On Aug 4, 7:09 am, Pat Kiewicz wrote:
paghat said:



Another garden health issue is tetanus, which lives in most garden soils.
As we get older'n'older we become increasingly susceptible to tetanus.
One-third of tetanus cases are from gardening injuries. Stay updated with
tetanus shots (stay updated with ten-year boosters); try to wear gloves
for most gardening duties; and habitually clean injuries with
antibacterial soap.

I would interrupt here to say that while it's a good idea to wash
gardening injuries with antibacterial soap, it is NOT a good idea to
use it indiscriminately (and I know you didn't say that). This is a
case where more is definitely not better. Bacteria develop resistance
to triclosan (the ingredient in almost all antibacterial soaps) very
rapidly. (My lab found bugs growing ON the stuff after just three
exposures). Save it for when your skin is actually broken.

Chris

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