RE: unfortuanate rose pruning incident

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Karrie,

 

Rose thorns carry all sorts of bacteria and fungal spores – some of which can give rise to inflammatory reactions. These are not confined just to roses but occur naturally everywhere. The real problem with rose and bramble thorns is that they act as a needle to penetrate the protective layers of the skin which are normally a natural barrier to disease.

 

Rose thorn disease (mentioned by another respondent) is an infection by the fungus Sporotrichosis which can have pretty catastrophic consequences if left untreated. Fortunately, it’s rare. That’s very unlikely to be the cause of your problems since the incubation period is a matter of weeks and no symptoms would be apparent the day after. It’s much more likely to be a staphylococcus or streptococcus infection. Both of these common bacteria can give symptoms of inflammation within hours if injected directly under the skin – as a rose thorn would do.

 

You’ll almost certainly need some antibiotics. Ordinary penicillin will do for streptococcus but staph normally requires something a bit more complex so I’m sure the doctor would give you something that covers both. The preventative answer is to carefully wash rose thorn/bramble lacerations and then apply an antibiotic cream such as Fucidin for a day or two.

 

Gardeners are well advised to ensure tetanus immunisations are in date. Hope this helps.

 

Tristram Smyth (in my spare time a physician) J

 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu]On Behalf Of Reid Family
Sent: 19 January 2004 16:09
To: medit-plants
Subject: unfortuanate rose pruning incident

 

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