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Germs Hold Court in Sand Castles

TUESDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- Beware of the dangers that lurk in sand castles, researchers warn.

Scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have found that beachgoers who build sand castles and play in the sand are at higher risk of developing diarrhea and gastrointestinal diseases than folks who avoid digging in the sand.

And if you bury yourself in sand, you're at even higher risk, according to the study, which was recently published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

"Beach sand can contain indicators of fecal contamination," said Chris Heaney, lead study author and a postdoctoral student of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina. "This is one of the first studies to show an association between specific sand contact activities and illnesses," he explained in a news release from the university.

Heaney and the other researchers used data from more than 27,000 people who participated in the National Epidemiological and Environmental Assessment of Recreational Water Study. The beachgoers were interviewed at seven marine and freshwater sites, all of them within a few miles of sewage plant discharges.

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