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Post by Juliet on May 3, 2009 22:13:13 GMT
Please read this: theclockworkdodo.blogspot.com/2009/05/scary-story.html - and if necessary buy a new pair of gloves! I didn't want to talk about it at the time, but I now want to remind as many people as possible about the stupid risk of doing what I did (which is why I'm putting this on the general board, not one of the gardening ones). |
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Post by Jasmine on May 4, 2009 5:38:21 GMT
What a scary, scary thing you have lived with Juliet. It wasn't until recently that I realised what a hideous thing tetanus is, and as you say, ultimately life threatening. It's one of those things we rarely hear about now as on the whole most young folk have been through their early years booster programme and have had the requisite number of tetanus jabs. Glad it was good news in your case and that you can rest easy again.  |
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Post by Jardack on May 4, 2009 8:30:33 GMT
Gosh that is scary, I never realised that tetanus could be an issue when gardening. I am glad you are ok though.
Methinks I should buy myself some gardening gloves as I am forever cutting my hands and getting dirt in them when I am gardening.
Jardack
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Post by prodigal gardener on May 4, 2009 9:02:44 GMT
Crikey !  |
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Post by carolann on May 4, 2009 9:36:39 GMT
Glad your OK Juliet. I bought a new pair just the other day but still pick the old ones up and they have a hole in the thumb, think I shall throw them out so that I cant pick them up again.
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Post by farmersboy on May 4, 2009 9:38:04 GMT
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Post by nightowl on May 4, 2009 11:39:23 GMT
How awful for you Juliet, being unable to protect yourself against this dreadful disease!  I don't worry about it, having been told that I have now had enough jabs to protect me for life. I remember being told, years ago when I trod on a rusty nail and had to have a booster, that you are more like to pick it up in a puncture wound than an open cut, and that rose thorn stabs, particularly from old dead prunings, were the most dangerous wounds to get in the garden  , and rose thorns usually get through gloves! i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/undecided.gif I'm really surprised you've never had a tet jab FB, you've been very lucky!  |
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Post by Missredhead on May 4, 2009 16:30:28 GMT
I always start off wearing gloves when I garden but usually by the end of it I have taken them off to do something and forgotten to put them back on.  I had a tetanus 3 yrs ago when the car door closed on me and smashed my glasses and cut my eye.........I have no idea how long they last or when you have to have a booster though.. I am so glad that you are OK Juliet......I would never have thought about the dangers of gardening |
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Post by Ruthie on May 4, 2009 18:22:22 GMT
I think I've had 3. One when I cut my finger slicing "paunch" for the dogs at the kennels where I worked. One when I went to the USA (don't ask me why) and one when my cat, who had blood poisoning, bit me while I was trying to retrieve her from the top of the shed where she had gone to die...........and take her to the Vets! Or have I missed one? Do they give them to children as a matter of course?
I remember reading that gardeners should have a booster at least every 10 years as they are most at risk of catching this awful disease.
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Post by Juliet on May 4, 2009 19:17:39 GMT
It must be very rare though,or ive been lucky A bit of both, I think. The man who got it in my village had been gardening all his life, so far as I remember, and just ran out of luck - except he was very lucky that someone in his family realised what was wrong with him in time and rushed him to hospital. It is very rare though - I tried to make that clear on the blog - I don't want everyone to panic, just to be a bit more careful! As I understand it (having talked to doctor and nurse and looked at NHS website last month!) it doesn't have to be a deep wound, it just has to be near a bone, which is why you're more likely to get infected by a puncture-type wound than by a cut. But some bones are closer to the surface than others! - my cut was a very shallow one, but it was on my knuckle. So in some cases a very shallow cut or scratch is enough. |
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Post by Juliet on May 4, 2009 19:21:04 GMT
Do they give them to children as a matter of course? In theory, yes - but you'd have to check your medical records to make sure. The doctor I saw tried to check mine, hoping I'd had enough jabs in the past that I'd be immune (once you've had 5 you're OK) but the relevant bit of my records was completely blank - it looked like some bright receptionist at some point had put in a new form because the old one had got so battered, but had forgotten to copy the information from the old one across to it  |
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