What are the symptoms of a coral reef cut? How do you treat a coral reef cut to prevent infection? How long does it take for a coral reef cut to heal? Get answers to these questions and more.

Understanding Coral Reef Cuts

Coral reef cuts are a common injury among surfers and beachgoers in Indonesia. These cuts can be especially problematic due to the unusual bacteria and toxins found in the coral reefs. Foreign debris and coral spores can become embedded in the skin and tissue, leading to infection, inflammation, and delays in the healing process.

Even small, seemingly harmless reef cuts have a high chance of developing into serious infections if not treated properly. Surfers who are not prepared to properly clean, disinfect, and bandage these wounds often end up facing health problems that can put a major damper on their surf trip or even threaten their life.

Essential First Aid for Coral Reef Cuts

To effectively treat a coral reef cut, you’ll need the following supplies in your first aid kit:

• Irrigation syringe – Use this to clean the wound with bottled water, not tap water which may be contaminated.
• Soap wipes – Carefully clean around the wound without touching the surface.
• Tweezers – High-quality stainless steel tweezers are essential for removing any foreign debris.
• Scissors – A quality pair of scissors can be used to cut and shape bandages.
• Razor – Shave the hair around the wound to help adhesive bandages stick better.
• Saline solution – Mimics the body’s pH to provide a clean environment for healing.
• Antibiotic ointment – Look for an effective formula with three active ingredients to stop bacterial growth, prevent infection, and reduce pain/inflammation.
• Clotting gauze – This specialized material accelerates blood clotting to speed up healing.
• Adhesive dressings – Wide, contoured dressings provide a bacterial barrier while allowing air/water vapor to pass through.

Step-by-Step Coral Reef Cut Treatment

Here’s how to properly treat a coral reef cut:

1. Irrigate the wound using the syringe and bottled water to loosen and remove any foreign debris.
2. Carefully clean around the wound with soap wipes, without touching the wound surface.
3. Use the tweezers to remove any remaining visible debris from the wound.
4. Clean the wound thoroughly one last time with the saline solution.
5. Apply the antibiotic ointment to the wound.
6. Place the clotting gauze over the wound to stop bleeding and start the healing process.
7. Cover the wound with the adhesive dressing, securing it in place.

Preventing Coral Reef Cut Infections

Proper and timely treatment of coral reef cuts is crucial to prevent serious infections. Commonly used antiseptics like hydrogen peroxide, iodine, and alcohol can actually damage tissue and delay healing, so it’s important to use the right products.

Additionally, the tap water in Indonesia may not be clean, so it’s vital to use bottled water when irrigating the wound. Failing to properly clean and disinfect the wound can allow bacteria and coral spores to become embedded, leading to ongoing pain, inflammation, and delayed healing.

Coral Reef Cut Healing Time

The healing time for a coral reef cut can vary widely depending on the severity of the injury and how well it is treated. Properly cleaning and caring for the wound can make a significant difference, potentially reducing healing time by days or even weeks.

In general, minor coral reef cuts may heal within 1-2 weeks with proper treatment. However, more severe cuts or those that become infected can take much longer, sometimes 4-6 weeks or more to fully heal. Following the recommended first aid steps and monitoring the wound for any signs of infection is crucial.

Recognizing Coral Reef Cut Symptoms

So what are the signs that a coral reef cut may be becoming infected? Common symptoms include:

• Increasing pain, redness, or swelling around the wound
• Pus or drainage from the cut
• Warmth or heat radiating from the injury site
• Red streaks extending from the wound
• Fever or chills

If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention right away, as an untreated infection can become very serious. Proper first aid and prompt treatment are key to avoiding complications and ensuring a smooth recovery from a coral reef cut.

How To Treat Reef Cuts

Regardless of your experience, reef related injuries are not a matter of if…but when!

Reef cuts and infections are a big deal…They require immediate attention to avoid countless health problems.

Your surf trip will eventually become a nightmare if your reef cuts lead to infections that can adversely affect your overall health.

The coral reefs throughout Indonesia contain unusual nasty bacteria and toxins.
Foreign debris and coral spores embed themselves in the skin and tissue, acting as a source of infection, increasing pain, inflammation and prevent your wound from healing.

It’s a fact that reef cuts are one of the most difficult types of wounds to heal. Even the smallest, harmless-appearing reef cut or rash has a high chance of developing into a serious infection if not treated properly. We see it time and time again, surfers that are not properly prepared with reef cuts left ill-treated or in some instances untreated. Leading to an infection that not only puts a damper on your surf trip but can threaten your life.

