Re: unfortuanate rose pruning incident

There is a common infection sometimes called Rose Thorn Disease.  If I recall correctly it's a fungus that enters the skin through scratches or punctures from thorns.  In severe cases, if not treated it can move through the lymph system and affect many parts of the body.  Tetanus is also a risk in puncture wounds if you're not up to date on immunizations.  Gardeners are exposed to all kinds of bacteria and fungi from soil, compost, etc.

I rarely get sick, seem to have good immunity to most things, but roses thorns and certain cactus spines always cause a lot of soreness and swelling for me.

HarleyLady
Baja, Mexico
Pacific NorthWET

At 08:08 AM 1/19/2004 -0800, Reid Family wrote:
Fellow gardners:
 
Does anyone else besides me find it impossible to prune shrub roses without getting a bit scratched up?  I wear long sleeves and long, gloves, neverless, I end up scratched in the oddest places as the long canes whip around, and I force my way into the mish-mash to relieve the much-dreaded crossing canes scenario.  Anyhoo, my skin has always had a bit of a tough time with rose scratches, getting inflamed and taking forever to heal, perhaps because I just always ignore them.  Not too long ago, I read somewhere that roses can host an array of bacteria and that their wounds should be thoroughly cleansed, etc.  Yesterday, while pruning a particularly vigorous Graham Thomas, I was pricked in a couple of places.  The one I cleaned the quickest (because, as my son noticed, it was gushing blood) and covered with a band-aid before reinserting into my dirty gloves, is fine.  The one on the back of my hand, on my middle finger knuckle is a bit gnarly this morning.  My hand is so stiff that making a fist is painful.  The whole knuckle is red and swollen and painful to the touch.   Now, I have to confess, I have a rather unnatural fear of necrotizing fasciitis (brought on at childhood by the eroded face of a distant cousin who had been spider-bit in her sleep.), but this seems to me a nonetheless extreme reaction to a tiny rose thorn prick.
 
Has anyone else ever had such a reaction or heard of it?  Does it sound like something to be concerned about?  I just hate running to the doctor, but I know how quickly some bacteria can spread.
On the verge of a freak-out in Folsom,
Karrie Reid
Folsom Foothill Gardener
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index