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Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,294
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

I have never heard of sea lice!  Some of my cruising friends said I need to get something to repel them when we do our first one.  Anybody have the lowdown?  Thanks in advance!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,030
Registered: ‎10-03-2011

Never heard of them either.  We just returned from our first cruise a month ago and no one on the ship ever spoke abut them.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 31,568
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Good grief, I thought this was the newest ingredient in face cream.

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~
Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,736
Registered: ‎02-19-2014

I read this and assumed your friends must have been pulling your leg. Then I googled. Guess they really are a thing. It's a rash you can get from unknowingly swimming through a bunch of tiny jellyfish in warm water. Seems to be a particular problem in FL. Here's part of a report from the ABC News site.

 

"Experts say the best way to avoid the thimble jellyfish's sting is to listen to reports and don't go in the water if they're expected. Others suggest wearing a waterproof moisturizer such as zinc oxide or thick layers of Vaseline to block the stings. Israeli researchers have also developed a lotion that, they say, borrows from mechanisms found in the clown fish and can prevent jellyfish stings.

Another option (if it is an option) is to swim naked. (Woman Embarassed) As the rule goes: No suit, no sting.

"They usually only sting when they get caught between you and your swimsuit and they get squished," explains Doug Allen, a jellyfish expert at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. "That's when their matecysts, the cells that act as stingers, fire off." 

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98540&page=1

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
Honored Contributor
Posts: 25,929
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Or you could just stay out of the ocean. This AM I was at the lab getting blood work drawn & someone was upset that over the weekend her little rat terrior ran into the water at a marina and a shark got him.She got him away from the shark by beating the shark with the boat hook, but the dog died of his injuries at the vet's office. i just stay out of  the ocean and swim in pools.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 67,437
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

I second @151949. suggestion.  A month or so ago, I saw an article with absolutely gross photos of a couple that picked up parasitic worms from a dirty beach in the Dominican Republic.  I thought about posting it but the photos were so horrible I didn't think it would pass muster.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,407
Registered: ‎07-07-2010

@just bee, I also thought it was the newest in skin care and a product that I would not be purchasing.

 

I agree with both @Kachina624 and @151949.  I now stay out of ocean water and limit my swimming to a pool.   There probably are all kinds of things out there that we just don't know about and I am past the point of taking chances that could have me in the hospital.

The next time that I hear salt and ice together, it better be in a margarita!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 34,546
Registered: ‎05-22-2016

I'd be more afraid of getting hepatitis from the dirty water. 

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,294
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Thanks,everyone.  I usually pull a chair to water’s edge and stick my feet in the water. Friends still said we needed to use a protectant. Yuck! I might just find a hammock!

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,460
Registered: ‎05-12-2012

i'm staying home.....lol