Beach Sand Can Harbor Danger
Innocent fun sometimes turns tragic very quickly

(HealthDay News) -- For many families, a day at the beach wouldn't be complete without digging holes in the sand and maybe designing a sand castle replete with tunnels and moats.

But a dose of caution may be needed as well. Harvard researchers have found that those holes in the sand can collapse and kill.

At least 52 incidents of sand-hole collapses have been reported in roughly the past decade in the United States , Australia , Great Britain and New Zealand . In those incidents, 31 people died, and many others needed to be rescued and receive CPR.

Dr. Bradley Maron, a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston and a co-author of the reports, said it's likely that many more incidents occurred but weren't reported.

"We're trying to increase awareness of something that's generally not associated with a life-threatening event," Maron told HealthDay .

Maron's interest in the dangers of sand-hole collapse started when he was a lifeguard on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard in 1995. One day, a hole dug in the sand collapsed around a little girl, he said. Emergency crews found the girl and pulled her out, and she survived, he said.

Maron and his father, Dr. Barry Maron, first wrote about sand-hole collapses in 2001. In an update of that report, they tracked down individual cases, most occurring in the past 10 years. Victims ranged from 3 to 21 years old, with an average age of 12. Most (87 percent) were boys. Their findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine .

Some sand collapses involved holes that were dug only a few feet deep. In others, people fell into existing holes and the sand collapsed around them. Often, parents and other beach-goers have a hard time figuring out where the victims are, because the sand collapses and leaves no sign of them, Bradley Maron said.

His advice? Don't dig holes that are deeper than your knees when you're standing up in them. And if you dig a big hole, cover it up when you leave.

The American Red Cross offers additional tips for making beach outings safe:

• Learn to swim and never swim alone.
• Check surf and weather conditions before entering the water. Check to see if a warning flag is up or check with a lifeguard for water conditions.
• Stay within a designated swimming area, ideally within visibility of a lifeguard.
• Stay away from piers and pilings when in the water.
• Don't try to swim against a current if caught in one that pulls you away from shore. Gradually swim out of the current by swimming parallel to the shore.
• Take a safety bag. Include waterproof sunscreen that is SPF 15 or higher, water shoes and plenty of water. All containers should be plastic to prevent injuries from broken glass.

On the Web

To test your awareness of water safety issues, take a quiz online sponsored by the American Red Cross.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Bradley A. Maron, M.D., internal medicine, Boston University Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston; June 21, 2007, New England Journal of Medicine ; American Red Cross (www.redcross.org)
Author: Anne Thompson
Publication Date: June 30, 2008
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