What is sargassum and how does it affect health?

by time news

2023-06-06 23:20:09

Surely you have heard that there is an excess of something called sargassum on Mexican beaches, and that this is not a good thing. Well, if you have doubts, we will explain what is sargassum and how does it affect health.

Photo: iStock

What causes sargassum?

According to the Marine SecretarySargassum is a marine macroalgae that is an important component of marine flora in tropical and subtropical areas.

According to experts, the excessive arrival of sargassum is a phenomenon that has different causes, including the increase in nutrients in the sea, climate change, as well as meteorological and oceanographic variations.

Photo: iStock

What damage does sargassum cause?

According to an article published by the National Autonomous University of Mexicosargassum can have disastrous consequences not only on how the beaches look, but also on the way in which this macroalgae can poison the ecosystem.

Sargassum is especially deadly for some species such as fish, corals, crustaceans, and mollusks that are necessary to keep the ecosystem functioning properly.

According to the article, around 63 sargassum samples were analyzed and found that these macroalgae are a source of arsenic, copper, manganese and molybdenum, which in high doses can represent a risk to humans and nature in general, hence knowing how to reuse it. or remove it has become a primary task.

In addition to the fact that when it is in a state of putrefaction, it emits unpleasant pain.

So regarding what is sargassum and how does it affect health it may be that high concentrations of toxins such as arsenic have not yet shown their damage, but the possible consequences should not be ruled out.

How does sargassum affect health?

Exposure or contact with sargassum can cause different symptoms such as dermatitis, rashes from stings or bites from animals that inhabit sargassum (such as fleas), and can even cause nausea and headache.

How to remove sargassum?

Although a strategy to completely eliminate it is not yet known, the actions that are taken to try to clean the beaches consist of making polymer containment barriers, in addition to collecting it with special cleaning boats, not to mention the sweeping that is done directly on the beach.

now that you know what is sargassum and how does it affect healthremember that whenever you have the opportunity to visit any place that is in contact with nature, try to leave it as intact as possible and collect your waste to slow down the effects of climate change as much as possible.

If you want more information about the sargassum, since when it arrived and on which beaches it is, we leave you this video.

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