Considering your most common injury is going to be a reef cut or laceration, you have to be prepared for treating, cleaning, and bandaging basic wounds with the right kind of first aid kit when surfing reefs.

What You’re Going To Need…

An irrigation syringe is a lightweight and easy tool to carry for the first step in disinfecting any wound. You should use an irrigation syringe, and not your bare hands when irrigating any reef cut to prevent the spread of bacteria and infections. 

Tap water in Indonesia is not clean and the ocean water at this temperature harbours a lot of bacteria so use bottled water to first irrigate your wound. Bottled water is conveniently available in stores all around Indonesia. 

Used to clean around the wound. Carefully cover your finger with soap wipes to ensure that you don’t touch the surface of the wound. 

To sterilise tweezers, scissors, the area around the wound and assisting adhesive bandages to make better contact with the skin.  You can also use bottled isopropyl alcohol if available.

When you are treating wounds yourself you need all the help you can get and high precision tweezers with an elbow are the top of the line when it comes to easily and effectively removing foreign debris from your wounds. DON’T get stuck with plastic tweezers or cheap tweezers that you can’t get an accurate pinch from, you’ll cause yourself more pain and become extremely frustrated. Moreover, plastic or cheap tweezers aren’t always made from the best materials and using these in treating your reef cuts might only do more harm than good. 

Quality pair of stainless steel scissors to cut and shape adhesive tapes and bandages. Don’t forget to clean your scissors with alcohol before using them. A pair of high-quality scissors can be very useful when dressing cuts, which is why it’s best if you always include them in your first aid kit. 

A razor enables you to shave the hair around the wound and keep the area clean assisting adhesive bandages to make better contact with the skin.

Used to clean the wound thoroughly one last time to ensure any coral dust/spores are removed decreasing the likelihood of infection and delays in the healing process.

Mimics your body’s internal pH and is used in the final step when irrigating the wound to provide the cleanest environment possible.

An effective formula that contains three active antibiotic ingredients to stop the growth of bacteria, prevent infection and reduce pain and inflammation. WARNING; commonly used topical antiseptics (lime, hydrogen peroxide, iodine and alcohol) actually damage the tissue and irritates the wound delaying the healing process.

This revolutionary cellulose-based material accelerates the blood clotting process and is a must-have item in every surfing first aid kit. When the gauze comes in contact with blood it quickly transforms into a stiff gel, which fills wound voids, seals capillary ends and activates the clotting system saving you days or weeks of recovery time.

Wide area adhesive dressing that is especially suitable for use on frequently mobile and highly contoured parts of the body where most reef cuts occur. It provides a bacterial barrier that is permeable to air and water vapour with an excellent long term skin/wound friendly adhesion. It can be applied directly over the top of the wound with or without gauze and minimises any disturbances of blood circulation to speed up the healing process of reef cuts. Adhesive stretch dressings are some what the swiass army knife of wound dressings when it comes to reef cuts.

How To Treat a Reef Cut…

You’re first step for any kind of cut, reef or otherwise, is to irrigate, loosening and removing any foriegn debris from the wound. Since the tap water in Indonesia is not clean use bottled water to first irrigate your wound flushing out as much foreign debris as you can. Save the saline solution for last unless you have a large supply of it.

Using an irrigation syringe irrigate the wound further for an extended period of time washing out as much bacteria as you can. Then clean around the wound with soap wipes.

Coral contains a range of very nasty and unusual bacteria and toxins. Tiny coral cysts enter the wound and get embedded in tissue to not only cause wound healing delay, but pain and recurrent swelling for a long time. So naturally the first major rule is thorough, extended cleaning. The longer the better! Don’t do what we have seen a million times: “Oh, that’ll do mate.” No it probably won’t. Do it again, thoroughly.

Use tweezers (first sterilise the tweezers with alcohol wipes) to remove any foreign debris from the wound that still appear after washing. It is important to get any remains of the reef or coral dust out of the wound as mentioned above. 

Take your time doing this as thoroughly as possible, removing any dead skin with sterile equipment along the way. It is a major step to speeding up the healing process. 

We can’t stress this enough, do it right the first time, because once the swelling and infection sets in, it becomes increasingly difficult to remove foreign objects.

