Sea lice are carnivorous parasites that live, among others, in in the waters of the B altic Sea. They mainly eat dead fish, but humans are also potential food for them. Especially if someone has been standing in the water for a long time. Then a serious bite may occur, the symptoms of which are hemorrhages that cannot be stopped at home. Check out what sea lice look like and where exactly they can be found.
Sea lice , or the great double (Saduria entomon), is a sea predator that lives in cool seas, primarily in the mouths of great rivers flowing into the Arctic Sea. Sea lice are also found in the B altic Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Aral Lake, although they can also be found in the waters surrounding Australia. Sea lice can often be found around fishing cutters, where the fish are taken out of the nets after the cutters are pulled ashore. (in Poland, in many places on the Vistula Spit, Hel Peninsula, etc.).
Sea lice are scavengers that eat dead fish. They also feed on living tissue. They have a clumsy gait, so they often burrow into the silt, exposing only the long telson (last abdominal segment) through which oxygen is supplied to the body. When sea lice are disturbed, they sense the danger, begin to vigorously move their flattened abdominal legs, break away from the bottom and swim up belly a few meters, then sink to the bottom.
Sea lice - what do they look like?
Sea lice are the largest crustaceans living in the B altic Sea, up to 8 cm in length (females are slightly smaller than males). The body is wedge-shaped, tapering towards the back. There are paired, leg-shaped outgrowths on the trunk segments. The great double lives in the bottom zone of the seas.
Source: youtube.com/B alticarium
Sea lice - bite symptoms
Sea lice feed on invertebrates that are smaller than themselves, but humans are also a potential food for them. Especially if someone has been standing in the water for a long time. Then there is a risk of being bitten very badly. In addition, the blood that seeps after the bite lures other individuals. It is enough for a little blood to be in the water. additionally, if we stand in cold water for a long time, we may not feel the bite. And these are quite extensive.
The victim of sea lice was, among others, Sam Kanizay -teenager from australia. He dived on the beach on Dendy Street in Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne. Half an hour later he got out of the water. His bloody feet and calves were covered with small creatures, reports "The Guardian". The creatures gnawed at Sam's skin, literally ate his legs, which were bleeding profusely, reports the teenager's father, Jarred Kanizay. The bleeding could not be stopped at home, so the boy was hospitalized. It was not known for a long time what was the cause of the bite. It was definitely not a shark attack, no other predatory fish, or a contamination effect. The boy's father at night took water from the bay and put it in a container with pieces of meat. "I wanted to see if these organisms would lure themselves to a piece of bloody meat," he explained. He took the sample to the hospital. There, further research was carried out, which shows that sea lice were behind the bites. Kanizay also added photos of his son's bloody feet in the attachment as a warning.
About the author
Monika Majewska A journalist specializing in he alth issues, especially in the areas of medicine, he alth protection and he althy eating. Author of news, guides, interviews with experts and reports. Participant of the largest Polish National Medical Conference "Polish woman in Europe", organized by the "Journalists for He alth" Association, as well as specialist workshops and seminars for journalists organized by the Association.