Fins hurt when they touch skin. Photo: JP Van Swae
You know the scenario: you’re miles down a dirt road in Mexico. The wind is offshore and it’s beautifully hot. Boardshorts weather. The waves are absolutely firing. On the outside, the point break you’ve found allows for a few nice turns on the open face before the setup: a perfect barrel section on the inside. You pull into a beauty ready to ride the tube of your life. But the wave pinches and you’re rag-dolled like, well, like a rag doll. The board’s fins just nick you in the head but open up a gaping wound on your forehead just below the hairline. Yep, you’re gonna need stitches. But you’re miles from an emergency room and in a third-world country.
Simple, tough technology is what makes ZipStitch work.
Enter ZipStitch, something any surfer (or backcountry skier or snowboarder for that matter) should have in his or her first-aid kit. ZipStitch is the most advanced wound closure available to the public today and totally non-invasive. It’s so easy to use while you’re bleeding all over yourself out there in the desert. Simply stick the two, 1.5-inch adhesive strips to either side of the wound after cleaning and drying the skin around the cut. Then use the four zip-ties made with medical-grade polymer material that connect the two adhesive strips to tighten the skin with the patented locking mechanism, sealing the wound tightly together. The ZipStitch acts as actual protection for the cut and there’s obviously less scarring since there’s no needle weaving in and out of your skin.
The ZipStitch is a must-have for your first-aid kit
Now, if the cut is uniform and straight, this may be all you need to seal the wound (note that an uneven cut still may require a physician and we can’t emphasize enough the importance of thoroughly cleaning your wound). One thing is certain: this is the most advanced treatment plan you can have in your first-aid kit and you shouldn’t leave home without it.
ZipStitch was created by a Silicon Valley-based physician and has been used by over a half-million patients in 30 different countries since its invention. If you’re a backcountry aficionado, love to surf in remote locales, or find yourself miles away from the nearest road often, there’s no excuse for not having one in your kit. You can thank us the next time an accident happens in the middle of nowhere.
Editor’s Note: This piece was made possible by ZipStitch, which is offering a special to readers of The Interia: save up to 30 percent with code inertia10. Buy five at 20 percent discount and get an additional 10 percent off with code. Use the discount, here.