Use the razor to shave any hair around the wound in preparation for covering the wound. This greatly enhances how well any adhesive bandages stick to the skin, keeping the wound cleaner for longer and speeding up the healing process.

Fill the irrigation syringe with saline solution or simply use saline solution straight from the bottle and rinse the wound while lightly cleaning with a wound cleaning sponge.

Clean, dry and degrease the area around the wound with alcohol wipes. This not only rids of bacteria but dries the skin for applying an adhesive stretch dressing.

Treat the wound with a triple antibiotic ointment ensuring any remaining bacteria from the cleaning or debriding process doesn’t take root in your injury, preventing infection and assisting in relieving pain and inflammation.   

While commonly used antiseptics such as lime, hydrogen peroxide, iodine or rubbing alcohol into the wound does work to kill bacteria it also damages the tissue, irritates the wound and delays the healing process.

Use Hemostatic Gauze to control any remaining bleeding and active the blood clotting system. With scissors cut and shape the hemostatic gauze to shape to match the wound and apply directly to the wound with pressure.

Hemostatic gauze is commonly used by armed forces and hospitals to address gunshot wounds. When the Hemostatic Gauze contacts with the wound it quickly transforms into a stiff gel, filling the wound, sealing capillary ends and activating the blood clotting system saving you days or weeks of recovery time.

Prepare an adhesive stretch dressing by cutting it to the length you need, then cutting it to the desired shape and apply it directly over the top of the wound and/or hemostatic gauze when the area around your wound is completely dry. 

Hot tip: round the corners of the dressing with scissors so there are no corners that may start to peel back off the skin.

Raise the limb. Swelling, even if you can’t see it, can delay healing, especially in areas of poor circulation. Keep your arm or leg up to the level of your heart or higher in the first few hours.

This is indicated by red spreading edges around the wound which can lead to fever, severe illness and even death. If you see this, you need urgent medical help. Do not delay even if you are in a remote place — you will need antibiotics or change to a different antibiotic if you are on one already. Get some medical advice even if it’s on the phone to work out which antibiotic is best and assess your condition if you’re getting ill and febrile.

Seek urgent medical attention if…

1. The wound is large or deep.
2. The edges of the wound do not stay together.
3. It is not possible to clean the wound properly or remove all debris. 
4. Symptoms of infection occur (fever, increasing pain or redness, or discharge from the wound).
5. If blood is spurting from the wound or if applying pressure to the wound does not stop the bleeding!

Reef cuts can be challenging to treat, which is why you should exert effort to avoid such wounds whenever possible. This is especially important if you’re fond of spending time at the beach and in the surf.

If you like to explore reefs when you’re not surfing investing in and wearing some water aerobic shoes is one way of avoiding reef cuts out of the surf in the future. Wearing a dive suit and maintaining a respectful distance from the reefs can also help whenever possible.

The Surfers First Aid Kit is perfect for treating reef cuts. Tried and tested by surfers to meet the needs of surfing, not only in Indonesia but around the world!

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The Surfers First Aid Kit

“Not having a good First Aid Kit on hand places you at serious risk”.

Other Items You’ll Need…

Butterfly Stitches

Also known as Steri-Strips or butterfly bandages, are narrow adhesive bandages that are used instead of traditional stitches (sutures) to close small, shallow cuts.

Splinter Probe

Sea urchin spines have a tendency to wander into the worst parts of the body, regardless of how well you protect yourself. Your best bet is to use a splinter probe to efficiently remove the spine as soon as possible.

Sports Tape

Not your typical rigid strapping tape but a pliable sports tape with stretch to fit the curves and corners of your body securely where a lot of reef cuts occur.

Cotton Bud Swabs

Versatile tool that has many uses in your first aid kit.

The Surfers first aid kit…

Surf Indonesia has thoughtfully packaged these items and more into a conveniently purpose-built first aid kit for surf travel.

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How to Treat Coral Cut Scars | Biodermis.com

March 23, 2021Tyler Szelinski

With summer fast approaching and people planning their family trips to the beach, it’s important to prepare for any accidents that may happen along the way. One of the most common ocean injuries that occur during swimming, surfing, or scuba diving are cuts from coral reefs. Coral cuts can be particularly dangerous because they have a high risk of becoming infected due to pieces of the coral’s exoskeleton getting stuck in the wound. A coral cut should be treated immediately by first being cleaned out and then covered with a bandage or gauze. If the wound gets infected, antibiotics may be needed to assist in recovery. In some cases, coral cuts can lead to scarring. Luckily, with proper wound care and the right scar management products, you can significantly reduce the scarring that results from coral cuts.

