Don’t eat food at the beach unless you’ve thoroughly washed your hands; make use of beach showers to wash yourself off after a day of sandy fun.

Germs in beach sand ruin some peoples' vacations.

• Wash your body. Like your hands, your body could use a good cleaning both before and after your beach visit. Showering with soap and water will keep you and the sand cleaner.

• Clean up after your pets. The beaches in this study were located near sewage treatment facilities, but, says Heaney, “there are any number of nonpoint sources of pollution that could contaminate sand—anything from suburban pets to wild animals living in a watershed.” You might not be able to clean up after the deer or seagulls, but you can clean up after your dog. Even if you’re just walking him around your neighborhood, the waste that he leaves behind can get washed down to the beach during a rainstorm.

• Take these simple steps then enjoy yourself. Out of the 26,609 people in the study, just under 1,500 actually contracted a stomach ailment after playing in the sand. “Enjoy the beach,” says Heaney. Just don’t forget the hand sanitizer.