The Ocean and Handwashing

January 30, 2012 in Children's Health Education

Today I wanted to share a bit about washing our hands and rinsing our bodies off after swimming and beach combing on the shore. My grandsons really enjoyed both, well not swimming exactly, but wading and chasing the waves for sure. My oldest grandson thoroughly relished amassing a large bag of shells. I was looking forward to a nice walk as we picked up select shells, but being three and a half, the first big pile of beaten shells filled our bag to the brim. It shortened our walk, but he was so excited about his discovery, how could I halt his enthusiasm to teach him to be pick only the “pretty and perfect” shells, maybe next year.

It sounds like there may be more in the sand and sea to be aware of than what we can see. Washing our hands before we eat our lunch or snacks, even in the great outdoors, is good advice. Make sure to shower off while exiting the beach and before you jump in the pool. It will make more sense as you read on.

You will be interested to find that there are possibilities of bacteria or other biological microbe findings in the sand and sea. I was researching today and found two eye opening posts from the National Geographic News and Oceanus, The Magazine that Explores the Ocean in Depth.

We should be aware of any recent sewage overflow in the area and just because you are in the sun and sand does not mean everything is exactly healthy. So, again I’d like to remind you to wash your hand or bring some hand sanitizer with you to the beach.

Read the National Geographic News post by clicking the link below.

National Geographic News

Cherie Winner from whoi.edu says:

In the meantime, the researchers urge beachgoers to use common sense, which in this case is pretty much what your mother told you when you were a kid.

“We don’t tell people not to go to the beach or not to dig in the sand,” said Gast. “But clean your hands off before you eat. Don’t just dust the sand off. Wash your hands. And if you were buried in sand, rinse off afterward.”

Read the whole article by clicking on the link below.

Shifting Sands and Bacteria on the Beach by Cherie Winner

**If you missed my last post about hand washing and feeding the stingrays, click here.

**You may enjoy a short post about shoes, travel and hand washing, click here.

**More info and an Animation teaching young children about Hand Washing, click here.

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