Can someone be allergic to ocean water?

Hi Christina,

That does sound scary.

First, I hope you took your son to see his doctor after this happened. What did the doctor say?

Second, it's very unlikely to that your son is allergic to sea water, according to information I found from the Amercian Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).

It could be that there was something in the water. Was he stung by a jellyfish?

There's also a strange reaction known as "seabather's eruption." According to studies cited by AAAAI, seabather's eruption is a rash that happens after someone is exposed to ocean water and usually covers the area of the body covered by the bathing suit (although children may have reactions all over). According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the rash may be caused by an organism that may be too tiny to see, but will eventually grow into an adult sea anemones called Edwardsiella lineata. Some sea anemones can hurt people with poisonous stings, but I'm not sure if this particular anemone does that. In any event, the researchers suspect that the tiny larval stage of this anemone may be what causes the rash.

According to the studies, there's very little that can be done for the rash and it usually goes away on its own in about 12 days.

Either way, when you're dealing with a child, don't take any chances. Talk to your doctor about what happened and how your son is doing now. Your doctor may be able to help you with tips for avoiding this again. If you still have questions about allergies, you may want to get a referal to an allergist, who can do allergy testing to help figured out if your son is allergic to fish or shellfish of any kind -- talk to your doctor about the possibilities and the best couse of action for your son.

I have had the same reaction to sea water since I was 14 years old.  I get a very red, very itchy rash with little white bumps under the skin.  If I wash off the sea salt with fresh water it usually takes around 30 minutes for the burning sensation to fade and then within an hour the whole thing is over.

I know people say you can't be allergic to sea water, but I can't pin point anything else it could be.  I've tried going in seas all over the world - Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Caribbean, Arabian seas, all with the same affect. I'm certain that each and every time it can't possibly be jellyfish or 'something in the sea'.  It's defintely sea salt.

More recently I have started reacting to foods with sea salt in, as more and more food has replaced normal salt with sea salt for the so called health benefits.  As soon as I eat something with sea salt in (by accident as it's not been labelled as sea salt!), my lips sting and start to swell.  Naturally, I stop eating it straight away and rinse my lips with water. I therefore wouldn't like to predict what would happen if I carried on eating it.  Once the sea salt has been rinsed off it is normally around 40 minutes later that the stinging stops.

To those people who say 'an allergy to sea salt is very unlikely'.....I look forward to your response!

I developed "face" allergies when I was around the age of 12. I went on holiday abroad to a hotel which had a salt water pool. I was alright for the first few days but then for some reason my face started stinging and started to swell as my parents didn't know what it was I just washed my face with normal water and kept out of the salt water as I was going home the next day. By the time I got off the aeroplane I couldn't see out of my eyes because my face had swollen that much. The doctor was called out and she prescribed me zertec for the swelling and some non perfumed moisturiser (aquas cream). The zertec pills made me really tired but once the swelling started to go down, the skin on my face started to shed like a snake. Once all that damage skin peeled off I was fine again.

I still have the same reaction with salt water no matter where I go (I have been to so many different countries and it is all the same) I hate it as I cant join my friends and family in the water sport events or go snorkelling or swim with dolphins etc. If you do find out anything more please let me know! I have also posted my question on here so hopefully someone will come up with an answer!

I hope your son grows out of it.

omg! i thought i was the only one with that kind of reaction to the ocean water!

i pretty much have the same reaction on my face. i found out when i was about 16 or 17. it was a red rash and it itched! after putting fresh water on my face it takes a few min. for the rash to go away and a few seconds for the itch to go away. recently (this summer that passed) i put sunblock on my face and got no reaction to the ocean water. maybe the sunblock will help your son. doesnt hurt to try.

Hello Everyone,

I get similar reaction in the salt and also fresh water. My skin gets blotchy, extremely itchy, swells up, gets bumpy and it takes about half an hour for this reaction to subside, once rinsed off. I went to see a dermatologist but she was unable to come up with any reasonable explanation. I am 32 years old female, and this problem started about 10 years ago. I don't have any food allergies.

Well...it is so good to know I am not crazy.  I have had the same experience of red blotchy skin and itching so bad I start to freak out.  The last time we went scuba diving it was horrible.  As soon as I got out of the water the reaction came on strong and I basically took a shower with baby shampoo and a fresh water hose on the back of the boat.  Everyone on the boat thought I was nuts!  My reaction seemed to be worse with sunscreen that is why I had to use soap on the boat.  

I have found that if I use NO personal products (no lotion of any kind anywhere on my body before exposure) and I rinse my skin with fresh water & mild soap immediately after leaving the ocean I can avoid any serious reaction.  My husband is a physician and he can't come up with any reason why this is happening to me.  

On another note, I am trying a gluten free diet since I seem to be gluten intolerant.  I am not sure if this will help but it has improved many other aspects of my health and perhaps it will help with this allergy too.  Good luck to everyone!

We went to daytona beach and my daughter first time to ocean went in and with in mintues came out crying saying her skin was burning and all red. Took her back to hotel showered her off and 30 min later she was fine. Next day same thing happened but worse. So your son is not alone. And she now is afraid to go back to the beach.

I just came back from the doctor, hugely disapointed to see how little everyone knows about this. 

The first time I got an allergic reaction after going in the water and sunbathing was 4 years ago. Since then, I have been on many beaches without reacting to the sea or the sun. last week I went to Northern Italy and the reaction came again. It mainly starts 3-4 hours after I leave the beach and it stays generally for 2-3 days. I gets kind of blotchy, but it mainly itches, to the point where I have trouble sleeping. I stays in the back and in sensitive areas such as breasts and upper thighs. 

The doctor gave me a menthol cream, but I still don't know what I have... cortizone barely calms it and after-sun makes no difference. 

Let's hope for more studies on the subject, as it is an incredibly unfortunate type of allergy.

I live on Greek island and have never had problem before BUT last 4 times I've swam in the sea I have gotten out and am covered in red bumpy rash all over my body and feel a little shaky.  After about 30 mins the rash dissappears - I usually shower with fresh water.  This also happened once at home when I was working up a sweat in the garden and even once when I took a fresh water shower at home - HELP, I live by the beach and CANNOT stop swimming in the sea.  What can I do ???

I have had an allergy to "ocean water" since I was a child. Growing up we thought it was sun poisoning. I don't burn easy but as long as I didn't get in the water, I didn't break out. After being in the water as an adult for a long period of time snorkeling, I had a severe reaction. I break out in huge blisters around my mouth that itch like you can't imagine. This time it broke out across my entire top half of my back too. I went to the doctor for something else and he flipped out saying it was an allergic reaction to something in the water. His explanation was there are so many chemicals put in the ocean that it would be impossible to designate what is causing it. Now if it gets on my skin or face I itch immediately and my skin gets blotchy. I was in the water for about 30 mins. the other day (just standing waist deep) and broke out. Plus I began to have high anxiety for two days. I should have known though because I had an allergy to citrus fruit that reacted the same way. However I have over come that with medication.  That was a rare allergy that has become more recognized recently. The ocean water one is now starting to surface more too. Hopefully we will get more answers soon!