The Johnson family spent some of the Canada Day long weekend splashing in the water at Zeiner Beach on Pigeon Lake.
“The kids went into the water and were in there for an hour, two hours,” said Shylo Johnson. “They all come in and they’re all itching. And I was like, ‘No, oh no.’ “
Things were no better even after the kids took showers.
Johnson’s 13-year-old daughter, Ashtyn, was hit the worst by swimmer’s itch, a rash caused by an allergic reaction to certain parasites of birds, mammals and snails.
“She is covered head to toe, like everything is covered,” Johnson said. “And we sat in the hospital for an hour and a half and they said it’s swimmer’s itch.
This is what Ashtyn Johnson’s stomach looks like after she swam at Zeiner Beach over Canada Day long weekend.
“And I said, ‘How the heck do I get rid of that?’ And they said a lot of Reactine and a lot of calamine lotion.”
There are now several signs up around Zeiner Beach. But Johnson said her family didn’t see any and checked the advisories before they picked the lake.
She thinks the province should do a better job of warning the public. Alberta Parks didn’t return CBC calls for comment.
Long Lake Provincial Park is currently the only area with a swimmer’s itch warning.
But across the province there are several blue-green algae advisories listed on the Alberta Health Services website. Exposure to blue-green algae can cause similar symptoms as those seen with swimmer’s itch, including skin irritation, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Most symptoms develop within a few hours, and clear up in a few days.
Swimmer’s itch rashes usually clear up within a week, according to Alberta Health Services.
For her part, Ashtyn Johnson told her mother she’s staying away from lakes, no matter what the signs say.
She was hit by a boat last time she got into the water.
She’s like, ‘Oh, forget it, don’t take me to a pool, I’m not getting into a lake ever again,’ ” her mother said. ” ‘I got run over by a boat, and then the first time I come back in here, I get this?’ ”