Bizarre rash following dips in Lake Eufaula has visitors, Oklahoma environmental officials concerned
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality expects to have rest results back from the lab late Friday
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality expects to have rest results back from the lab late Friday
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality expects to have rest results back from the lab late Friday
State environmental officials are studying whether one of Oklahoma’s most popular holiday destinations is safe for swimming.
Dozens of people reported developing a bizarre rash after visiting Lake Eufaula.
One woman who lives on the lake is dealing with the issue and waiting for answers.
Amy Wilson and her family spend time on the lake almost every day and have done so for the last nine years.
Last weekend, they brought home something unsettling. Some people are calling it “the swimmer’s itch.”
“I woke up itching like crazy. I was, like, what is going on. Of course, mine is all around my torso,” she said of the rash.
After spending a few days in the water on the lake’s east side, she woke up with the rash. The next day, her husband developed it.
As more people complained of the same thing, she reached out for medical health and answers.
"I went to the Eufaula urgent care on Sunday, and I got there about 1:40, and he said there were four people in there before me with the same reaction, and he treated us the same way he treated them," she said.
From her research, she found out that the culprit may be swimming in shallow water.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality said crews took samples from the lake Wednesday and now are running tests. The agency hopes to have results late Friday.
Wilson said the inexplicable rash is not going to stop her from celebrating July 4.
"I have had a lot of people that have contacted me from out of town that have changed their plans, they've changed their Airbnb’s, their rentals, their cabin, yes, and I hate especially with the economics of all Eufaula, I don't want it to take a hit on them, but we need to know what's going on."