Continue reading to learn more about coral cuts and how you can be prepared in case one of these accidents happens on your summer vacation.

Being mindful of coral
When people go scuba diving to explore the vast underwater ecosystems that live near ocean coasts around the world, they may come across a beautiful array of coral. What people usually see are the colors and shapes of the coral’s exoskeleton (hard outer body). A coral’s exoskeleton is often hard and pointy, making it a good defense mechanism against marine predators. The inside of coral consists of the actual animal called a polyp. A polyp is an invertebrate (without a spine) with a soft, squishy body and tentacles. Coral are biologically related to jellyfish and sea anemones. Without their hard exoskeletons, coral would be an easy meal for most predatory fish swimming in the ocean. Sadly, due to climate change and human activity, many coral reefs around the world are dying off. That’s why it’s so important to take precautionary measures and preserve these beautiful ecosystems for future generations to enjoy.

Snorkelers and scuba divers shouldn’t swim too close to coral; the hard, spiny exoskeletons can rip through swim gear and puncture skin. Coral reefs are also home to many aquatic animals so it’s advised not to disturb these natural habitats—you may awaken something even scarier (like a moray eel). Some species of coral contain nematocysts which are specialized cells with barbed threads that contain poison. These poisons are usually not deadly but they can cause extreme pain to the victim—just another reason to stay away from coral! If you are cut by a coral while swimming or scuba diving, you should get out of the water immediately to avoid exposing your open wound to pathogens floating in the water.

Clinically-proven scar therapy
If you do sustain a coral cut that penetrates the dermis (middle) layer of skin or deeper, scarring is likely to follow. Wound infection, if it occurs, can lead to a delayed skin repair response and cause abnormal scarring in the future. To reduce scarring, it’s advised to use topical silicone gel recommended by most surgeons and dermatologists today. Topical silicone should be applied as soon as your wound has healed, so long as there’s no more bleeding or scabbing. If you received stitches for your wound, they should be fully dissolved or removed prior to using topical silicone.

Medical silicone works through the mechanisms of dermal hydration and collagen regulation. By fully encapsulating the scar bed, moisture is retained at the site, creating an optimal environment for scar healing. This perfect environment, otherwise known as homeostasis, normalizes collagen synthesis, which is often overproduced when the skin is damaged, leading to raised, discolored scars. When the collagen is brought to a normal level with the help of silicone, scars will heal in a more desirable way by blending into the surrounding healthy tissue. Silicone products can be purchased without a prescription through your physician or online at Biodermis.com.

Biodermis is an innovative market leader with 30 years of expertise in the medical silicone industry. Visit Biodermis.com today to explore a complete range of scar management and post-operative care solutions.
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Viral threat to coral reefs linked to global climate change – PCR News

Prepared by

Alexandra Petrukhina

A group of American scientists investigated the spread of a viral infection that affects dinoflagellates – symbionts of coral reefs. As it turned out, heat stress increases viral productivity, which can lead to the death of the coral ecosystem.

Prepared by

Alexandra Petrukhina

Coral reefs are an amazing natural phenomenon that is of interest to both ordinary people and scientists. In recent years, alarming reports of the death of coral ecosystems have been experienced by almost everyone, regardless of the type of activity. The greatest impact on degradation processes is exerted by global climate change and anthropogenic impact.

In 2022, scientists described in detail a group of dinoRNAV viruses that infect the Symbiodiniaceae (dinoflagellates family). These viruses have single-stranded (+)-RNA. At the same time, the researchers amplified the sequence of their main capsid protein (major capsid protein, mcp ) and then based it on an amino acid chain. Using this method, in a new study, scientists from the United States assessed the viral load in the colonies and identified possible triggers leading to an increase in the production of viruses.

For the study, 54 colonies of the holobiont Porites lobata were selected from three reef zones (fringing, backreef, and prereef slopes) on the northern coast of Moorea Island (French Polynesia). Coral tissue samples were taken twice a year from 2018 to 2020. At the same time, photographs of each colony were taken. The water temperature was measured at each point every two hours during the entire observation period. DNA and RNA were isolated from the obtained tissue samples, then gene 9 was amplified using PCR0021 mcp dinoRNAV and sequenced the resulting amplicons. Using the phyloseq algorithm, the diversity of aminotypes mcp was calculated.

