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“My foot is the size of a watermelon and my wound looks angrier than Alan Jones. I can’t surf, I can’t drink and I’m on a tropical island…” |
It’s my first day in Fiji and my second wave at Restaurants and I’m deep and late and about as committed as you can be on a three foot wave. “Fortune favours the brave,” as they say (admittedly, not about three foot waves). I pull in and travel for what feels an unlikely length of time. Eventually I finish up in the lip and shortly later on the reef. The cut above my ankle is claw-shaped but minor and I surf on unconcerned.
Back on Namotu Island this is how I fight the infection: I sink a few beers, watch the sunset, unpack my bags, sink a few more beers, eat some dinner and finish with a night cap (beer). Before bed I paint betadine on the wound and figure it’ll be sweet. Next day I surf three times and feel on top of the world. By evening my foot has swollen up enough to alarm passers by. I’m advised to get on the antibiotics immediately. A saintly guest gives me a bunch of pills and suggests a double dose.
Day three and I’m a circus curiosity. My foot is the size of a watermelon and my wound looks angrier than Alan Jones. I can’t surf, I can’t drink and I’m on a tropical island with two world class bars and three world class waves. The medical advice comes thick and fast. I’m given ointments, powders, pills, creams and scrubbing brushes. I’m told to ice it, heat pack it, elevate it, scrub it, strap it or to get it to a hospital. One guest wants to touch it. She comments that if feels big and hard. Go on, I croak. Another advices amputation.
Golden Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) is a nasty bit of gear. Sloppily treated it can ruin your holiday. Untreated it can ruin your life. Worse case scenario it will kill you. American surf adventurer Timmy Turner nearly lost his life when a staph infection attacked his brain in 2005. A good friend of mine spent 10 weeks in hospital when a tiny reef cut in Java went bad and a staph infection travelled into his spine. It took him a year to recover.
So how should you look after reef cuts? You should talk to someone who knows what they are talking about like a doctor or a nurse for starters. But if you’ll accept advice from a journalist the following is a condensed version of what I’ve been told and read and learnt.
Go hard and go early. Scrub the wound out straight away. Use a brand new toothbrush (never a used one) and really attack it. Make it bleed. Make it hurt. Then wash the wound with fresh water and lime juice if you have it. Then apply betadine – cream is better than liquid. Keep the wound dry and open to the air. Do this to even the tiniest reef cut. It’s also a good idea to travel with antibiotic tablets if you are surfing somewhere remote (see your GP for a prescription and more specific advice).
The main thing I’ve learnt is to take reef cuts damn seriously. If the wound or your glands start swelling up get to a doctor immediately. Watching perfect waves reel off with your foot up will be the least of your worries if a staph infection gets nasty.
