Allotments 4 All
General => News => Topic started by: plotstoeat on October 09, 2016, 19:19:06
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I was sowing my sweet peas in the greenhouse this morning and listening to my local radio gardening hour. There was a long item on the health risks of gardening. I wasn't sure what to make of it. Over the top probably. Anyone wanting to scare themselves this is the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p048gh3l#play It's in the last half hour of the programme.
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I had to do a risk assessment when I was working for the local council. After about 50 pages I lost the will to live. Like any activity it all boils down to 'know your limits and be careful'.
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:BangHead: but then there are loads of advantages to doing gardening too !!
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Oh dear should I be worried I started as a garden boy in 1948 retired when I got to 80 so not sure what I should do now.http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/Smileys/Lots_O_Smileys/BangHead.gif
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What's the essence of the argument ?
(1) That you can injure yourself .. using a spade or fork ?
(2) Lifting and lugging things around a garden causes back problems ?
(3) The weed killers, fertilisers and other chemicals are toxic ?
(4) other ?
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One of the recent news items has stuck with me about gardening. A lady had a superficial graze on the back of her hand from gardening and unfortunately she died of septicemia, or sepsis as it seems to be called now, aka blood poisoning a week later. If anyone feels unwell and develops temperature and other symptoms after a small garden injury, they must insist that sepsis is being considered and their doctors must be on the lookout for this, because apparently sepsis is much more common than generally assumed and can be very dangerous indeed.
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One of the recent news items has stuck with me about gardening. A lady had a superficial graze on the back of her hand from gardening and unfortunately she died of septicemia, or sepsis as it seems to be called now, aka blood poisoning a week later. If anyone feels unwell and develops temperature and other symptoms after a small garden injury, they must insist that sepsis is being considered and their doctors must be on the lookout for this, because apparently sepsis is much more common than generally assumed and can be very dangerous indeed.
Hi Galina :)
I remember similar warnings about random scratches and scrapes.
But this was when i was boy... more decades ago than i would prefer.
Back then the story was told in terms of tetanus.
And the cure was a painful needle... about the width of a knitting needle
... into your backside... pottytrain2
So naturally, the temptation was to simply put a plaster on that scratch,
and not mention it to anyone.
Three questions:
(1) Is there an injection, a vaccination, that you can get for septicemia (as for tetanus) ?
(2) How long does the septicemia jab last for ?
(3) Is it free ?
If i remember correctly, the tetanus jab lasts 10 years (and used to be free)
Maybe someone will read this thread that knows the answers to those questions.
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I think for many people... the risk of gardening might be
the risk of knee, hip, ankle or back injury if they start exerting
themselves too strenuously digging in the ground.
I think one route around these concerns is to bring the
ground up 4 feet or so.
Imagine rows of raised beds, not 4 inches high, but 4 feet high.
or imagine rows of these planters, raised on pedestals, 4 foot high.
https://www.wayfair.co.uk/Rowlinson-Marberry-Rectangular-Planter-PLLY100-ROWL1039.html
Imagine all the ladies and gents who would be able to look after
such an 'elevated beds' allotment plot... but who wouldn't be able to take on a
regular 'ground level' plot, due to health concerns.
I think this is a super idea and someone should start a charity to implement it.
I'd like a place on that management committee. :-)
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Septicaemia is not caused by a specific micro organism, rather it is a response to an infection. Normally our bodies are able to deal with these infections without any problem.
Occasionally and tragically for some reason the body does not and the immune response results in toxic shock and some times death.
For this reason I doubt vaccination will be possible.
But no doubt some one will now find that it is!
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The benefits of gardening far outweigh the risks to both person and environment.
The risks of gardening are like anything else in life - preventable and calculable. Use your common sense and take sensible precautions as needed - gloves, goggles, storing tools and chemicals safely, correct techniques and tools for lifting/digging/pruning, circuit breakers and so on. Keep tetanus jabs up to date even if you have to pay for it - how much is your life worth? - and clean any wounds immediately and keep an eye on them.
