Check Out Images of the Microbes Found on an Eight Year-Old’s Hand After Playing Outside

The following photos are the product of the work of Tasha Sturm, a lab technician at Cabrillo College in California. The amazing images feature a petri dish full of bacteria, yeast, and fungi–all of which were found on the hand of her eight year-old son after playing outside. This may cause some parents of little tykes to worry due to the considerable amount of alien-looking microbes that was found, but she argues that having bacteria on skin is normal. It’s because exposure to safe amounts and types of bacteria ensures a healthy microbiome immune system and digestive tract. Still, these microbes should be considered as biohazards; and the safe thing to do after a session of playtime outside is still to wash a kid’s hands.