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Rescue on the Polaris Supreme

4K views 20 replies 14 participants last post by  mogandave 
#1 ·
All weekend long the local San Diego news ran footage taken from a Coast Guard copter rescuing a 57yo man from the Supreme off the coast, he had some kind of infection. The incident happened last Saturday. Pretty serious I guess to be carried off. I noticed the copter and vessel were moving while they lifted the injured passenger. It was intense. How many knots would they be going to complete a safe task like that? Why not just stop the boat and have the copter hover?

This post edited by ONO MAGIC 06/09/2008
 
#4 ·
About 4 years ago I got a blood infection from a hook pricking my finger, the infection set up house in my elbow...we were a day out from home on a 8 day trip when my elbow started getting sore and swollen...willy said it looked like a infection and that as soon as we got into port we were going to his doctor...I was going to blow it off but by the time we docked I couldn't bend my arm...we went straight to his doctor who gave a huge shot of antibiotics and a script for more....the Doc told me if I had waited another 24 hours it would have been very dangerious . Thanks again willy.

It was weird that the hook in the finger caused the elbow to become infected.... moral of the story....clean all cuts and hook injuries right away...wash your hands often...
 
#5 ·
Hey Boyd,

I hope all is going well for you.

The reason why they want the boat moving is it makes it much easier for the helo to stay on a straight course with the boat when lowering and raising the basket rather then when the boat is drifting. Also the basket will not spin. They usually perform this at 8 knots
 
#6 ·
Thanks Fishybuzz, it sounds like the infection happened fast too. I can only imagine what kind of discomfort you were in. One time and one time only I got so sea sick on a 5 dayer I wanted to be taken off the boat but some kind chartermaster (Bear from Bears tackle) put a scopolamine patch behing my ear. I was able to continue the trip. Now I bring extra patches just in case I can save some other guys butt!
 
#10 ·
I had a similar experience. Got a small cut or spined by a bass and within 2 days my finger looked like a swollen red hot dog. LOng story short I got a tentanus shot and 2 weeks on steriods and antibiotics to fully recover. Lesson learned. Now I wash out all cuts with soap and water and put a little antiseptic on any cut before I got to sleep. On my LR trips I also get my Dr to prescribe a weeks worth of a antibiotic like Keflex or Cipro.
 
#11 ·
Isn't it great that they can do that and maybe save someone's life?

Thanks for the safety tips all. Another one I've adopted on longer trips is fingerless gloves. They do a great job of saving my hands and fingers from lots of jabs and line cuts. Also, the back of your hand is in the sun almost all the time, and the glove shields it--helps with the sunburn and preventing age spots too.
 
#12 ·
One of the best products to bring on a long range trip is a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide. It costs about $1.00 for a big old bottle. You pour it on your hands every so ofen. No infections, and all those little cuts you get that used to hurt so much the next day are hardly noticeable. Best $1.00 investment you can make. If your really cheap, the boat has some as well usually in the first aid section of the galley. I suggest using your own while out on deck between stops, and passing it around to others.
 
#13 ·
Watch your hands and fingers.

On my very first LR trip, I got stuck by a mackeral at Alijos, and by 3 days later, it was turning black and swelling up on finger and thumb. By the time I got to the dock, I had a fever and chills. One of the deckhands ran me up the hospical, and they did some work on it and gave me antibiotics. By that night I was running a 103.5 fever and was in the hospital. They took off parts of one finger and a bit off the thumb. Gave me intravenous antibiotics. Was in there two days. It was no fun.

I learned. On every trip we check our hands every morning and every evening. We use Neosporin triple antibiotic creme as a "hand creme" every night. We rinse out every cut with peroxide, and then cover it Neosporin. We also bring a needle and alcohol. Whenever we get something stuck in, THAT night (not later) we sterilze the needle, dig it out, use the peroxide, use the Neosporin, and if necessary, but a bandage on it to hold in the Neosporin. Note that some of the worst infections are anerobic, and if the skin closes over them, you are in trouble. Like Brad says, we also now wear gloves.

It seems like such a stupid little cut, or simple little stick. However, fish AND seawater are both filled with nasty bacteria. DO NOT FOOL AROUND.

Like someone said, our doc also gives us a scrip for a broad spectrum antibiotic. Because we now take really good care of our hands, we haven't had to use them, but we are glad we have them.

I will mention in passing that a very well known angler here at AC had a friend who actually died from an infection acquired on a LR trip. It's something that must be taken seriously....especially if one is older and has (therefore) a somewhat less active immune system.

Finally, here is an article I found many years ago on the web. It may be of interest to LR anglers.

**************************
LINK


Bacteria thrive in
warm sea water

by Susan Scott
Here's a good question from a longtime reader: "I wish you would write about staph in the ocean. We are ocean swimmers, and my old skin frequently has raw scrapes. I coat my wounds with antibiotic salve when I swim, but is this necessary? I swim for about an hour at a time, so I sure wish I knew if the ocean is good or bad for sores."

It's bad. At least in Hawaii it's bad, because bacteria thrive in warm sea water. The most infamous of these bugs are staph and strep (which are abbreviations of their long scientific names), but there are others.