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What's the essence of the argument ?
(1) That you can injure yourself .. using a spade or fork ?
(2) Lifting and lugging things around a garden causes back problems ?
(3) The weed killers, fertilisers and other chemicals are toxic ?
(4) other ?
All those and lots more involving dry compost, rats etc. I am sure we have all injured ourselves in the garden at some time
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One of the recent news items has stuck with me about gardening. A lady had a superficial graze on the back of her hand from gardening and unfortunately she died of septicemia, or sepsis as it seems to be called now, aka blood poisoning a week later. If anyone feels unwell and develops temperature and other symptoms after a small garden injury, they must insist that sepsis is being considered and their doctors must be on the lookout for this, because apparently sepsis is much more common than generally assumed and can be very dangerous indeed.
sepsis was one of the dangers covered in the programme and, as you say, not uncommon.
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One of the recent news items has stuck with me about gardening. A lady had a superficial graze on the back of her hand from gardening and unfortunately she died of septicemia, or sepsis as it seems to be called now, aka blood poisoning a week later. If anyone feels unwell and develops temperature and other symptoms after a small garden injury, they must insist that sepsis is being considered and their doctors must be on the lookout for this, because apparently sepsis is much more common than generally assumed and can be very dangerous indeed.
Hi Galina :)
I remember similar warnings about random scratches and scrapes.
But this was when i was boy... more decades ago than i would prefer.
Back then the story was told in terms of tetanus.
And the cure was a painful needle... about the width of a knitting needle
... into your backside... pottytrain2
So naturally, the temptation was to simply put a plaster on that scratch,
and not mention it to anyone.
Three questions:
(1) Is there an injection, a vaccination, that you can get for septicemia (as for tetanus) ?
(2) How long does the septicemia jab last for ?
(3) Is it free ?
If i remember correctly, the tetanus jab lasts 10 years (and used to be free)
Maybe someone will read this thread that knows the answers to those questions.
I have put this link up as I think it may be re-assuring:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tetanus/pages/introduction.aspx#vaccination
This service can be used for all kinds of concern.Hopefully, re-assurance is the key to being convinced that ones hypocondria is not without cause!
On a serious note, how many of you have the foresight to have basic first-aid kit with you when away upon your plot. Do you know the postcode if you needed to call an ambulance (for somebody else!) Do you ever let anybody know, if you are living unaccompanied, where you are going and how long to wait. Do you take a phone?
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Just listened to the item- can't believe I'm still alive! :happy7:
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On a serious note, how many of you have the foresight to have basic first-aid kit with you when away upon your plot. Do you know the postcode if you needed to call an ambulance (for somebody else!) Do you ever let anybody know, if you are living unaccompanied, where you are going and how long to wait. Do you take a phone?
Very good points Ancellsfarmer. More safety awareness must be a good thing without being over the top.
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Making a specific link between gardening and sepsis is out of proportion to number of cases involved, a cut in the kitchen , could be a cause , so risk is probably higher , just some headline grabbing spin in my opinion, sorry to hear the lady died ... ELO Mr blue sky, Great tune..
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The post code for our site is on the notice board in large font print.
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As they say you die if you worry but then you die if you don.t, so just enjoy life that you have.
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When I got struck down with cellulitis I was given a list of activities to avoid, top of the list was gardening. Yeh right. As I have done 'dirty' jobs most of my life I was surprised I had not been poisoned before. Even as a nipper when I was mudlarking in Pompey harbour for pennies thrown by matelots, I had never suffered as bad as the other year, so I have thrown the list away. Why tiptoe through life just to arrive safely at deaths door.
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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
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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!!!
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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
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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.
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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 ?
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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.
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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!
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Just finished dabbing TCP on wife's head. A rose branch fell on it while pruning; quite a lot of blood!
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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. :BangHead:
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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. :BangHead:
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!
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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!
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Good! Hope she got a good night's sleep :wave:
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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?
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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! :sad10: :sad10:http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/Smileys/Lots_O_Smileys/sad10.gif