All Covid, all the time, or at least that’s what it feels like to me as an emergency physician on the East Coast of the US. But of course, whatever you do and wherever you surf, the global pandemic has affected you. And, unfortunately, it seems far from over. Way back in May, I asked my wizened uncle, 92-year-old professor emeritus […]
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On January 31st, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); from there, uncertainty about numerous factors surfaced about this international novel virus known as SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19. Cities, counties, states, and countries shut down […]
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Surfing is a widely enjoyed sport, with participants both at the recreational and professional level, and is gaining popularity worldwide.1 There are an estimated 37 million surfers worldwide, which includes 2.7 million surfers in the United States (2015), 2.3 million surfers in Australia (2013), and 500,000 surfers in the […]
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A 25 year-old otherwise healthy male presented to the Emergency Department with a pruritic rash over his abdomen and chest for 2 days. The patient had been swimming and surfing along the South shore of Long Island, NY in August, and noticed an itchy, papular rash develop on his chest and abdomen approximately 2 hours […]
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A 58 year-old male was wave-sailing (windsurfing in surf) and attempting to come to shore. As he was carrying his gear shoreward he was hit by a breaking wave, and the 33 cm single fin on his board caused a large laceration to his left lower leg. The patient described severe bleeding to his leg which could not be […]
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Bleeding from an injury can be quite alarming, particularly for a surfer in the water where assessing an injury and quantifying the amount of bleeding can be difficult. Any significant bleeding should prompt a return to shore to further assessment. Most hemorrhage can be controlled by applying pressure directly over the wound […]
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