2023-07-23 04:31:00
the essential Enjoying your garden is pleasant… and risky. Every summer, accidents multiply and the risks of various infections increase. What are the most common? What simple gestures to adopt?
This article was not written by the editorial staff of La Dépêche du Midi, but taken from the partner site The Conversation.
Many see gardening as a relaxing pastime, a quiet way to spend a few hours outdoors on a sunny day. And that’s true ! But not only… As an emergency medicine specialist, I am regularly confronted with all kinds of injuries resulting from what was seen as a harmless hobby.
There are the classics, which immediately come to mind: the countless little stings and bites, not to mention the pesticides. And over the years, I have also taken care of hand wounds and lesions caused by cutting tools, ranging from axes to secateurs, as well as to the foot, due this time rather to lawnmowers and pitchforks.
In the past few weeks alone, I have seen people arrive from ladder falls, with head injuries from falls on concrete. Sadly, I have also confirmed the death of an elderly person whose enthusiasm for shoveling proved too much for his heart.
And if today we have many treatments for most of these wounds and traumas, in the past the garden could be a real danger. One of the premiers patients to have been treated with penicillin, in 1941, was a police officer who had apparently contracted sepsis after being scratched by a thorn from a rosebush. At the time, the smallest of wounds could have fatal consequences…
And it turns out that may still be the case. A British woman died in 2016 of sepsis after scratched hand while gardening. (In France, all causes combined more than 250,000 cases of sepsis are recorded each year, of which more than 50,000 are fataleditor’s note)
But these are not the only dangers lurking in your garden. Here are some tips to follow before going to take care of your plants:
Watch out for tetanus
The tetanus is a particularly dangerous infection – and impressive. All the muscles are seized with spasms under the effect of the toxin released by the bacteria Clostridium tetani, which causes very painful cramps, convulsions, locking of the jaw and often a very pronounced arch of the back. When the respiratory muscles are affected, death occurs by asphyxiation.
The suffering caused by this disease is as intense as it is difficult to describe.
Many associate tetanus with things like rusty nails. True, but this microorganism is very widespread and it is also found in the soil, especially if there is manure – bacteria of the genus Clostridium indeed live in the intestine. Roses like soil containing manure, which could make these beloved flowers deadly if you cut yourself with contaminated thorns or if soiled soil came in contact with a cut. In 75% of cases, a minimal lesion is the source of the infection.
Vaccination is particularly effective against this infection, hence the importance of checking that your vaccine (and its booster) is up to date. Remember that in unvaccinated people, the lethality rate of tetanus can exceed 50%.
(In France, people still die of tetanus: between 2011 and 2020, about ten cases were recorded each year, with a fatality rate of 29%editor’s note)
Bacteria and fungi are everywhere
In a humble bag of fertilizer hides an ingredient that many of us do not expect: the family of bacteria Legionellathe risk of which is best known via air conditioning systems or water supply systems.
This bacteria can cause an infection called Legionnaire’s disease, or legionellosis which is particularly dangerous, and potentially fatal, especially for the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. If inhaled, it can cause acute lung infections and pneumonia. The warm, stagnant water used in the composting process may explain its presence.
Pre-packaged fertilizer isn’t the only dangerous one. Your own compost heap is also full of various bacteria and fungi which, if properly maintained, however, should not cause you any problems.
But it often happens that mold Aspergillus grows when it is warm outside. They can give rise to heavy lung damage and can even spread throughout the body, especially in the elderly and immunocompromised. Again, there are fatal cases.
Mold spores can also trigger a condition known asextrinsic allergic alveolitis or “farmer’s lung” : hypersensitivity causing inflammation of the pulmonary alveoli. This condition was classically due to exposure to moldy hay, but compost piles can also do the same due to the presence of organisms such as Aspergillus (filamentous fungi) and bacteria of the genus Actinomycetes.
Beware of rats and leptospirosis
Leptospira is a bacterium that can be found in water contaminated with rat urine. Since rats often build habitats near humans, it is best to be careful when near ponds or rain barrels when gardening.
Beware if you have rats in your garden. battybattrick/Shutterstock
These bacteria can take advantage of skin lesions or droplets reaching our mucous membranes to colonize our body. They cause leptospirosis, a infection (zoonosis, because coming from an animal) which causes headaches, fevers, chills, vomiting, jaundice, and in some cases, liver failure, kidney failure, and meningitis.
Beware of your power tools
Chainsaw, hedge trimmer, mower… While power tools have clearly made our work in the garden easier, they have just as clearly increased the risk of injury.
Hedge trimmers can be a great way to tame trees and bushes, but they can amputate your fingers and inflict injury very effectively to the limbs as well as the torso – there is a 30% increase in hand accidents in summer in the south of France For example. Hedge trimmers and lawnmowers can also easily cut electrical cables, which can lead to electrocution.
Use common sense: wear gloves, closed shoes and wait for the hedge trimmer to stop before clearing the branches you have cut to limit the risks.
Stay safe
Of course, many of these dangers seem rare, or obvious. Yes, but the risk is real… Fortunately, there are simple measures, often obvious too, to take to avoid them:
Do you have wounds, even small ones, on your hands or areas of skin that will be exposed to soil, for example? Clean them and cover them while you go out gardening.
Make sure your vaccinations are up to date (especially for tetanus).
Hold all that is compost and fertilizer away from your face when you open the bags.
Avoid attracting rats by not putting cooked food on your compost cup, cover your water tanks and set traps in case of infestation.
Prop up ladders carefully, on level ground, away from power lines.
Appreciate the presence of wild animals… but leave them alone. Snakes can be dangerous, like foxes in particular – which transmitechinococcosisa parasitic disease caused by a flatworm.
And one last tip from me. Every year my hospital’s burn unit receives people who have tried to speed up the process of lighting their barbecue by using gasoline. Not all survive. So if you’re planning to cook the fruits of your labor on a barbecue in your backyard, do so carefully. And make sure you have a proper cooking – no dew (meat and fish must be thoroughly cooked to rid them of any parasites), or burnt.
Stephen HughesSenior Lecturer in Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University
This article is republished from The Conversation sous licence Creative Commons. Lire l’article original.
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