A local doctor is warning tourists not to over-do it on their trip to the Hawaiian Islands.
Waikiki Beach is a popular spot for summer visitors.
“We’re on our honeymoon from Australia,” said Georgia Bryan. “We’re here for a week and then off to the mainland, Vegas, Florida,”
“I’m out here with my wife enjoying about 9 days or so out here on the lovely island,” said Jose Troche. “Just being a bum, enjoying the beach, eating the delicious food, enjoying the culture. Doing the tourist thing,”
But something as innocent as a dip in the water can have deadly results. Two years ago, a man from Michigan died after snorkeling in waters off Maui. His wife believes he suffered from symptoms of ROPE, or Rapid Onset Pulmonary Edema. They are now suing the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Hawaii Visitors and Conventions Bureau and the hotel they stayed at, saying all those groups should have warned them about the potential danger. The victim’s family belives ROPE is partially caused by the long flights here.
“You start feeling like you have something in your lungs and your breaths probably become more shallow and next thing you know, you’re coughing,” said Dr. Tony Trpkovski, of Doctors of Waikiki. “You’re very short of breath and ultimately it can lead to pulmonary arrest where you don’t breathe and you can die,”
Tropkovski sees tourists all the time and said a lot of them go overboard.
“When people are on vacation, it’s like they have immortality,” said Tropkovski. “They’re doing everything when they haven’t done anything all year. Next thing you they’re going hiking and going crazy and everything which is great, but they get hurt. Because their body isn’t used to doing all those kinds of things,”
“Definitely for us when we came here, we wanted to make sure we spent a lot of time so we didn’t have to cram a lot of activities at once,” said Troche.
Tropkovski advises tourists to take it easy, wear sunscreen, and be careful when trying new things like surfing and snorkeling.