Sea lice warning after ‘horrific’ bites

“It just wasn’t worth it”, says a local boy after being bitten by what is likely to be sea lice at a popular beach.

Richmond’s Bodhi Sissons, 7, and his cousin Tully, 14, spent the first week of January battling nasty bites on their legs and feet after what was meant to be an enjoyable paddle at Mārahau on New Year’s Day.

Bodhi’s mum, Kate, is now warning others to be vigilant at beaches around the region after what she says was a “horrific” week.

“Unless he was sitting with his legs in cold water, vinegar and salt, he was screaming. The worst day was day six and we had three sleepless nights.

“And this is a kid who usually isn’t fazed when he gets itchy bites.”

Bodhi also had a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting on the worst day – symptoms which are “unusual” for him, she says.

Kate initially thought it could have been hand, foot and mouth disease, or even chickenpox.

“The doctor was stumped – even a second doctor looked and could not figure it out.”

They were given antihistamines which “took the edge off” and creams which “did nothing”.

“We tried everything... even a pet cooling pad… the only thing that really worked was water, vinegar and salt.”

The bites finally started feeling better by day eight, she says.

“We have a family bach in Mārahau and we’ve never had this happen. It’s horrible as a mum - for me it was worse than him being sick.”

Bodhi reckons it won’t deter him from swimming, but he will stay out of the ocean until he is all healed.

“It just wasn’t worth it,” he says.

NIWA crustacean biologist Dr Rachael Peart said this year’s warmer waters made for ideal conditions for sea lice and other “biting creatures”.

“The ocean is quite warm at the moment, so I feel a lot of people are actually swimming and hanging out in the water this summer.

“And also, warm water currents and wind patterns can also bring some of these organisms closer to shore.”

Rachael says it’s not necessarily an “influx”.

“We get heaps of reports around January and February every year… it’s a dual effect of more swimmers in the water, plus warm surface temperatures.”

There, of course, could be other creatures causing an itch or bite while at the beach, such as little black flies/midges.

Rashes can also be caused by nematocysts (stinging cells) of certain sea anemones and thimble jellyfish.

Rachael advises swimmers to rinse off with fresh water if they believe they might have been bitten or stung and avoid scratching, as this can increase the chance of infection.

She also urges people to not let the critters put them off enjoying a swim at the beach on a hot day.

“Most of the time it’s just bad luck, wrong place wrong time really. But they’re not sinister.

“These guys [sea lice] are primarily scavengers, so you might be standing next to a dead fish, or kina or starfish that they are feeding on and you get in the way.”

Advice to swimmers if you get bitten or stung

• Make sure you remove your swimwear after taking a dip
• Shower in freshwater straight away
• Do your best to avoid scratching.
• Treat itches as you with antihistamine, calamine location, icepacks and time