DOCTOR RIVER What's Up Doc?

In this column, Jessie fills us in on the potential risks of cold water and wind exposure to our ears and sinuses, and lets us know how we can protect ourselves.

BY DR. JESSIE STONE Words and photos: Jessie Stone

Potential risks of cold water and wind exposure All paddlers, from the absolute beginner to the experienced professional, share something essential in common - they are all going to get their heads wet. Depending on the temperature of the water, the body will make various physiologic responses to this exposure. Scientists have discovered that bone is stimulated to grow or deposit in places where cold water and wind hit existing bone that has little fat coverage. Your ear is definitely one of those places. Therefore a common side effect of cold water kayaking is the development of exostoses of the external auditory canal of the ear, that is the growth of excess bone in the external auditory canal (EAC), a.k.a.“Surfer’s Ear.” Not only can this lead to narrowing, and in…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, KS#51 (fall 2014)

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