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Georgia Gardener

nail fungus from grungy garden gloves?

10 years ago

Here's something gross for y'all to weigh in on.... I have nail fungus on one toe and I'm sure it is from wearing my horrible, ratty garden shoes too long. They had holes in them and my feet would be almost dirtier after I wore them.

Now I am thinking I might have the beginning of a problem on my fingernails. They are peeling in layers and look just a little strange (not like the disgusting photos I've googled.)

But, like with my shoes, I tend to keep my gardening cover-up stuff too long. My gloves are kind of gross. It makes sense to me that all sorts of microbes live in the soil. Gloves get damp, hot, and dark.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? If so, I'd love to hear what you did.

Thanks!

Comments (11)

Iris GW
10 years ago
I can't comment on that but I will say that I always get gloves that can be washed in the washing machine (mostly because of poison ivy exposure). I throw them in when I am washing jeans or similar non-delicates and then let them air dry.

Best of luck.
rosiew
10 years ago
Oh man, bagsmom. First it's critters in your attic, now fungi on your nails. I recommend seeing a dermatologist, asking the office if this is something the doc is expert in.

Let us know how you're doing. Me, I'm still trying to trap rats in my kitchen.........disgusting creatures, thought they were all dead and one gnawed a bunch from a fab apple in a bowl on the counter. IT'S WAR HERE IN SUGAR HILL.
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Mine come from the local hardware, are thin leather on the palms and fingertips, cotton on the back. They're great if it's dry, which the last few years has been practically all the time. They're cheap, so when we wear them out we just go and buy more. I'll have to look into some of these alternatives when I go to the U.S. this summer, for potting and planting and other wet tasks. I do my share of bare handed weeding, when I stroll into the garden not intending to work. But if I go out to work, the gloves are automatic, like the seatbelt when I get in the car. (I wish sunscreen were also a habit.) I do take them on and off for tasks like tying, and it doesn't bother me: that's what pockets are made for (gloves, front left pocket, pruners back left pocket, folding saw back right pocket, everything else wherever I can fit it). My nails get dirty anyway, but there are too many nasty things that can happen to those invaluable tools our hands while working to the garden for me not to protect them. Melissa
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I keep a working pair and an old pair, but no..........I dn't wear gloves unless there are extenuating circumstances. Pruning roses is one of them, likewise berry bushes. I do wear them if I know I am coming in contact with poison ivy. And since I garden for a living, I wear them when I am working anything with a handle(spade, shovel, loppers, pruners) for half a day or longer. The palms of my hands are so calloused gloves are redundant. Yep. Just had a tetanus booster. Yes, I do wash my hands before anything goes to my mouth or eyes. I live in Ohio too, but I am an ex nurse. I also don't think you can get scabies from soil, and in this area a lot of the parasites like hook worms are not a problem like in a warmer zone....but we have plenty of racoons, fox, coyote, possum, skunk, chipmunks and other fur-bearing rodents and animals, and don't ever assume they don't carry some esoteric parasites in their feces you can gather under your nails and consume if you aren't careful.
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I was struggling with this issue for a long time.Finally I think I got it.This is what I do for heavy many hours work I always wear gloves.First I put vaseline on my hands and a bit under nails.It will protect your nails and yes no dirt will get there the vasseline is like a barrier.then I put gloves the same kind used in medical or for food handling.If you get the ones with talcum powder they also will protect from dirt.Then I put my regular garden gloves on top of them.If I have to take my gloves off for any reason sometimes the first pair has to be replaced if your hands get moist you won't be able to reuse the same ones.So I just change them as needed.If I do light work I just stay with the first pair and change it as needed.It does work and my finger nails stay reasonably clean.If I do it well and re-apply vaseline each time the gloves are changed then my nails stay clean, but the hands stay moist and it will ruin your nail polish after few hours.
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I do a lot of gardening so I have multiple types of garden gloves. My favorites are by 'Mechanix'. They are really work gloves but are flexible and heavily lined in the palm. Love them for pulling weeds and the fingertips last longer than most. I probably go through a pair a year but these last longer. My fingers are long so I usually buy a man's size small. The fingers are longer than women's sizes. I also have a pair of leather gloves I sometimes use for some chores (handling wood if I'm trimming shrubs or helping DH with hauling wood or something) and a pair of nitrile gloves for some light garden chores. My nitrile gloves have a cotton like fabric on the back of the hand so they don't make your hand sweat as much. My nails are fairly short but I used to wear a pair of thin polypro glove liners under heavier gloves and that really helped with protecting the gloves from getting holes. I still do this in the winter sometimes.
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zzackey
10 years ago
I have used tea tree oil with great success on my big toe that had fungus several years ago. I saw it at CVS in the vitamin aisle. It is in about a 4 oz. bottle, but it lasts a long time. It is good on scrapes,etc. Very earthy smelling, but it works. I apply it with a Q- tip.
bagsmom
Original Author
10 years ago
I have some tea tree oil! That's a good tip! I like the smell of it...

Rosie -- keep us posted on the Rat War! We still have seen no more mice signs. I seriously wonder if it was just the one, having a good ol' time up there...
rosiew
10 years ago
bagsmom, I really want you to have the fungi thingie checked out by a doc. An Edict from Rosie.

Super tired of the Rat War. Have two packages in the fridge, clearly labeled: Rat Apple and Rat Butter. Lord save me from my daughter in law coming over!
zzackey
10 years ago
Yes, you should go to the doctor. A friend of mine got pricked by a rose thorn and got a fungus on her hand. They had to operate on her hand.
bagsmom
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, guys. It really appears to just be peeling nails. No gross color or thickening or anything. It's probably age. But in case it is fungal, I will check with the dermatologist. I think these things are easier to take care of the earlier they are caught.
rosiew
10 years ago
Nails aren't supposed to peel, gal. And a lot of us can learn from what you report the doctor says. I'm having a routine physical this week and this has spurred me to ask the doc if I should see a dermatologist for some issues I have.
bagsmom
Original Author
10 years ago
I read it is often one of the first signs of perimenopause -- along with dry hair.... I'm right in that zone. Poo.
faeriegardenmum zone 6
10 years ago
Zackey, the same thing happened to my neighbor, she had a fungal infection from cutting the roses, and didnt know what it was for a awhile. she was really sick.
faeriegardenmum zone 6
10 years ago
Zackey, the same thing happened to my neighbor, she had a fungal infection from cutting the roses, and didnt know what it was for a awhile. she was really sick.

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