dr. soupy's swell suggestions

Hey you Caspers, Wet Festers, Freddie Ks, Goons, Pugsleys, Jack rippers, Numbskulls, Old Man Bogarts, & other Grim Goofballs! I hope your COVID Halloween was safe. Some long swell drought lately, but now we should start to get some of that real Northwest energy to send some more solid surf to our North County lineups. That means we should be more in tune with possible surfing mishaps. Surfing is a relatively safe sport compared to other sports. It is non-contact, landing on water, no pounding on the joints, limited in a single area of overuse, & not darting in between traffic. We are lucky to be hooked on a fun & lower than average injury athletic interest.

However, it is good to know about a few Common Surf Injuries and some medical care.

Stingray punctures are usually extremely painful. As most of you know it is crucial to get that body part (usually the foot) in to very hot water as soon as possible & soak for 1 hour to denature the torturous toxin.

Lacerations from a fin cut or a blunt blow will cause some generous bleeding in the water. Remember back on the beach direct pressure with whatever nearest cloth is the best way to stop bleeding. (Rarely is a tourniquet needed). Try to then rinse in fresh water & get sand or crud out. Next try to sort out if it’s just a superficial scrape or depending on the length and the depth of a cut will it need stitches (sutures). Sometimes its obvious and others not. You might get lucky & get some guidance from your neighbor nurse or one of us surfing Doctors in the parking lot. A significant cut needs to get the stitches within 12 hours for best results.

Sprains & Strains of the ankle, knee, back, neck etc. eventually happen to all of us & can take more than a week to heal. Just a bruise to your thigh, buttocks, or back may hurt bad at first but is much less of an issue as Ice for a day or two and it will get better with limited rest. For a twisting or sudden torque injury called a ligament sprain or strain the #1 thing is to ICE the injury 30 minutes, 3 times per day for 3 days. Ice is better than any other treatment. Ibuprofen or Naproxen from the drugstore will also help. And also crucial but most difficult is rest and hold on your sessions until better.

I can list the other things that are less common like a concussion, eye injury, ruptured eardrum… but those are another discussion and more involved and for sure need a Physician evaluation. Finally, next month I’ll talk about Swimmer’s Ear, Diver’s ear squeeze & the Sinister Surfer’s Ear!

Warm up, stretch, stay safe & keep you’re smile on by enjoying that local beach time!