MDiver
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Anybody know what kind of critter it is, that makes you itch really badly after youve gone in the ocean, ive heard that they are shrimp, but im not really sure what they are...
Shrimp?
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There are many candidates for itch, but probably the most common in the Caribbean is "sea lice" - which aren't lice at all, but the larval stage of the thimble jellyfish. These can be very irritating, and tend to concentrate where your bathing suit is against your skin (waistband etc).
Wearing a dive skin will pretty much eliminate the problem.
Rick
Wearing a dive skin will pretty much eliminate the problem.
Rick
JustAddWater
Guest
Where were you diving? Did it leave any visible skin reaction? My guess would have been sea lice too.
I'd like to take the opportunity to commend my fellow board members on their maturity. I was expecting to see at least one diagnosis of crabs.
I'd like to take the opportunity to commend my fellow board members on their maturity. I was expecting to see at least one diagnosis of crabs.
I got into them the first time ever in Roatan this past April. First it was just a few itchy whelps around my neck. I thought it was no-see-ums. It got worse every day until I had whelps all under my suit area, around my neck, my face was swollen and I had 101º fever. Plus I was dopey from taking so many Benedryl caps. I still thought it was no-see-ums! Finally someone mentioned my sea lice was looking bad. I got some vinegar to put on it right then and had immediate relief. So from now on if it stings, itches, or aches it's getted swabbed with vinegar!
Go ahead and put vionegar on it now...it can't hurt.
Go ahead and put vionegar on it now...it can't hurt.
Kat
Contributor
My boyfriend says, when he was little, his mom always put towels soaked in vinegar on him, when he had a bad sunburn. He swears this works.
And I just recently heard to put it on bug bites too.
I am wondering:
Does it really work & why?
What type of vinegar is the best?
Why isn't this more common knowledge?
And I just recently heard to put it on bug bites too.
I am wondering:
Does it really work & why?
What type of vinegar is the best?
Why isn't this more common knowledge?
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Vinagar and meat tenderizer are the two best. Between the two you can just about take care of anything that makes you itch. (Stings & bites, of course)
As jellyfish larvae, sea lice make you itch from injecting poison via nematocysts firing into your skin. They all don't fire at once, and the continued disturbance of unfired nematocysts by scratching or by flushing with fresh water will cause a new round of firings and only exacerbate the itch.
Vinegar has a double action - first of all it's somewhat soothing to itchy skin, but probably more importantly with sea lice, it "disarms" any unfired nematocysts and prevents their firing and introducing new poison and new itch.
Meat tenderizer has a different action, denaturing the poison itself and thereby relieving the itch.
If you have access to both, I'd flush with vinegar first, then apply meat tenderizer.
E.
Vinegar has a double action - first of all it's somewhat soothing to itchy skin, but probably more importantly with sea lice, it "disarms" any unfired nematocysts and prevents their firing and introducing new poison and new itch.
Meat tenderizer has a different action, denaturing the poison itself and thereby relieving the itch.
If you have access to both, I'd flush with vinegar first, then apply meat tenderizer.
E.
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