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The hidden danger of surfing with your car key in the wetsuit

Surfing: it's unsafe to carry your car keys inside your wetsuit | Photo: Piper/Creative Commons

I am one of those surfers who takes the car key to the water inside my wetsuit - not necessarily because I want to, but because I can.

If you're not one of those lucky individuals who can walk to your home break and then back home every time you surf, then this might relate to you.

However, the following words apply to anyone carrying any type of key inside their neoprene protection while riding waves.

I am writing this because, after more than three decades of surfing, I just experienced a slightly dangerous situation involving these small, uncomfortable metallic objects that we take close to our bodies into the water.

So, here's my setup.

I own a Nissan Qashqai. It came with an anti-theft system key. It's basically a bundle: an electronic remote with a detachable, water-resistant intelligent key.

They need each other to start the engine, so it's my most convenient setup when I don't have alternatives.

Intelligent car keys: they're practical, but could be dangerous to carry inside your wetsuit

The Car Key Under the Wetsuit Method

So, whenever I go surfing, I detach and take the intelligent key with me and leave the remote in the car.

While putting my wetsuit on, I usually place the small intelligent key on the left side of my upper body, close to my hip.

I did this so that I wouldn't feel the car key on my belly between the wetsuit and the surfboard while paddling.

I've been going out like this for years, and it's been working well. I just feel a subtle bump on the left side, but it's perfectly manageable.

It's got to be on my upper body because I always thought I could lose the key if it were, for instance, in my arms or legs.

As it has been, it can't slip through the wetsuit's extremities.

But here's the main issue with this approach.

On several occasions, or maybe actually on most sessions, I end up with the intelligent car key a bit down, either over the inward or outward sides of my leg and thigh.

As we ride waves, the plastic and metallic item moves around the wetsuit, even though the neoprene is snug and perfectly fits my body.

So, only recently did I realize that this poses a real danger.

As I surf, the car key is moving toward the femoral artery and stays there until I take the wetsuit off.

Femoral arteries: if they're cut, the loss of blood can exceed a liter in a minute | Illustration: Creative Commons

A Metallic Blade Near the Femoral Artery

The problem is that you don't want a small metallic piece close to such a critical artery.

You can wipe out and hit your own or someone else's board and have the key perforate the skin.

Sustaining a laceration to the femoral artery near the groin could lead to bleeding and, if not constricted immediately, death in just a few minutes.

Loss of blood from the femoral artery can exceed a liter in a minute. It's quite impressive and scary.

Even partial injury, that is, not a complete transection, can still lead to massive internal bleeding into the thigh compartment.

Sadly, surfers have lost their lives due to severe bleeding after injuries in the femoral arteries caused by corals and shark attacks.

And if you're lucky to have a tourniquet applied, the previous temporary interruption of blood supply from femoral artery damage can still lead to ischemia and ultimately amputation.

Surfing without a wetsuit reduces protection near these highly sensitive regions.

That's why, after this reality check, I might need to reassess where to put the car key when surfing.

The risk I have been exposing myself to is unnecessary, and I thought it could be helpful to share this with you, dear reader.


Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com



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