Marine Life Teen girl fights off sharks - Belize

[dlofting]

That's true. Surfers are known to refer to them as The Landlord, but the odds of a shark strike are lower than killed by falling coconuts or a cow trapling. I've survived the latter.

Yeah, I wouldn't know how to use one safely if I had one. I hope the one I ordered has instructions. I can look them up now, but I'll forget. Google says up to two hours and the article said it was one & half boat ride.

It's really more a question of understanding when to use it, because when it is really needed you won't be thinking about how long it will be on.

An amputation or a bleed from something like the femoral artery are the obvious cases where a tourniquet will be required. The first case is unlikely in a scuba scenario but a prop wound could cause the second. If the wound is spurting blood you may have the second case on your hands. Hopefully never happens.

 

[TostitoBandito]

I thought it was common sense not to splash around on the surface in water where you know sharks are present, but I guess not. They're not gonna bother a submerged diver that they can fully see, but a swimmer splashing on the surface is worth investigating. Especially at a site like the blue hole which is a) very crowded, and b) well known for attracting curious sharks with a history of feeding them ("officially" sanctioned chumming or feeding supposedly doesn't happen anymore, but I have my doubts). From the speed at which the shark hit her after she jumped in and the fact that it was under the boat, it sure sounds like it had been conditioned to being fed from the boats in some way and thought this was a snack. Lots of fisherman down around there too, so no doubt sharks have learned to hang out near boats for scraps or to steal fish.

So many of the attack stories I see posted here are carbon copies of this. I'm not blaming the victim by any means, but people in general have got to be more aware of the risks of doing things like this (not the diving, the jumping back in the water after). And operators need to do a better job educating and/or monitoring the situation. The ocean isn't your playground.

 

[boulderjohn]

Never dove in Belize, do they chum the water there?

(and they do not chum the water there).

I haven't dive the Blue Hole in something like 15 years. When I did, at the end of the dive, after we were all back on the boat, the crew threw a lot of fish scraps off the stern of the boat, creating a significant feeding frenzy with the Caribbean reef sharks who were obviously expecting it.

 

[also_anon_dc]

I went in December 2023 and there was no chumming. The guide at the dive resort I stayed at said people used to feed but had stopped in the past few years after recognizing it influenced animal behavior. I didn't see any sharks at the Blue Hole but the nearby dives (Lighthouse Reef I think it was called?) we were definitely followed by a reef shark the entire dive. Maybe some operators still do it but I didn't see it.

 

[scubadada]

I was in Belize on the Belize Aggressor IV in 2022. We saw reef sharks on many of the dives, as usual, they wanted nothing to do the the divers. I saw no sharks at the Blue Hole. I don't remember anyone jumping off the boat at the end of the dive.

Trip Report Thread 'Belize on the Aggressor IV April 9-16, 2022'

May 6, 2022

Belize on the Aggressor IV April 9-16, 2022

Reservations: I reserved my spot ton the Belize Aggressor IV directly with Aggressor. I made my reservations during last fall’s sale and got 25% off. I made my airline reservations directly with American Airlines, a flight from Philadelphia to Miami and then on to Belize City. I went to Belize two days early and did a tour of the New Belize River and Mayan ruins at Lamanai. I made these through Aggressor Detour, their travel agency. They included transfer to Lamanai, hotel nights, the tour, and then transfer to the Aggressor for boarding...

• scubadada

• 

 

[TostitoBandito]

I was in Belize on the Belize Aggressor IV in 2022. We saw reef sharks on many of the dives, as usual, they wanted nothing to do the the divers. I saw no sharks at the Blue Hole. I don't remember anyone jumping off the boat at the end of the dive.

Trip Report Thread 'Belize on the Aggressor IV April 9-16, 2022'

May 6, 2022

Belize on the Aggressor IV April 9-16, 2022

Reservations: I reserved my spot ton the Belize Aggressor IV directly with Aggressor. I made my reservations during last fall’s sale and got 25% off. I made my airline reservations directly with American Airlines, a flight from Philadelphia to Miami and then on to Belize City. I went to Belize two days early and did a tour of the New Belize River and Mayan ruins at Lamanai. I made these through Aggressor Detour, their travel agency. They included transfer to Lamanai, hotel nights, the tour, and then transfer to the Aggressor for boarding...

