REEF CUTS

CORAL CUTS Kissing the reef. Lets be honest. Coral cuts can be really cool, but only when the pains gone and the cut’s heeled up. A badge of honor. Reef cuts have the potential to ruin your trip, and if they’re not dealt with properly, can kill you. Not so cool. Reefs include coral, all […]

Ben Player Interview

“I asked the Doctor in Australia what precautions I could take. She said ‘don’t go to tropical countries’. That’s a bit hard when all of my favourite waves are in tropical places.” Ben Player 2X World Champion Bodyboarder & all round nice guy talks of his brush with Dengue Fever. What’s Your Favourite Wave At […]

FEVER PITCH

TROPICAL FEVER Imagine if sharks killed one million people every year. You would seriously think twice about paddling out at any location where there were reports of regular fatalities, and if you did still go you’d be likely to change your behavior. Why is it then, that when Mozzies are responsible for tropical fevers that […]

MENTAL DENTAL

TOOTHACHE, gum disease and teeth damage are a pain on a surf trip. Literally. Dental problems such as toothache are very unlikely to kill you, although the pain can be so severe, it may seem that way at the time. – DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOOTHACHE Hurts all the time? The toothache wakes you up at […]

KNOCK OUT

ADULT HEAD INJURY That moment when you realize that you’re not invincible as you get smacked in the head, really hard, and the lights go out. What do you do when you’ve hit your head? I almost decided not to write an article on head injuries because of how serious they are. It was the […]

ANTIBACTERIAL DRUGS

ANTIBIOTICS They can be your silver bullet! I always take travel medicine, particularly anti-biotics with me on surf trips. I know which I’ve had before however and that I’m not allergic to them. If you don’t, be careful. Some people can have nasty reactions to them so be careful. Don’t buy drugs over the counter […]

THE RUNS

TRAVELLERS DIARRHOEA Avoiding dirty local water by not having ice or salad while travelling. Taking daily ‘friendly bacteria’ tablets to try and out compete the nasty ones to prevent Bali belly. Avoiding local food (badly cooked chicken, reheated rice, food with raw eggs & ice-cream) and washing my hands before eating anything.. I’ve tried it […]

LITTLE URCHIN

SEA URCHIN INJURIES Sea Urchins are found in oceans all around the world. they sting and can be your nemesis. Sea Urchins are the reason why a lot us wear reef boots to protect our feet. Floundering (insert trying to look like a pro here!) on the reef trying to get in or out of […]

ALL THE GEAR..

SURF TRIP MEDICAL KIT LIST If you haven’t got anything you can’t do anything. Only take what you’re happy using and be careful taking medications with you that you’ve never tried before. Dangerous reactions to antibiotics aren’t that uncommon. An injury on a surf trip in Europe is a different kind of gravy to an […]

WITNESS THE SICKNESS

SEA SICKNESS Chunda. Blow chunks. Spew. Sea soup. Chuck-up. Vomit. Barf. Wretch. Hurl. Technicolour yawn. Puke. Losing lunch. Tossing cookies. Yacking. Ralfing. Heave. Doesn’t mater how you say it. Sea sickness is really grim once it gets going and you know that you’re miles from land. It’s embarrassing too. Everyone knows that there’s a direct […]

CUT UP

WOUND MANAGEMENT Licking your wounds is something we’ve all learned to do since we’ve been old enough to fall over. It seems the fun police are winning in the UK, with ‘Health and Safety’ being used as their motto. Having said that, getting on a late night bus that’s twice your age, being driven (fast!) […]