Skin Irritations Reported At Ocean City Beach Last Week

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Visitors to beaches in Ocean City were met with a minor skin rashes during 24-hour period last week, a representative from the Ocean City Beach Patrol confirmed Tuesday morning. Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen noted that it wasn’t an outbreak. There appears to be no lingering threat.

Shanin Theiss, of the Beach Patrol in Ocean City, New Jersey, told 6 ABC little kids were the majority of the people coming up to the lifeguards with complaints of irritation in their suits last Wednesday, Aug. 22.

The rash may be similar to a situation seen by beach goers in Ocean City, Md. last week that was caused by sea lice, the larvae of jellyfish that carry a sting. When it was reported last week, the beach patrol in Ocean City, Maryland, noted that the problem wasn’t confined to their area.

“The Eastern Seaboard is experiencing this nature phenomenon. Sea lice is really larvae,” the patrol said on its Facebook page. “They can get into bathing suits while swimming and cause discomfort. Our best advice is to rinse with fresh water.”

The term “sea lice” is a misnomer. The translucent creatures are almost invisible to the naked eye when they're in water, and they're actually the larvae of the thimble jellyfish, says National Geographic. The rash that can appear on your skin is also called sea bather's eruption and is the result of baby jellyfish or anemone stingers.

Like mature jellyfish the larvae are covered in cells that contain toxin-filled harpoons ready to launch into human skin. When the larvae find themselves caught in an armpit or under a swimsuit, their harpoon-shooting cells are activated, National Geographic says. Toweling off only makes it worse, so showering off in fresh water is the best response, other than staying out of the water altogether when the larvae are present.

Reactions to the larvae stings include fever, headache, nausea, and infected blisters. Children can also develop high fevers. Itching and skin irritation can be treated with an over-the-counter 1% cortisone skin cream, according to the Florida Department of Health, and an oral antihistamine like Benadryl may help, as well. If these remedies don't help within a few days, call your primary care physician or dermatologist.

Patch file photo