The risks of gardening

[ancellsfarmer]

i worked down rat infested manholes for 30 years  in the westend and city of london never had any problems got a lot of arthritis however no infections got cut on a regular basis blue towel and black tape as  plaster i know gardening is dangerous and there are lots of unseen problems and as in all outdoor pursuits some people  will have problems most minor a small percentage will be major we just have to try to enjoy our hobby and be aware  of the dangers but not so much that we get a little paranoid

Reckon you will have developed a heightened natural immunity to everything biological, and probably totally suppressed orifactory responsiveness!!!

[ancellsfarmer]

[johhnyco15]

i worked down rat infested manholes for 30 years  in the westend and city of london never had any problems got a lot of arthritis however no infections got cut on a regular basis blue towel and black tape as  plaster i know gardening is dangerous and there are lots of unseen problems and as in all outdoor pursuits some people  will have problems most minor a small percentage will be major we just have to try to enjoy our hobby and be aware  of the dangers but not so much that we get a little paranoid

Reckon you will have developed a heightened natural immunity to everything biological, and probably totally suppressed orifactory responsiveness!!!

indeed nornally the manholes were half filled with water when pumped out to ankle level if you had the misfortune to stand on bloated dead rat the smell was a tad unpleasant then having to put the rotten corpse into a sack to complete the nights work even a bottle of jays fluid would not take the smell from ones nostrils away dont miss work much love being retired as you can well imagine lol

[Pescador]

I had cellulitis in my right foot and calf, swelled up like balloons and very painful.
Caught doing a very risky thing......... lying in a hospital bed!
So I'm trying to give that up.

[playground]

I had cellulitis in my right foot and calf, swelled up like balloons and very painful.
Caught doing a very risky thing......... lying in a hospital bed!
So I'm trying to give that up.

I really had no idea what cellulitis is...  so I looked it up.
For those of you who also.. have no idea:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulitis

wow.. that looks nasty.

Pescador,   did you really get it whilst laying in a hospital bed ?

[Pescador]

Oh yes, Playground.
I was having some fairly vicious chemo at the time, so was neutropenic and had no natural resistance to any type of infection.

[pumkinlover]

As they say  you die if you worry but then you die if you don.t, so just enjoy life that you have.

Must make this my mantra!

[plotstoeat]

Just finished dabbing TCP on wife's head. A rose branch fell on it while pruning; quite a lot of blood!

[galina]

Just finished dabbing TCP on wife's head. A rose branch fell on it while pruning; quite a lot of blood!

Ouch, hope it stops soon, sounds very painful.   

[plotstoeat]

Just finished dabbing TCP on wife's head. A rose branch fell on it while pruning; quite a lot of blood!

Ouch, hope it stops soon, sounds very painful.   

Seems ok now thanks Galina. Stopped bleeding. She has gone for a walk now so must be ok. Made sure she has phone with her!

[galina]

[/quote]
Seems ok now thanks Galina. Stopped bleeding. She has gone for a walk now so must be ok. Made sure she has phone with her!
[/quote]

Good!  Hope she got a good night's sleep

[small]

Plotstoeat, make sure her (and your!) tetanus is up to date. I had a bad rose attack which prompted me to check my jab, and the nurse said that rose injuries are more liable to result in tetanus because the thorn goes in deep and the air can't get at the wound, so if the bug is present then it's got ideal conditions to grow. Hope that makes sense!
The other gardening danger I don't think anyone has mentioned is wasps, I disturbed a queen wasp hibernating in my plantpots, stung right through 2 pairs of gloves (cotton inner, latex on top, I like to keep clean hands) and by next day it had swelled huge and there was a red line right up my arm - that needed a week of antibiotics....
Just remind me, someone, why we do this?

[Malcolm Brown]

Do beware of tetanus.  I had it when I was 6 in 1949 and it wasn't nice.  But, always looking on the bright side of life, I have never needed another booster and I never go septic or get blood poisoning or anything like that.  It was a high price to pay for the advantages though being in an isolation hospital in a single isolation room and my Mum and Dad not being permitted to come near me.

[galina]

Do beware of tetanus.  I had it when I was 6 in 1949 and it wasn't nice.  But, always looking on the bright side of life, I have never needed another booster and I never go septic or get blood poisoning or anything like that.  It was a high price to pay for the advantages though being in an isolation hospital in a single isolation room and my Mum and Dad not being permitted to come near me.

I was told that once we had a few tetanus jabs and boosters we won't need any more, because we then have enough immunity?  Cost saving or is this actually true? 

[plotstoeat]

Plotstoeat, make sure her (and your!) tetanus is up to date. I had a bad rose attack which prompted me to check my jab, and the nurse said that rose injuries are more liable to result in tetanus because the thorn goes in deep and the air can't get at the wound, so if the bug is present then it's got ideal conditions to grow. Hope that makes sense!
The other gardening danger I don't think anyone has mentioned is wasps, I disturbed a queen wasp hibernating in my plantpots, stung right through 2 pairs of gloves (cotton inner, latex on top, I like to keep clean hands) and by next day it had swelled huge and there was a red line right up my arm - that needed a week of antibiotics....
Just remind me, someone, why we do this?

thanks Small. I did ask when she last had a tetanus jab and she said decades ago! I will pass on your comments, thanks.

[Malcolm Brown]

I had heard that they had stopped giving repeat jabs which is in great contrast to years ago when I had to almost physically restrain doctors from giving me a booster.  The disease really is horrible so I would really pin the doctors down to make sure it is not necessary.  Progress is always being made of course but who wants to be the guinea pig that proves the theory wrong.  Sorry for all the doom and gloom on this, now, sunny Sunday.

[plotstoeat]

Post script to my wife's accident: GP said tetanus jab not necessary as there was no infection. He said that once someone had the childhood jabs plus one as an adult, that should last for life. So just the pneumonia, flu and shingles jabs to have then! http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/Smileys/Lots_O_Smileys/sad10.gif