Common Beach-Related Injuries

Sunburn

To prevent sunburn and decrease your risk for skin cancer, please follow these “Sun Safe” tips courtesy of Hoag Cancer Center’s Project Sun Safe program.

• Apply a waterproof sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or greater, a half hour before going outdoors.
• Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or more frequently if you’re sweating or swimming. There’s no such thing as all-day protection, even if your sunscreen is waterproof.
• When possible, avoid exposure to the sun during the peak hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., when the sun is strongest.
• Wear protective clothing and sunglasses. Wear a hat, canvas is best, with a brim all the way around. Loose-fitting long-sleeved shirts and long pants made of tightly woven fabric offer the best protection. If this isn’t possible, wear a dry T-shirt or a beach cover-up and boost your protection by always wearing sunscreen.
• Seek shade whenever possible

Cuts, Abrasions and Fractures

Cuts, abrasions and fractured or dislocated shoulders, wrists and ankles frequently occur from inappropriate use of sports equipment such as surfboards and boogie boards. To avoid these types of accidents, familiarize yourself with your equipment. Make sure it is the appropriate type and size for you, and know your limitations when using it.

Never bring glass containers to the beach. Broken glass, hidden under the sand, is a potential booby trap for anyone in bare feet!!

Burns Due to Fire Pits

Always assume that every fire pit is hot, even if it is full of sand and there is no smoke! People often attempt to extinguish a fire by covering the coals with sand. But instead of putting out the fire, the sand acts like an oven, allowing the coals to remain red hot for as long as 24 hours or more. Children, the most common victims of fire pit burns, may mistake the fire pits for sandboxes. Anyone who walks or falls on the coals can be severely burned, and a small child may sustain life-threatening burns.

click to enlarge

When using a fire pit, please be sure to extinguish the coals completely with water, not sand!

Neck and Spinal Cord Injuries

Most beach-related neck and spinal cord injuries are caused by the tremendous strength of the ocean’s waves forcing a person’s neck and spine into harmful, unnatural positions.

These injuries occur in a variety of ways. When your body tumbles in the waves, gets thrown by the waves to the ocean floor or when your head spears into the sand; your head can be forced down onto your shoulders, pushed forward into your chest or pushed backward further than it can naturally extend. And once spinal cord damage is sustained, little can be done to medically repair it. The result is severe pain, paralysis, the inability to breathe on your own or even death.

• Diving headfirst into waves or the water,
• Jumping off of piers, rocks, jetties or surf boards; and
• Any activity that puts you at risk for trauma to the head or neck.

Types of Neck and Spinal Cord Injuries
	Hyperextension The head is forced back further than it can extend, fracturing the bones in the back of the neck and tearing the supporting ligaments in the front. click image to enlarge
	Hyperflexion The head is pushed forward until the chin is forced against the chest, fracturing the bones at the front of the neck and stretching or tearing the supporting ligaments. These injuries can also damage the spinal cord. click image to enlarge
	Rotational Injury The head and body rotate in opposite directions severely twisting the ligaments, bones and spinal cord to the point where they may rupture, fracture or sever. click image to enlarge
	Vertical Compression The head is forced down onto the shoulders with great pressure, compressing the spinal cord and possibly fracturing bones in the neck. click image to enlarge

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