Lisa Harris Connolly’s husband had returned from surfing in the waters off Ocean City last week complaining of feeling itchy, but had no visible markings on his skin.
The culprit? Sea lice.
The minuscule ocean creatures aren’t actually lice, but the larvae of tiny jellyfish — typically thimble jellyfish— that are just big enough to see with the naked eye.
“(He said) it felt like something was lightly stinging him while surfing,” Connolly said of her husband, whose symptoms disappeared after a shower.
While Connolly’s spouse had only mild irritation, it’s possible sea lice can cause burning sensations and rashes if there are high swarms in the water, said Paul Bologna, professor of biology and the director of the marine biology and coastal sciences program at Montclair State University.
Tropical Storm Isaias, which hit New Jersey last week, likely pushed sea lice normally abundant in southern waters off Florida northward toward the Jersey Shore, Bologna said.
They also often pop up in the Garden State toward the end of the summer when the water is warmer.
Before 2 p.m. on Sunday, Avalon Beach Patrol Lt. Erich Wolf had already received three calls about the nasty sea dwellers.
He said the tiny species have been reported mainly on the southern end of the island Avalon shares with Stone Harbor, which had sea lice at its 100th Street beach on Saturday.
“This is typical,” Wolf said. “Anytime the ocean gets warmer or a storm passes through, you’re gonna see things churn up out there in the ocean.”
The jellyfish larvae are typically too small to see, Bologna said, but you’ll know quickly if you get stung.
Sea lice induce a skin reaction, called seabather’s eruption, which is caused by the bites of the larvae when they become trapped in a person’s bathing suit or clothing. The pressure from the fabric pushing against the sea lice triggers their stinging cells, Bologna said.
“They’re generally on you and you don’t even know it until they start to sting and bother you,” he said. “It’s not as if you can see them in the water. You’re just starting to feel irritation and itching.”
So what should you do if you encounter sea lice?
Typical skin irritation can usually be treated with antihistamines and topical corticosteroids skin creams like cortisone, according to Medscape.com.
You should also remove your bathing suit and shower, then wash your suit with detergent and put it in the dryer. The heat from the washing machine and the dryer should kill the remaining larvae.
Bologna said it’s important to alert the lifeguards on duty, who can then inform other bathers about what to be aware of in the water.
For severe cases, a person might need to seek medical treatment. But typically, he said, victims of sea lice simply need to fight through the irritation and wait for the reaction to pass.
“Mostly, (sea lice) are irritating, but not super problematic unless you’re getting your whole body covered with them,” Bologna said.