help ! regular sand and chinchilla sand does'nt work

[hila]

hello list I have a problem - when I bought the aquarium for the gerbils I divided it to two sections in one I put wood shavings and in the other I put sand . the problem started when I saw I am terribly allergic to sand , it gave me a rash on the hands and feet the other thing is that a vet told me to take out the sand because it could have all sorts of parasites in it so the conclusion was: sand is not good for everyone . yet - you all know how much gerbils like to have those sand baths and stuff . so yesterday I bought something that is called "chinchilla sand " which is not made of sand . but now there is a another big problem - this sand is more like flour than sand . and also it is white  . so now my gerbils are all white ! and when we touch them our hands are covered with this stuff too should I take it out also ? and leave them with the wood shavings only ? is there any other solution ?   sorry for the long letter , I just got carried away :) hila .