• scubadada

• 

In the half-moon caye area in particular where it's protected I saw more reef sharks coming closer to divers in a natural unbaited situation than most other places I've been (see profile pic). Typically I'm used to them staying a ways away or swimming away when they see you, but there they'd be making passes along the wall and I could position myself right in their path and they'd almost run into me, turning at the last second and continuing on not caring at all. It's an hour or two away from the blue hole.

I had the same experience as you in the blue hole, no sharks, or much other life for that matter. Though we went very early before any other boats arrived so perhaps it picks up later in the day. When we came up after 45 min or whatever there were already multiple liveaboards moored and prepping to dive, and possibly the first of the day boats heading in.

 

[chaad]

A bit reluctant to jump in here because I have no idea of how deep or where exactly her wounds were located. However the lack of first aid supplies on the boat was extremely unfortunate. The tourniquet was used because that was all that was available but it probably was not required in that situation and may have caused damage to the limb due to the lack of blood flow during the boat trip to the helicopter.

There is always a tradeoff with a tourniquet. It can save life if a limb is amputated or a significant artery lacerated, but can cause damage if left on too long.

Like the diver on the boat, I carry one, but I also have pressure compresses and some Israeli bandages, which may have been a better choice in this situation, had they been available.

Other than the lack of first aid supplies on the boat this is not a criticism of anything that was done for the girl, just food for thought.

Teaching around tourniquets has changed in the past couple of decades, largely based on learnings from battlefield injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today's Stop The Bleed protocol from the DoD says if the bleeding appears to be life-threatening (spurting and/or blood pooling on the ground looks like more than half the volume of a can of Coke) and is located on an extremity, a tourniquet is the first choice. The risk of damage to the limb has been overestimated in the past. Minimal damage will result from a tourniquet applied for up to two hours. There's even a case study out there of a battlefield injury that had a tourniquet in place for 16 hours (which by all standards is far longer than desirable), yet the service member regained functional use of the limb. Not suggesting 16 hours is a good idea, but it does suggest the risk of tissue death is not quick or absolute.

 

[dmaziuk]

Teaching around tourniquets has changed in the past couple of decades, largely based on learnings from battlefield injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today's Stop The Bleed protocol from the DoD says if the bleeding appears to be life-threatening (spurting and/or blood pooling on the ground looks like more than half the volume of a can of Coke) and is located on an extremity, a tourniquet is the first choice. The risk of damage to the limb has been overestimated in the past. Minimal damage will result from a tourniquet applied for up to two hours. There's even a case study out there of a battlefield injury that had a tourniquet in place for 16 hours (which by all standards is far longer than desirable), yet the service member regained functional use of the limb. Not suggesting 16 hours is a good idea, but it does suggest the risk of tissue death is not quick or absolute.

In my first aid training in another century in a country that no longer exists, we were told to have a marker and a card in the kit to write the time of the application and securely attach to the tourniquet where the ambulance/hospital people can't miss it.

We were also told that if the cavalry doesn't arrive after two hours, we may consider unwinding the thing and letting them "bleed a little" before re-applying. Depending on victim's condition of course.

 

[chaad]

In my first aid training in another century in a country that no longer exists, we were told to have a marker and a card in the kit to write the time of the application and securely attach to the tourniquet where the ambulance/hospital people can't miss it.

We were also told that if the cavalry doesn't arrive after two hours, we may consider unwinding the thing and letting them "bleed a little" before re-applying. Depending on victim's condition of course.

I was taught to write the time across their forehead with Sharpie. That'd do it!

I haven't heard of letting them bleed it bumping up against the upper limit. Thanks for sharing.

 

[dmaziuk]

I was taught to write the time across their forehead with Sharpie. That'd do it!

I haven't heard of letting them bleed it bumping up against the upper limit. Thanks for sharing.

In Soviet Russia we didn't have Sharpies.

We were taught other heresies too, like that a couple of ounces of sweet fortified wine will up their blood glucose and stimulate them ("coffee effect") to keep them from going into shock longer, and rescue breaths.