Editing Surfing (section)

==Dangers==

===Drowning===
Surfing, like all [[List of water sports|water sports]], carries the inherent risk of [[drowning]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hvsboardsport.com/dangerous-aspects-surfing/ |title=Is Surfing Dangerous? |date=1 January 2018 |work=HVS Boardsport |access-date=1 January 2018 |language=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813070415/https://hvsboardsport.com/dangerous-aspects-surfing/ |archive-date=13 August 2018}}</ref> Although the board assists a surfer in staying [[buoyant]], it can become separated from the user.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.surfinghandbook.com/ocean-safety.html |title=Ocean Safety |work=surfinghandbook.com |date=5 February 2009 |access-date=8 November 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021215436/https://www.surfinghandbook.com/knowledge/ocean-safety/ |archive-date=21 October 2020}}</ref> A leash, attached to the ankle or knee, can keep a board from being swept away, but does not keep a rider on the board or above water. In some cases, possibly including the drowning of professional surfer [[Mark Foo]], the leash can be a cause of drowning by snagging on a reef or other object and holding the surfer underwater.<ref name="ridinggiants">{{cite web|url=http://www.sonyclassics.com/ridinggiants/|title=Sony Pictures Classics: Riding Giants|access-date=8 November 2014}}</ref> By keeping the surfboard close to the surfer during a wipeout, a leash also increases the chances that the board may strike the rider, which could knock them unconscious and lead to drowning (especially with a hard surfboard instead of a soft surfboard). A fallen rider's board can become trapped in larger waves, and if the rider is attached by a leash, they can be dragged for long distances underwater.<ref name="ridinggiants" /> Surfers should be careful to remain in smaller surf until they have acquired the advanced skills and experience necessary to handle bigger waves and more challenging conditions. Even world-class surfers have drowned in extremely challenging conditions.<ref>{{cite web|last=Borte|first=Jason|title=Mark Foo Biography|url=http://www.surfline.com/surfing-a-to-z/mark-foo-biography-and-photos_809/|publisher=Surfline|access-date=12 July 2012}}</ref>

===Collisions===
[[File:Surfer in santa cruz 14.jpg|thumb|right|A surfer exiting a [[Closeout (surfing)|closeout]]|alt=Photo of surfer catapulted into the air with feet higher than the head at 45-degree angle to the surface]]
Under the wrong set of conditions, anything that a surfer's body can come in contact with is a potential hazard, including [[Shoal|sand bars]], rocks, small ice, reefs, surfboards, and other surfers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dangers – Hard Bottoms|url=http://www.surfingsandiego.com/hardbottoms.asp|work=Surfing San Diego|publisher=Site Tutor Inc|access-date=26 September 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926191201/http://surfingsandiego.com/hardbottoms.asp|archive-date=26 September 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Collisions with these objects can sometimes cause injuries such as cuts and scrapes and in rare instances, death.

A large number of injuries, up to 66%,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dangers of Surfing|url=http://www.surfboardshack.com/safety.html|work=Surfboard Shack|access-date=26 September 2012|year=2011}}</ref> are caused by collision with a surfboard (nose or fins). Fins can cause deep lacerations and cuts,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.omnainc.com/blogs/news/skeg-cuts-the-most-common-surf-trauma-injury| title = Skeg Cuts - The Most Common Surf Trauma-Injury - OMNA_Inc}}</ref> as well as bruising. While these injuries can be minor, they can open the skin to infection from the sea; groups like [[Surfers Against Sewage]] campaign for cleaner waters to reduce the risk of infections. Local bugs and diseases can be risk factors when surfing around the globe.<ref>{{cite web|title=ANDY IRONS PASSES AWAY, CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION|url=http://business.transworld.net/51021/features/andy-irons-passes-away-at-age-32/|work=Transworld Business|publisher=Bonnier Corporation|access-date=26 September 2012|author=Mike Lewis|date=2 November 2010}}</ref>

Falling off a surfboard or colliding with others is commonly referred to as a ''wipeout''.
{{clear right}}

===Marine life===
[[Marine biology|Sea life]] can sometimes cause injuries ([[Bethany Hamilton]]) and even [[List of fatal shark attacks in the United States|fatalities]]. Animals such as [[shark]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/unprovoked_surfer.htm |title=Unprovoked White Shark Attacks on Surfers |publisher=Shark Research Committee |access-date=20 September 2010}}</ref> [[stingray]]s, [[Weever fish]], [[Pinniped|seal]]s and [[jellyfish]] can sometimes present a danger.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.surfingsandiego.com/animals.asp|title=Surf Dangers Animals|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070420125402/http://www.surfingsandiego.com/animals.asp|archive-date=20 April 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Warmer-water surfers often do the "stingray shuffle" as they walk out through the shallows, shuffling their feet in the sand to scare away stingrays that may be resting on the bottom.<ref name="go">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2395307 |title=Doing the 'Stingray Shuffle' |date=5 September 2006|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=26 August 2015}}</ref>

