Open Association of Landscape Industries
Gardener dies of blood poisoning after prick from rose thorn
This news item which has appeared on Darlington and Stockton Times website should serve as a warning to all of us who garden, the dangers of dealing with plants and the soil.
"George Emmerson, 73, of Whitby, North Yorkshire, contracted septicaemia while tending roses two weeks ago.
"The taxi driver did not realise he had a rose thorn in his finger and he only went to hospital a week later when the wound area began to swell and he felt ill."
"George Emmerson, 73, of Whitby, North Yorkshire, contracted septicaemia while tending roses two weeks ago.
"The taxi driver did not realise he had a rose thorn in his finger and he only went to hospital a week later when the wound area began to swell and he felt ill."
Tags: assessment, danger, garden, risk
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by The Perfumed Garden on -
Strange, I was getting ripped to shreds today when clearing a shrub bed and thought about when I last had a tetanus jab. I think I'll speak to the doc tomorrow.
Simon @ The Perfumed Garden
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Phil Voice on -
I would urge everyone to get inoculated - I lost my beloved Labrador in 1988 from Tetanus infection. It was a slow and agonising death made worse by the fact that we didn't know what she was suffering from.
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Rowly Hill on -
I seem to remember this being discussed at length while I was working for MAFF & I think Colin is correct & that you do not necessarily need pre injury innoculations...post injury maybe another matter - I certainly had one when I lopped the end of my little finger off in a Agric accident - may depend on your previous work/health/doctoring history though.
colin said:i have discussed this with my doctor in the past few years. after your 5th tetanus jab there should be virtually no risk of being infected unless you have a serious amount of damage. thats if your upto middle aged i think as the quality of innoculations has improved
i would have thought that at the age of the old gent who died he was probably not fully innoculated anyway and the risk of blood poisoning is much higher, but if you deal with roses on a daily basis for a lot of the year i think you can request further jabs evry 10 years due to the current potency
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Permalink Reply by Neil Bishop on -
After hearing about someone losing half of their arm from infection after working in soil with an open wound, I quickly hurried down to the doc and got my tetanus jab. Prevention is always the best way.
Philip Voice said:I would urge everyone to get inoculated - I lost my beloved Labrador in 1988 from Tetanus infection. It was a slow and agonising death made worse by the fact that we didn't know what she was suffering from.
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Permalink Reply by Richard Boyd on -
One of the lads that works for me had a needle (newly budded leaf) from Canary Island Date Palm pierce his knee between the knee cap and the bone. Two weeks later he was in hospital with septicaemia, nearly died.
I've had all manner of things happen to me over the years and nothing...must be super human. I wonder if for most the fact that we (not me) live in a sterile world and have very little immunity left, plays a part!?
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Rowly Hill on -
I found this on a surgery website.. the important part of it probably is the nasty dirty bit- probably wise to check your medical history to make sure you've been fully immunised.
"Tetanus: 'Once every 5 years'? 'Once every 10 years'? NEITHER! The Department of Health guidelines recommend 5 documented tetanus jabs in your lifetime. Most young adults are covered for life, 3 jabs as a baby, one when starting school and another when leaving school. The only exception is in the event of a nasty dirty injury or travelling to an area where medical attention may be inaccessible and your last dose was more than 10 years ago".
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PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Rowly Hill on -
Agree a sterile environment may be causing problems with the younger generation
I was brought up on unpasteurised milk on a farm...not a clean environment at all and am very rarely ill....me hair disappeared though...LOL
Richard Boyd said:One of the lads that works for me had a needle (newly budded leaf) from Canary Island Date Palm pierce his knee between the knee cap and the bone. Two weeks later he was in hospital with septicaemia, nearly died.
I've had all manner of things happen to me over the years and nothing...must be super human. I wonder if for most the fact that we (not me) live in a sterile world and have very little immunity left, plays a part!?
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Permalink Reply by choughman on -
i think everyone is getting confused. a tetanus jab won't prevent cellulitis. Im never ill, been doing this job for 17 years and never a problem. Last year however, i not only had cellulitis three times i also had septicemia. One of the infections was just from a splinter!! Doctor said i was just unlucky. we all have microbes on our skin which, if they get under the skin ( via cut, splinters etc) can cause cellulitis. DEid feel like i was dieing! must have been milder form tho because i worked through it. Hoping for a better year in 2010!
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Permalink Reply by Bigyin on -
"One of the lads that works for me had a needle (newly budded leaf) from Canary Island Date Palm pierce his knee between the knee cap and the bone. Two weeks later he was in hospital with septicaemia, nearly died."
I have several of these on my property which I need to prune from time to time. I don't know if you're referring to the same bit of the frond but in the area nearest the trunk the leaves change form to rigid spikes. As you imply, they are needle sharp and cause pain and swelling instantly if they pierce the skin. I don't know what causes the swelling but I would urge that anyone tasked with working on them be made aware of the hazard and wear thick gloves, overalls, a helmet with visor or at least, goggles. I hate to think what the effect would be of one of these catching someone in the eye. This is all in addition to the possible infection risk. I would be interested to hear if anyone has any more knowledge on this. Maybe Ofer El could add something ?
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