The highest temperature, as expected, was recorded in the fringing zone (28.5°C), while the lowest temperature was recorded on the pre-reef slope (27.8°C). March 2019 was the warmest period for all colonies. Visual signs of discoloration at this time were seen in genera Acropora and Pocillopora but not in P. lobata. This species is considered to be more resistant to discoloration. However, 50% of the colonies experienced partial mortality. Most of the foci of death were found on the pre-reef slope.

After sequencing of the amplicons, 778 aminotypes were obtained. The mcp dinoRNAV gene was found in 50 colonies out of 54, and in 40 colonies out of 50 (80%) it persisted throughout the study period. Also, 70% of the aminotypes were similar for all three zones, and less than 4% of the aminotypes were unique to any one zone. The greatest diversity of aminotypes was found in the fringing zone (n=146), less – on the back-reef slope (n=123) and even less – on the pre-reef slope (n=107).

Aminotype dispersion was highest in March 2019 during temperature-related bleaching, indicating an increase in viral production at this time. At the same time, the partial death of the colonies was most pronounced.

dinoRNAV viruses are diverse, common, and persistent in P. lobata colonies. The authors suggest that several factors lead to the increase in viral production. First, the high diversity of aminotypes in the fringing zone may be due to more constant environmental conditions and an abundance of nutrients, since in this case the number of corals themselves increases. Second, an increase in water temperature leads to heat stress in corals and dinoflagellates, which reduces their resistance to the virus. Here, the authors also offer an alternative option: as the temperature rises, viral productivity increases, and it is the viruses that affect the health of the colony. Scientists conclude that in the context of global climate change, viral infections of coral reefs can pose a significant threat.

Motility of coral and human spermatozoa is regulated by the same mechanism

Source:

Howe-Kerr L.I., et al. Viruses of a key coral symbiont exhibit temperature-driven productivity across a reefscape // ISME Communications 3, 27 (2023). April 3, 2023. DOI:
10.1038/s43705-023-00227-7

et cetera Virology

Reefs off the coast of Belize have become a haven for acroporal corals

Reefs off the coast of Belize have become a haven for corals of the genus Acropora , which are nearly extinct in the rest of the Caribbean. As American researchers have discovered, corals here have been growing continuously for more than a hundred years, from 1910-1915 to 2019, and during this time they have never experienced a mass death. Scientists now hope to find out why the local population has been so resilient: it should help save and restore other coral reefs in the region. The results of the study were published in an article for the journal PLoS ONE .

Corals of the genus Acropora play an important role in shallow marine ecosystems. They grow quickly and branch profusely, forming the structure of reefs and providing habitat for many living organisms. However, due to human activity in many regions of the world, the acropores have been on the verge of extinction.

The worst situation is in the Caribbean Sea and nearby regions of the Atlantic, an area covered with corals A. cervicornis and A. palmata has been in sharp decline since 1950–1960. Among the causes of the crisis, scientists name the spread of infections, climate change and more frequent hurricanes.

Only a few Caribbean reefs are known today where these once thriving corals are still abundant. At the same time, scientists do not know whether local acropores were able to survive the problems that killed their relatives, or whether these are new reefs that have formed in place of those that disappeared in just a few decades.

To answer this question, a team of researchers led by Lisa Greer of the University of Washington and Lee traveled to the coast of Belize in Central America. The Coral Gardens are located here, a reef that is still dominated by live A. cervicornis , as well as A. palmata and A. prolifera . This is one of the few places where the acroporal reef has been preserved in almost its original form.

To estimate the age of the reef, scientists collected coral skeleton fragments from three sites and dated them using radiocarbon and uranium-thorium methods. Based on data from 232 samples, they concluded that corals in this area have been continuously growing since at least 1910–1915. This means that for more than a hundred years, the Coral Gardens served as a refuge for acropores, which perished in the rest of the Caribbean. It is possible that extreme events, such as the powerful El Niño phase of 1998, caused the death of corals in the studied area, but it was not massive.

Researchers are not yet sure why the Coral Gardens are so resilient. Genetic analysis did not reveal any particular genetic diversity in local acropores. It is possible that a high number of sea urchins that eat algae harmful to corals, a relatively low tourist and fishing load, as well as remoteness from river flow play a role in the good preservation of the reef. The authors hope that further study of this unusual site will help develop effective measures for the protection and restoration of acroporous reefs in other parts of the Caribbean.