July 2, 2019 by Carol Britton Meyer
UPDATE: (July 3, 2019)
Get ready for a fun-filled Fourth of July! Among the favorite places to go after the parade is the Hingham Bathing Beach. Hingham’s Executive Health Officer Susan Sarni provided weekly test results for Hingham and local beaches. “Residents can put in any town and search for their favorite beach to see testing results and closures,” she said. “Hingham tests came back fine — all beaches are open.”
The Board of Health tests Hingham beaches for bacteria regularly from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
https://ma-beaches.healthinspections.us/beaches.cfm?btown=Hingham
A Hingham Pinboard dialogue about a mysterious rash some children swimming at the Hingham Bathing Beach off Rte. 3A experienced last week led to a concerned parent calling the Board of Health.
“We’re aware of the issue. We received one call, and we’re working with that person. We’re also doing research so we can educate the public,” Executive Health Officer Susan Sarni told the Hingham Anchor. No further information is available at this time.
The Board of Health tests the Bathing Beach water for bacteria weekly from Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to Sarni. “There’s been no high level of fecal coliform,” she said. “The Bathing Beach remains open.” The test for fecal coliform helps detect potential threats to human health.
The testing is done within the designated roped-off swimming area that is supervised by lifeguards for a time period before, during, and following high tide.
“We recommend that people swim in that area,” Sarni said.
If you experienced an issue, you can report it by calling the Hingham Board of Health at 781-741-1466.
This resembles the rash we experience at the lakes in north bay ontario canada. It is called “the itch”. It is from bird fecal parasites. The itch lasts about a week to ten days. The parasite burrows just under the skin surface. It is found just at the waters edge. Children are affected more because that’s where they play the most.
Yikes
How long does the rash last for??
Sand fleas perhaps?
Just a thought.m
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/prevent-treat-chigger-bites
You folks might want to get out in nature a bit more. Just wear wet suits or mow around the area and keep it close.
Have children and others shower after swimming!
Looks like chiggers, aka swimmers itch. I got it last year shellfishing on the Cape. There are products you can buy, but our shellfish warden told me that a thick layer of waterproof sunblock works just as well..it creates a wall that the critters can’t borrow through.
I was their last year and followed a horrible smell of sewage. It was draining from a pipe about twenty feet from us, right into the water! We will never go back! This would be a good source of the cause! We were closer to the boat launch.
It’s cercarial dermatitis. Use a thick layer of waterproof sunblock to help prevent the critters from getting into your skin.
Also called duck itch, a worldwide problem in lakes and bays.
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/sea-lice-jellyfish-science/
“The rash is the result of baby jellyfish or anemone stingers.”