Just how many others, a group of scientists decided to find out. In 1990 they sailed 185 miles off Baja California to a group of isolated rocks called Rocos Alijos. This remnant of an ancient volcano, around the same latitude as Hawaii, is untouched by humans.

There, the scientists collected samples of 11 marine items. Besides sea water, these included rock, seaweed, snails, sponges, sea urchins and the teeth of three kinds of fish they caught. The workers stored the samples on the boat in sterilized sea water, brought them back to the laboratory and set about checking which, if any, of these specimens carried disease -- or infection-causing bacteria.

Well, we can stop blaming pollution for all our ocean ailments. Those pristine plants, animals and rocks carried germs from hell, many of which are well known to physicians: Vibrio, Pseudomonas and Klebsiella, to name just a few.

And the sea water? The researchers found practically everything except yogurt culture growing in that water. An astonishing 36 species of bacteria showed up in the samples, including staph and strep, the germs most commonly implicated in infections.

This is worth remembering when your coral or other marine cut gets infected. It's never coral growing in there, it's bacteria.

So now that we know we're swimming in Mother Nature's microbial soup, how do we keep it from infecting our open sores?

The best way is to stay out of the ocean, but that's hard for many of us. The next best thing may be my reader's remedy: Coat a sore with antibiotic ointment before going in the water.

A 1995 study published in the journal of the Academy of Emergency Medicine wasn't about sores and sea water, but it was in the ballpark. Doctors scrubbed and sutured people's cuts in the E.R., then gave them packets of antibiotic ointment to apply to the wounds as they healed. Some packets, however, contained plain petroleum jelly.

The people using the antibiotics had significantly fewer infections that the people using petroleum jelly.

Smearing antibiotic ointments on old scrapes and cuts and then swimming in the ocean is different, of course. But if you're prone to infection, there's a chance it may help.

Preventing infection in a new marine cut or scrape is another story. The best treatment is to scrub it thoroughly as soon as you get out of the water.

And I mean thoroughly. I once watched a doctor friend tend a 2-inch-long mussel cut on her foot. She spread the wound open with her fingers, scrubbed the tissue inside with a soapy washcloth for about five minutes and then taped it shut. It didn't get infected.

Those of us with less grit can go to the E.R., get the cut numbed and let someone else do the scrubbing.
_______________________

Marine biologist Susan Scott writes the newspaper column, "Ocean Watch", for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, www.starbulletin.com
 
#16 ·
Brad_G said:
Isn't it great that they can do that and maybe save someone's life?

Thanks for the safety tips all. Another one I've adopted on longer trips is fingerless gloves. They do a great job of saving my hands and fingers from lots of jabs and line cuts. Also, the back of your hand is in the sun almost all the time, and the glove shields it--helps with the sunburn and preventing age spots too.
I concur. I use 3/4 finger West Marine sailing glove on my left hand (I'm a righty)when fishing and both gloves when working on line connections. My usage of vet wrap/flex wrap has dropped 75%.
 
#17 ·
alan760 said:
Brad_G said:
Isn't it great that they can do that and maybe save someone's life?

Thanks for the safety tips all. Another one I've adopted on longer trips is fingerless gloves. They do a great job of saving my hands and fingers from lots of jabs and line cuts. Also, the back of your hand is in the sun almost all the time, and the glove shields it--helps with the sunburn and preventing age spots too.
I concur. I use 3/4 finger West Marine sailing glove on my left hand (I'm a righty)when fishing and both gloves when working on line connections. My usage of vet wrap/flex wrap has dropped 75%.
Only problem with gloves is I hate putting a bait on with them..JMO
 
#18 ·
I have been on 4 trips were we had to have a person flown off (or dropped off). This is a very sobering experiance and tells all how carefull we have to be. Also taking care of yourself and being in shape to pull on these fish. You never know what is going to happen but it is great to be as prepared as you can be.

Let's remember, on these trips we are farther from medical help that we might ever be in our lives. Our government does a great job but obivious limitations apply.

There is great information in this thread. Pre planning could not only help you but help others! I got a 12'0 hook through my ankle on a 10 day (4th day out) and if it wasn't for some of the things I brought, others brought and a great skipper on the Spirit I probably would not of been able to complete the trip!
 
#19 ·
"and if it wasn't for some of the things I brought, others brought and a great skipper on the Spirit I probably would not of been able to complete the trip!"

I thought you said it was some of the "spirits" you brought with you on the Spirit that helped you get that titanium hook out and allow you to complete the trip.

How's it going Scott? Are you doing Coach's trip this year? I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to break the news to my wife that I'm going.
 
#21 ·
Lake said:
"and if it wasn't for some of the things I brought, others brought and a great skipper on the Spirit I probably would not of been able to complete the trip!"

I thought you said it was some of the "spirits" you brought with you on the Spirit that helped you get that titanium hook out and allow you to complete the trip.

How's it going Scott? Are you doing Coach's trip this year? I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to break the news to my wife that I'm going.
I usually break it to my wife while I giving her nice piece of jewelry and explaining how much she will have shopping while I?m gone?..
 
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