds like a lot of fun

Take something like a Benadryl and they dry up pretty quickly (though it makes me tired).

If you don't, they will probably bother you for about a week. The worst is waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep because you're too itchy.

While I have encountered duck itch at East Bear Island in previous years, other members of my family and guests were not affected. I take a shower as soon as I get out of the water. This seems to take care of the situation.

I had it a few years ago. I used a cream/lotion called Eucerine anti-itch. helped a lot.
Now Scratch that itch right there in the middle of your back....ooooooo...yeah that one.......:laugh:

Sorry.:D

Due to rampant Political Correctness on the lake....NO one want's to talk about the LOONS. OH NO....NOT the wonderful Loons. :look: They are Innocent of any wrong doing.

My friends.. They are the biggest floating birds on the lake.

I SAY...Whack the Loons and the "Duck Itch" will go away. :D :D NB

Just sayin.......

People are wierd when it come to "special" animals. I had a boatful of people one day, someone said "hey look a loon, go over there so I can get a picture" as we get closer "damn just a cormorant".

Cormorants would have a complex if they knew we were talking about them.

Back on topic, we like to swim in deep water, much less chance of the itch.

okay..................
 

You're joking, right? Smiley faces showing........ Anyways, I am really surprisd the duck itch has reared its ugly head so soon, I always thought it showed when the water was warmed up, which so far does not sem to be happening..........

Loons are Lake Winnipesaukee's 3rd Rail!
 

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Can dogs get it?
 

Just wondering if there have been any actual cases of dogs getting duck itch? Kind of hard to put sun screen on the puppers! Wondering if there would be some way to prevent it?

Canada geese are bigger, and I would venture a guess and say that there are now WAY more of them on the Lake than there are loons. Loons are endangered. If we wiped out 90% of Canada geese in the Northeast, they still would be FAR from endangered. To say they multiply like rabbits is giving rabbits too much credit.

I live not far from the LI Bridge, and not far from the campground. I am currently working on a "guide" that I am printing to leave in our rental cottage for visitors. Just added a big, bold "Do NOT feed the ducks!!!"

Thank you, posters, for this reminder!

The Canada Geese LOOK bigger because they are all Fluffy Feathers. This helps them float. Loons are like Submarines ..General Quarters... General Quarters..DIVE..DIVE..DIVE, ..................so they can decimate the fish population. They are lean MEAN fishing machines. What you see is ALL muscle. :D

What did the loons do the last time you approached them in a boat....? Eh..? DIVE

Uh..OH: I think I'm starting to actually LIKE the Loons. They are Militaristic..I'm good with that..:look: NB

Duck Itch in Brickyard Cove
 

People feeding ducks from anchored boats near the beach in Brickyard Cove (near the big mansion, inside Barndoor Island) have created duck itch conditions. People anchor and ducks swim up to be fed. The ducks stay for the season...voila duck itch. I would avoid that area for swimming if you don't want duck itch.

That would be awful to have that problem by your house. It would probably scare a lot of folks from rafting near your part of the lake.

First Time Experience
 

In over 30 years on the lake, no one in our family ever experienced swimmers itch until I became a victim. I woke up this morning with red marks all over my legs. I was raking leaves in shallow water out of our beach area Sunday and Monday. We have not had many ducks this year but the wind was blowing into our beach. Next time I will towel off when coming out of the water as is recommended.

Same thing happened to me. Never saw any duck itch in almost 40 years on the lake until one day a couple years ago I was raking leaves and cleaning out some rocks that had fallen into our little beach area. My son and I got a good dose if the itch from our knees down. The little parasites must lay in wait on the bottom. I'm diligent about shooing away the ducks now. That was a miserable experience.

Can't Help But Wonder
 

What would be the result IF Duck Itch, Loon Itch, and Canada Geese Itch all combined to produce ....Total Mayhem..OMG...:look: NB

PS: And people are actually drinking this lake water as well........

The answer is very simple: IF you go in the water..OR..Drink the water..just have a STIFF Adult Beverage every afternoon..after 5 and you will be fine................Hopefully. :D

Happy hour starts at 3pm for us :D

I have a good case of the itch right now, several red spots on my legs, chest and in my arm pits, I think a couple of "hurricanes" (adult beverage) and a dose of benedryl will do me in for tonight.

