I forgot that we almost lost my son when he was in his late 20s. He had an abscessed tooth and went to doctor. They gave him an antibiotic and told him to let them know if it didn't get better. Next day it wasn't so they called in an antibiotic. His wife made him go to the ER that night. Luckily there was a doctor on call that knew what he was doing. Sent him straight to ICU, gave him a shot and a drip of a strong antibiotic, and put in a drain tube. The doctor said if he had waited until next morning, it would have been too late. I know this is not related to roses, but it is scary to almost lose a loved one because of an infected tooth.

I use Atlas nitrile gloves that I order from Amazon. They are so thin and well fitting that it is easier to work with them on.

I don't wear gloves; they make my hands hot and sticky, and I can't really feel what I'm doing.

There is a school of thought that more exposure to microbes is beneficial since our immune systems 'learn' from such exposures. Of course, any exposure to pathogens is risky, but it seems that when we try to protect ourselves from them by sterilizing our environments, we can actually increase the risk of harm. If we over-protect ourselves, our immune systems are less capable of recognizing and coping with common pathogens.

Some of you are familiar with Michael Pollan's writings; The Botany of Desire is a fascinating look at how plants may have trained humans to propagate them. He also wrote this rather long, interesting (and kinda gross) article for the NYT a few years ago.

Cheers,

Virginia

Red streaks going up the arm and into the armpit after a hand wound really do need immediate medical attention. Once an infection gets "out of control" a cascade of unfortuitous events can occur.

I almost never wear gloves and have scratches not only on my hands and arms but also my legs and never pay them the slightest attention. Even after I fell into Le Vesuve and had deep scratches on the inside of my wrist, head and face, some of which didn't heal for weeks, it never occurred to me to see a doctor. However, if any of them had gotten worse, inflamed, red or had a discharge, I would have sought help immediately. I'm up on my tetanus shots and have the belief, rightly or wrongly, that you have a grace period of a day or two to see whether the symptoms are getting worse, at which time you break the speed limits getting to the Emergency Department if they are. I worry a little more about rattlesnakes since I stick my hands under the rose bushes all the time, and just the other day one was making his way across the front yard. I was actually glad to see him since they've become so rare now here.

That is so sad. I do get scratched quite a bit, arms, legs, and even with gloves I get thorns in my hands. I would know that anything red, hot or swollen needs attention.

I don't wear gloves anymore; I disliked the lack of feeling while working.

I've been stabbed under finger nails, scratched up, and nailed on the head by an errant cane, but so far, so good.

Being in optics, one other high risk factor that involves the eyes is being a contact lens wearer in gardening: a single droplet splashed into the eye could harbour parasitic amoebas that can literally MELT the cornea and cause irreversible blindness. That being said, I do tend to wear glasses (photochromic) while gardening.

Steven

I recently bought a pair of Sprout gardening gloves. They're goatskin and lycra, and while wonderfully comfortable and snug-fitting, three fingers on the right hand have worn through already. Am so disappointed, as I rarely wore gloves before, but these are so easy to work in I thought I'd wear them all the time. I also bought some nylon gardening sleeves on Amazon, but haven't tried these out yet.

I have grown roses since I was in high school... And helped my parents and grandparents in the garden for years prior to that. I have lost track of all the scratches I've received from rose canes... On hands, arms, legs, face, neck... Not to mention the number of rose thorns I've had in my hands that have punctured the skin and caused bleeding... Or broken off under the skin. Sometimes those little thorns that get stuck under the skin have festered up into a little pus filled pimple. I usually just pop them with a sterilized needle and they clear up in a couple days. Amazingly, I have never had anything worse than this. However, I have read a lot about sepsis... And the horrifying stories and documented deaths.. You'd think I'd be more careful. Especially being HIV+ for many years and having a somewhat compromised immune system. I also work at a greenhouse so that probably increases my risk many times over. I just last week tied up a couple climbing roses and my arms ended up looking like I had been in a cat fight! I always wash my cuts and scratches thoroughly with soap and water... And alcohol or peroxide them if needed. I'm one of those people who just can't work with gloves on... Feels like I'm wearing boxing gloves!

Despite wearing thick gauntlets, long sleeves, etc., I still ended up skewered multiple times by 'Juane Desprez' this morning while cutting out dead wood. (I had half an empty green bin the day before garbage day -- what an opportunity!) Along with numerous other punctures, I had blood seeping through my shirt sleeve at my right elbow, and later discovered a rather lurid 6" long streak of blood on the door .... where did THAT come from? Like Scott and others, I have donated pints of blood to the rose cause over many years and, knock on wood, have not yet suffered serious infection. I do keep a bottle of 90% alcohol handy in the bathroom, to sanitize both wounds and pruners. If exposure enhances immune systems, mine is, without doubt, fortified to the nth degree.

That said, I did have a cousin who developed a serious infection on the verge of sepsis from a simple scrape on his arm once. One thing to watch for is red streaks extending outward from the wound site and get medical attention ASAP if those appear.

I have 6 pairs of garden gloves, 4 pairs of bee keepers long ones, and 2 pairs of short thick leather gloves. I wear them all the time when gardening. I also have a lot of straw hats as part of gardening gears.,.,,,and always wear long pants with hiking boots or flat leather riding boots in the garden.

In a quarter century or so of getting scratches from roses I've never gotten an infection, so, thanks for the reminder that dangerous infections can occur!

I get cheap rubber- or plastic-covered cloth gloves from the local hardware store. They wear through after a while but don't cost much, and are flexible enough to be comfortable for most tasks, though only semi-effective against thorns. They're fine for keeping off dirt and water, and can be thrown in the washer. The only things I can't do with them on are tie up plants and write, so the gloves constantly come on and off. I usually wear long-sleeved shirts and always long pants and usually sturdy shoes, against thorns, sun, bugs, cold, so am generally protected against scratches. If it's too hot for these kinds of clothes, as far as I'm concerned it's too hot to garden.

Omg, this is so scary. I have to wear gloves,and long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and heavy work boots when I work in my garden, too, because it's such a rough place,and so much of my "gardening" involves dragging heavy sacks of soil, hacking at rocky ground with a pick,dealing with brambles , thorny stuff, manure, etc. I go through gloves really quickly; even though I try to buy the most heavy-duty ones available, they never last long.In summer, it's just about "always" too hot for my gardening clothes,but there's still stuff that has to be done, which is why I hate summer. I still get scratched,etc, but thank Heavens have never had a real, serious infection, though this thread is a reminder to remember to take things seriously.

I always wear gloves, whether tending the rose shrubs or planting roses and other plants.

Pieces of canes or thorns could have fallen into the dirt, so I won't plant perennials or bulbs without gloves.

Bits of dirt can get into the gloves, so if I have a paper cut, for example, I put a Band-Aid on it, to avoid getting bacteria on the sore from the gloves.