===Rip currents===
[[File:Rip_Current_Warning_Sign.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Rip current warning sign]]
[[Rip current]]s are water channels that flow away from the shore. Under the wrong circumstances these currents can endanger both experienced and inexperienced surfers. Since a rip current appears to be an area of flat water, tired or inexperienced swimmers or surfers may enter one and be carried out beyond the breaking waves. Although many rip currents are much smaller, the largest rip currents have a width of {{cvt|12|-|15|m|ft|sigfig=1}}. The flow of water moving out towards the sea in a rip will be stronger than most swimmers, making swimming back to shore difficult, however, by paddling parallel to the shore, a surfer can easily exit a rip current. Alternatively, some surfers actually ride on a rip current because it is a fast and effortless way to get out beyond the zone of breaking waves.<ref>
{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1530767.stm | work=BBC News | title=Surfing's hidden dangers | date=7 September 2001 | access-date=24 May 2010}}</ref>

===Seabed===
The [[seabed]] can pose a risk for surfers. If a surfer falls while riding a wave, the wave tosses and tumbles the surfer around, often in a downwards direction. At reef breaks and beach breaks, surfers have been seriously injured and even killed, because of a violent collision with the sea bed, the water above which can sometimes be very shallow, especially at beach breaks or reef breaks during low tide. Cyclops, [[Western Australia]], for example, is one of the biggest and thickest reef breaks in the world, with waves measuring up to {{convert|10|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} high, but the [[reef]] below is only about {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} below the surface of the water.

===Microorganisms===
A January 2018 study by the [[University of Exeter]] called the "Beach Bum Survey" found surfers and bodyboarders to be three times as likely as non-surfers to harbor [[antibiotic-resistant]] ''[[Pathogenic Escherichia coli|E. coli]]'' and four times as likely to harbor other bacteria capable of easily becoming antibiotic resistant. The researchers attributed this to the fact that surfers swallow roughly ten times as much seawater as swimmers.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.envint.2017.11.003|title=Exposure to and colonisation by antibiotic-resistant E. coli in UK coastal water users: Environmental surveillance, exposure assessment, and epidemiological study (Beach Bum Survey)|journal=Environment International|volume=114|pages=326–333|date=14 January 2018|last1=Leonard|first1=Anne F.C.|last2=Zhang|first2=Lihong|last3=Balfour|first3=Andrew J.|last4=Garside|first4=Ruth|last5=Hawkey|first5=Peter M.|last6=Murray|first6=Aimee K.|last7=Ukoumunne|first7=Obioha C.|last8=Gaze|first8=William H.|pmid=29343413|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018EnInt.114..326L |hdl=10871/32078|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url    = https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/uoe-stt011118.php
|title  = Surfers three times more likely to have antibiotic-resistant bacteria in guts 
|author = University of Exeter
|work= Eurekalert
|date   = 14 January 2018|access-date=15 January 2018
}}</ref>

===Ear damage===
[[File:Man Wearing Molded Ear Plugs.jpg|thumb|right|Man wearing protective [[ear plugs]]]]
Surfers sometimes use ear protection such as ear plugs to avoid [[surfer's ear]], inflammation of the ear or other damage. Surfer's ear is where the bone near the ear canal grows after repeated exposure to cold water, making the ear canal narrower. The narrowed canal makes it harder for water to drain from the ear. This can result in pain, infection and sometimes [[Tinnitus|ringing of the ear]].

Ear plugs designed for surfers, swimmers and other water athletes are primarily made to keep water out of the ear, thereby letting a protective pocket of air stay inside the ear canal. They can also block cold air, dirt and bacteria. Many designs are made to let sound through, and either float and/or have a leash in case the plug accidentally gets bumped out.

=== Surf rash ===
Surf [[rash]] appears in many different ways on the skin, commonly as a painful red bumpy patch located on the surfer's chest or inner legs. A [[rash guard]] will lessen the incidence of surf rash caused by [[Abrasion (medical)|abrasion]] or [[sunburn]]. Healing ointments such as [[petroleum jelly]] can be used to treat irritated skin.<ref name="surfhandbook">{{cite web|url=https://www.surfhandbook.com/how-to-deal-with-surf-rash/|title=How to deal with surf rash?|publisher=surfhandbook.com|access-date=6 September 2020|date=6 September 2020}}</ref>

=== Spinal cord ===
[[Surfer's myelopathy]] is a rare spinal cord injury causing paralysis of the lower extremities, caused by hyperextension of the back. This is due to one of the main blood vessels of the spine becoming kinked, depriving the spinal cord of oxygen. In some cases the paralysis is permanent. Although any activity where the back is arched can cause this condition (i.e. [[yoga]], [[pilates]], etc.), this rare phenomenon has most often been seen in those surfing for the first time. According to [[Doctor of Physical Therapy|DPT]] Sergio Florian, some recommendations for preventing myelopathy is proper warm up, limiting the session length and sitting on the board while waiting for waves, rather than lying.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://magicseaweed.com/news/beginner-surfer-left-paralysed-after-suffering-rare-surfers-myelopathy/9263/| title = Beginner Surfer Left Paralysed after Suffering Rare Surfer's Myelopathy - Magicseaweed.com}}</ref>