Triamcinolone Acetonide
 

On your next trip to your MD, ask your doctor for Triamcinolone Acetonide, Betamethasone Valerate, or Aristocort. (From memory! :eek2:) They are a somewhat enhanced version of OTC cortisone-based topical creams and ointments—and while not a cure—they give prompt relief. (Perhaps reducing the number of days you suffer with the "bites").

Like Vasoline, the ointment version is a bit yucky to live with, but I still prefer it when around the lake, as it seems to have some waterproof properties. The cream version disappears upon application.

Those products are almost cheap to buy, and my MD never blinks when I ask for it. I keep lots around—here and there—and some of my prescriptions still function as intended after 20 years. (!)
:)

Duck Itch Photos?
 

What with all the different skin irritations such as stinging nettles, bug bites, poison ivy, hot tub hives, as well as duck itch, it can be challenging to identify what it is you've got.

How's about posting some medical style, close-up photos here of the reddish Lake Winnipesaukee duck itch welts, just for informational purposes?

Let's share "where"!
 

I've seen people get it in the past week at both Leavitt Beach in Meredith and Ellacoya State Park. Please let's share WHERE this is happening on the lake! Both parties were unaware of the problem... nothing was posted! I too, thought it was early in the season, that the water hasn't warmed enough yet... not true! (And Benadryl does seem best, as long as you can sleep it off, yes.)

Hate to be the suspicious type but what if a lake front owner were to post a little white lie warning about something that wasn't true just to keep people from in front of their house? I doubt that would happen, but, who know's?

I hear that the Duck itch is wicked bad at Braun Bay, plus there are snapping turtles the size of allgators, and the bass come up and bite you like piranha.

If you see my boat there, stay away, I'm making a sacrifice to be sure the situation is safe.

First time in the 12 years of going to the lake I've gotten this so called Duck itch. Everyone always warned me about it and insisted that I take a shower after coming out of the water. Well This time we all got it those washing off immediately and those not washing off. Some worse than others! We were at Long Island, Moultonborough where I hear this normal. Good luck to everyone else! This is terrible!

Snapping Turtles: I suspect that 99% of readers on this board have never seen a Snapping Turtle...or know what they are capable of if provoked.

Sometimes I make jokes on this forum just to lighten things up. :liplick:

This time I am serious. When I was a youngster in Vermont, (1950) someone caught a snapping turtle. They were tormenting the turtle with an Ax Handle. In slow motion..The turtle reached up and grabbed the Ax Handle and with one bite...broke the ax handle in two. ....... You descide...:look: NB

I've seen a snapper put a hole in a spade similar to what a manual can opener would do to the top of a can.

They are however more afraid of you than you of them when in the water.

On land, nasty.....

Duck itch
 

During late June and early July in the summer of 2010 I am not sure if I had scabies or duck itch, but I finally got the cream for scabies as I had an allergic reaction to whatever was biting me - every bite swelled up and I had about 40 of them. The scabies medication is a prescription, and I slept with it on me overnight. At the same time I started showering after every swim and my swollen bites cleared up and did not return. We are in Moultonborough Neck on the lake. Just this week my husband is getting bitten by something this year so perhaps it is duck itch again. We are swimming quite a bit but I still shower after swimming and he waits until the end of the day to shower. You can buy "after bite" at Rite Aid which helps with itching. When mine was so bad I was worried I had bed bugs at first but fortunately that was not the case- researching that makes duck itch look good!

Anyone else getting duck itch this year? I went on to check because of my husband's bites these past few days.

I was just playing up on Jonas suspicions.

But I've seen plenty of snapping turtles, two in the lake during the last two years. One lives around my boat dock, he is a regular working up and down the marina looking for fish. The other one I saw while walking the Gilford town beach on a rainy day. He was crossing from the swampy area behind the beach to the lake.

The thing to remember is turtles breath air, so you seldom see them in deep water. They like water a few feet deep so they can hang out on the bottom and pop up for a breath. They also don't like clear water, where there prey can see them. If you see them in a swimming area, they are just passing through, they don't eat people.

Duck Itch
 

At the annual East Bear Island Association meeting on Saturday, several residents reported cases of duck itch [aka swimmer's itch]. Our contractor contracted this unpleasant affliction while working in our boat slip during the past week repairing severe ice damage . Our next door neighbors obtained the itch while seated on the edge of their low wood swim raft on which mergansers catch some zzzzzz's at night.