Carry a tourniquet, learn how to use it, maybe save a life.
When Gold Coast surfer Robin Pedretti was hit and killed by a Great White yesterday, even after his buddies belted the shark and got him to the beach conscious, it brought into relief the new reality that if you wanna surf certain joints, carry a tourniquet.
Last night I spoke to Jon Cohen, an ER doctor who repurposes military tourniquets for use in the surf and who has made it his mission to use his expertise the solve the problem of preventable shark attack deaths.
He knows that most Great White hits are a bite-and-release taste test so once the shark leaves, if you’re quick a life can be saved.
Cohen, a Canadian who learned to surf in Hawaii, works around Australia in various emergency departments, including Esperance, a sudden hotspot in Great White attack fatalities.
He says he hasn’t analysed yesterday’s attack, so he’s speaking generally, but if you can get a tourniquet above the wound site, your buddy has a good chance of living.
There’s an exception here.
If the shark takes off an entire leg or arm and there’s no stump, well, even a combat medic can’t stop the bleeding.
But if there’s a stump, there’s a chance, a good chance.
If you act fast.
You carrying a tourniquet in your wetsuit? Or on the beach?
Before anything, before calling anyone, get it on, tight, a couple of inches above the joint.
That’s it.
No tourniquet or it’s in the car?
Get a towel. Apply as much pressure as you can where the blood is coming out. All that matters is stopping the blood.
A catastrophic attack and your buddy is going to lose consciousness in three minutes; after five minutes the outcomes are poor, says Cohen.
“Once someone goes into hypovolemic shock a cascade of bad things happen in your body. It decreases your chance of survival,” says Cohen. “In all of the tactical combat critical care, in military areas, wherever there’s mass casualties, big shootings, bombs, massive car crashes, the only thing that’s indicated to do before anything else is to get on the tourniquet.”
Right now, Cohen is working with an ocean safety group in Esperance, a pretty Western Australian town that’s been hit by three Great White attacks in the last six years. Two dead, including a teenage girl, and a man left without an arm and hand. (See Gary Johnson, killed Jan, 2020, teen surfer Laeticia Brouwer in 2017, and Sean Pollard, 2014.)
At a recent seminar teaching Shark Bite Management in Esperance, eighty people turned up.
People carry custom kits in their cars with a sticker on the back that says “Tourniquet Trained”.
I ask Cohen, if being trained in the use of tourniquets is the new CPR.
“There’s still going to be a lot more people during of heart attacks, and that’s true in the surf,” he says, “But if you’re surfing with your family, your kids, some group of buddies, getting the crew together to make sure they know what to do, giving it thought, having a strategy of what to do is part of your risk assessment when surfing sharky spots.”
I actually offered the design to billabong, Quicksilver etc for free, a tourniquet built into all 4 appendages of your wetsuit. In the event of an attack it could be quickly deployed.
But the last thing surf shops want to remind customers of is that there are sharks in the ocean.
Would be great, just like they are sewed into some military combat uniforms
Once you’ve stopped the blood flow using a tourniquet you’ve got four hours before the leg, or arm, is choked off and dies. WRONG
The misinformation came from your previous article on the attack. The medical standard is no more than TWO (2) hours before damage occurs.
Large zip or cable ties are effective and are cheap and plentiful. You can double them up as needed. We keep plenty in our boats and in our trucks. You can also attach them to a regular leash w/ tape if you think you’ll need them during a sesh.
https://www.narescue.com/pr…
Get a real one https://www.narescue.com/pr…
Not at all Way, and good on you for being part of the solution. TheSWAT-T is what I bring in the surf with me at sharky spots, especially in WA or bigger days on the east coast when it’ll take longer to get to shore. It’s super small and fits in my chest zip without even knowing it’s there. Being familiar with how a CAT works is great – they’re what ambos and first responders will keep in their cars. If you’re surfing small beachies or want to make sure your surf club has something in their kit, the CAT’s the go. The Omna leg rope tourniquet is awesome for people that don’t mind a slightly bulkier leggie and never want to be stuck without a tourniquet.
Hi there Jon – hey, the website just shows a leggie all coiled up in its wrapper – do you have any images of it out of it’s package to gauge the ‘bulkiness’. I’d buy it if if wasn’t too clunky, but maybe the CAT otherwise. Cheers.
Hey Harry bout the size of an old man wallet, about 250g. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Roger that, ta.
What about the leggie though? Got any unfurled pics?
https://www.omnainc.com/
This is the website of the dude who invented it. Heaps of vids on there. Ex-military man in Florida. Great story behind the session that made him think of it…
This one’s the dogsnuts!!
Cuts off the flow.
we used to use these on lambs tails and balls. Very effective.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Don’t show that on here
The greenies will lynch you and DR May confuse it for a sex toy.
apparently more humane than the hot iron we used to use as well – and less dangerous !
We used a type of wire cutter/pliers on the pigs teeth and tails.
I squirm now but Gee you get desensitised at the time
Edit
Pigs, not cops.
What did you use for lube?
After 3,500 shark stories we finally get some goodness ! Thanks for passing this info on.
When did you get into the lambing biz?
Classic kiwi upbringing – on an orchard surround by farms. Spent my school holidays docking – paid for my motorbikes and first surfboard – a 5’10” Mt Woodgee with deep tail channels and a swallow tail with some hips. Wish I still had it !