I love the ocean. Did you know that the level of salt in ocean water is the same as the level of salt in the human body? There's something so powerfully inspiring about the endless waves and briny smell of the air.
But...
We all know how we (collectively...as a society...not you personally) are totally destroying our oceans (watch this, and this, and this one too), plus what the heck is this thing for?
(insert picture of one of those pipes...I'll take one on the way to work today)
I'm sure lots of lovely things come out of there...fun stuff to swim in, surely. If it weren't, Biloxi wouldn't have put dozens of them lining the beach for miles and miles.
So, now that you're good and disturbed, let me dispel your fears and offer a little comfort before I drop the big bomb on you.
The beaches here in southern Mississippi are actually really great. The sand is clean and beautiful, there's never so much of a crowd as to make the experience horrible, and the water is very clean and safe...for the Gulf of Mexico. These problems I've already mentioned, plus the tiny little risk of flesh eating bacteria just means that you should do some research before you dive into the water.
Ugh! Research! This is supposed to be a vacation!
Don't worry...I got you. Check out this website.
The link is an FAQ page on the Mississippi Beach Monitoring Program's website. This has all the crucial info you need about the risks involved in swimming at the Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches. After you've perused the info on that page, hit the home button for a sweet map that shows you precisely where not to go.
Here's the basics on what this program does:
They monitor Enterococcus bacteria levels in MS beaches. This is a gnarly bacteria that is found in most things' digestive systems (yeah, you probably guessed how it gets in the water...yuck). An infection of this bacteria can be very harmful, but most people are not at risk -- only if you have any sort of open wound or if your immune system is compromised at all. Or if you are very young or very old should you be really worried about an overabundance of poop bacteria in the ocean water.
The Enterococcus is different from the dreaded flesh-eating bacteria, though.
That's called Vibrio. And if you think it sounds bad, it gets worse. As far as I can tell, nobody is actually monitoring the vibrio levels in the ocean. There are a host of places to find info on avoiding an infection and what to do after you've already covered yourself with flesh eating bacteria water, but nobody can say where (if anywhere) is safe from the risk of infection.
There is some good news. Just like Enterococcus, you're really only at risk if your body/immune system is anything less than ship-shape, tip-top condition. So, don't go in the water if you're very young, or very old, or if you have an open wound. Also, don't get any water in your mouth or eyes, and don't eat the raw shellfish. Lastly, it may be a great idea to make sure you have some first aid basics, just in case you get a cut while already in the bacteria-ridden waves. Just rinse the wound with some clean (preferably sterile) water and throw some peroxide or something on it (GermX if you've got nothing else).
As long as you're careful and do a little web-research, the beaches in the Gulfport/ Biloxi area are great places to vacation. Not to mention the towns themselves are magnificent. Stay tuned for what to do on the MS Gulf Coast besides going to the beach...teaser: there's a lot more to do than go to the beach.
