Parasite Burrowing Into Your Skin at Sand Hollow

Sand Hollow State Park is getting a lot of bad reviews on Yelp and other sites for this one microscopic reason, swimmer’s itch.

When the weather heats up in Southern Utah, its beautiful reservoir fills up with boats and people and the dreaded microscopic parasites from infected snails. The allergic reaction some have from this parasite burrowing into their skin, leaves unsuspecting swimmers with a skin rash that is hard to combat.

Here's a sampling of the 1-star reviews from Yelp:

“If I could give this place 0 stars I would. So apparently there's a thing called SWIMMERS ITCH here which is a microorganism the ducks bring...LET ME TELL YOU, it sucks some huge ONES. I am beyond itchy,” said Gizelle S.

“HORRIBLE. AWFUL. DO NOT GO IN THE WATER. Our entire family got swimmers' itch, huge welts and hives all over our bodies,” said Denise M.

“Seriously this lake was recommended by locals' as we are from Ca. If I could give it a Big Zero I definitely would...suffering from a bad case of swimmer's itch' which I guess this lake is infested with parasite' do a search for yourself,” Eizabeth S.

Where Does the Itch Come From?

Swimmer’s itch is from this parasite larvae that burrows into a person’s skin. The internet has a ton of information on it. There is a whole list of ways to try and avoid getting infected from applying baby oil, creams containing Deet, and showering after getting out of the water.

There are also many remedies after you get the itch like taking Benadryl to relieve the itch or applying apple cider vinegar or baking soda to the inflamed portions of your skin. I have never found any of these remedies very effective.