First Aid for Surfing Cuts

I have gotten cut so many times surfing it isn't funny. The surfboard has cut me, the reef, the bottom has cut me. I have gotten cut by sea shells. They are really sharp. You can get infected pretty easily when you get cut in the ocean.

Truthfully the ocean in the USA is all contaminated with human waste and chemicals. You must rinse off when getting out of the water, if there isn't a shower near by you should always bring a jug of water to rinse off with. If you get cut you should get out of the water. I have a little trick that allows me to keep surfing. I rinse out the cut very well with clean water.

Most surfers know about the water quality at the breaks they surf. Including the water that they drink and bath with. I carry a first aid kit in my car. When I travel I also have the needed supplies to make sure I get back in the water ASAP. I like to use hydrogen peroxide after I clean the cut. It will foam and dis-infect the wound. Now if you have more than a 2 inch gash, you might want to get stitches and stay out of the water for a while sorry. But if it is a small lesion you can use my little trick. Use common sense now and buy some liquid skin and keep it in your car.

I had a 4 inch cut in Costa Rica from a machete on my shin and used this methods and was surfing the next day. No I do not recommend it but it did not get infected and the cut never opened up again and I was able to still surf some of the best surf of my life. So take the skin edges and put them to get her and use liquid skin to seal it . Yes it stings and you are allowed to bite on a bar of surf wax. Let the liquid skin dry for a while. If the cut is still bleeding, stay out of the water until it stops bleeding. You can even wait until it stops bleeding before you put the liquid skin on it to seal it. This is not meant to be medical advice just basic first aid. So use your head when administering first aid to yourself and if you are bleeding stay out of the water unless you like being shark bait.