Igor...

[dave]

Its nothing that can do permanent damage. You get sick for a week once every couple of years or once a year and thats it. Price of doing business I guess. I've been told one can get hepatitis but have never heard of it happening to anyone.

Re: Nica or any other developing or 3rd world break - don't kid yourself. It may seem cleaner but in many cases, esp. around rivermouths, that water is off the charts with pollutants.

[rickward]

i wore wax ear plugs for this last swell... I don't enjoy not being able to hear, but it is nice to have dry ears after the session not wearing about ear infections. I can handle the ear plugs in the warm weather, but I think it might really suck getting thrashed around in the winter and not being able to hear anything - we'll see. The ENT doc already said i have surfers ear, but not to the point of surgery.

I started wearing plugs last fall. I actually like them in the colder weather. It seems like they keep me warmer, as odd as that sounds. I've used both Mack's silicone putty and Doc's ProPlugs. I like the ProPlugs because you can hear better, but I end up losing them pretty regularly.

[njsurfer42]

Its nothing that can do permanent damage. You get sick for a week once every couple of years or once a year and thats it. Price of doing business I guess. I've been told one can get hepatitis but have never heard of it happening to anyone.

umm...i know people that have had MRSA infections, e.coli infections, hep A infections, etc...from the crap being pumped out of the pipes. i've heard of folks in other states losing limbs &/or dieing of MRSA infections that stemmed from exposure to contaminated ocean water...it just hasn't happened here YET.

[johnxyz]

The last day or 2 I've Googled ocean sickness and the MRSA staph infection point was constantly recurring theme. njsurfer42 's comment is exactly the info I was reading about. I guess I'll get earplugs (and one of those dorky nose clamps?), maybe not paddle out after its been raining and stay away from the pipedrains (but that is where the surf is, especially when its big). I.m in northern Monmouth Cty but I've read of water quality issues in New England, too. I think I'm fooling myself if I think I can go out an get off scott free without eventually contracvting something. Population is only getting larger impacting there entire ecosystem.....

Ironic thing is a couple couple of articles referenced Hawaii and Florida with the poor water quality and high incidence of MRSA