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A collapsing sand hole is likely not top of mind when going to the beach with kids, but it is a danger to be aware of. “When a parent or child has dug a deep hole into wet sand, it will hold its shape and the integrity of its walls for a while but without realizing it, the walls will dry out and can abruptly collapse,” said Jacob Snow, M.D., a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Pediatrix® Emergency Medicine of Nevada. Sand holes can present significant risks. “If a child is in the bottom of a large hole when it collapses, the sand [can] fill every available space, [potentially] compressing the child’s chest and making it impossible for them to breathe,” described Dr. Snow. “The child can then suffocate, not necessarily because of sand in the airway, but because the weight of the sand makes it impossible to move your chest enough to breathe.”
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