They're the little larvae that put the itch in swimmer's itch, a rash of scratching that infects Montana waterways each summer.
It begins with a grownup parasite living in the blood of ducks, geese, gulls and, yes, muskrats, among others. To those critters, our crystal-clear lakes are just one big flush - and that's how the parasite's eggs end up in the water.
From the snail emerges a new larvae, the cercariae larvae, which goes on the hunt for birds or water mammals, looking to repeat the cycle. They generally prefer warm waters, which in Montana are the shallow waters - which is exactly where most of us swim.
Sometimes, the cercariae burrow not into a beaver but into a swimmer's skin, which is bad news for the swimmer. It's also bad news for the larvae, because they cannot develop there and so die.
The swimmers don't die, but sometimes wish they would, what with all the itchy, scratchy, red-rash allergic reaction. Doctors call it cercarial dermatitis. Swimmers call it many things, the nicest of which might be swimmer's itch.
Already, the phones at the Flathead City-County Health Department are ringing with folks calling to find out why they're blotched out in tiny blisters and when it might stop.
To avoid the itch, the experts say try to swim out in the deeps, from a boat or a dock platform. If that's not possible, make sure to towel off thoroughly once out of the water, and to shower as soon as possible.
And if you do get the itch, don't worry. You can't pass it to anyone else, and it usually goes away in about a week. But what a week it is.
Slather on some itch cream, doctors advise, and lay on the cool compresses. Take a baking soda bath, an oatmeal bath or pack on a paste of water and baking soda.
But whatever you do, don't scratch. It just makes it worse, and if you dig at the tiny red-rash blisters, then you've opened the door for a secondary infection.
Ironically, one of the most soothing remedies is a long, lazy soak in a cold Montana lake - but that's not always advised, for obvious reasons.
For more information, contact your health care provider or local public health office. You also can drop by www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/
parasites/cercarialdermatitis, if you're really itching for an in-depth understanding of cercariae and their irritating life cycle.
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