You've heard that swimming in the ocean at certain times can make you sick and now a new study finds the sand at the beach might also be bad for your health.
Researchers interviewed 25,000 beach goers at seven beaches around the country that are within seven miles of sewage treatment plants.
The sand had high levels of fecal bacteria and the people who came in the most contact with it through digging or by being buried were most likely to develop gastrointestinal illnesses.
“I think its just a matter of taking care to use a hand sanitizer or wash your hands after you’ve played in the sand, especially before you are about to eat,” said the lead author of the study, Christopher Heaney of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
By: Janet Fried
Researchers interviewed 25,000 beach goers at seven beaches around the country that are within seven miles of sewage treatment plants.
The sand had high levels of fecal bacteria and the people who came in the most contact with it through digging or by being buried were most likely to develop gastrointestinal illnesses.
“I think its just a matter of taking care to use a hand sanitizer or wash your hands after you’ve played in the sand, especially before you are about to eat,” said the lead author of the study, Christopher Heaney of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
By: Janet Fried
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