Blood poisoning and blackthorn

[Deb London]

Yes, I had one large, hot, puss-filled visible wound (that killed) on my leg, and some other (known) puncture wounds on my hands, when I'd been so far in I decided it was too difficult to go back for gloves. Dum bass that I am.

The obvious wound had started to clear before the others came, so I didn't really think they were related. But looking back, it could well have been.

[Brocakat]

If anything punctures or breaks the surface of ones' skin - it's always in ones' best interests to get it sterilized & then protected.
Nails, thorns, glass, rough stone,barnacles - they are all non-sterile.

[blackb1rd]

I don't think blackthorn should be banned from gardens although it's clearly sensible to keep children away from it.

I work daily at the moment cutting down large areas of tall, eastablished and tangled blackthorn, hawthorn, bramble, dog rose, gorse and so on and blackthorn is the only one that causes serious problems. The rest can all hurt or irritate a bit in varying amounts but I and my colleagues have all had times when blackthorn has caused hands/joints etc to swell and fingers to become painful to move. It tends to die down after 2-3 days as your body fights it off but best to get the thorns out straight away and get antiseptic cream on it.

I've never been concerned about anything worse coming from it (blood poisoning etc) but I guess it's wise to be careful.

Ps. if anyone ever finds a glove that can actually withstand black and hawthorn thorns then I'll be the first in the queue to buy them

[nightshade]

Blackthorn and Hawthorn are mild compared to Berberis this must be the pinnacle of stock proof and security hedging

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by blackb1rd

I don't think blackthorn should be banned from gardens although it's clearly sensible to keep children away from it.

I work daily at the moment cutting down large areas of tall, eastablished and tangled blackthorn, hawthorn, bramble, dog rose, gorse and so on and blackthorn is the only one that causes serious problems. The rest can all hurt or irritate a bit in varying amounts but I and my colleagues have all had times when blackthorn has caused hands/joints etc to swell and fingers to become painful to move. It tends to die down after 2-3 days as your body fights it off but best to get the thorns out straight away and get antiseptic cream on it.

I've never been concerned about anything worse coming from it (blood poisoning etc) but I guess it's wise to be careful.

Ps. if anyone ever finds a glove that can actually withstand black and hawthorn thorns then I'll be the first in the queue to buy them

I don't think there will be a ban I have two blackthorn in my garden and have never had any problems I cant get near enough to prune them.

You can get chain-mail gloves not sure if they would keep the thorns out.

[eeyore]

Chainsaw gloves (which are padded with spun kevlar) are pretty good at protecting your hands from thorns - problem comes when you are hedgelaying and using a billhook because you can't (or at least shouldnt) wear a glove on the hand holding the tool (Because wet glove plus wet wooden handle leads to naff all grip and sooner or later a sharp metal thing flying accross the worksite)

[blackb1rd]

Originally Posted by eeyore

Chainsaw gloves (which are padded with spun kevlar) are pretty good at protecting your hands from thorns - problem comes when you are hedgelaying and using a billhook because you can't (or at least shouldnt) wear a glove on the hand holding the tool (Because wet glove plus wet wooden handle leads to naff all grip and sooner or later a sharp metal thing flying accross the worksite)

Yeah, my chainsaw gloves do a reasonable job of stopping thorns but do tend to get knackered by dragging etc a bit quickly (and they're not cheap). These are the best I've found because they're a bit thicker and more heavy duty than the cheapy Oregon or husky ones:
Genuine Stihl Leather Chain Saw Gloves (Size 9.5): Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Wood burner gauntlet type things also work fairly well but only if you're just dragging and not uing any tools etc.

As for billhooking, just make sure you wear a glove on the non-holding hand. A large scar and a serious ache in cold weather on my left hand remind me of that daily

[Sawsicksteve]

Chainsaw gloves are not designed for laying hedges! I only use them if I happen to be using a saw on a particularly overgrown section, even just wearing them for forestry work wears them out fast enough.
Far better to use proper horse hide hedge laying gloves, if you can get them, or some industrial razor wire gloves - they tend to stop most things. Failing that, welders gauntlets are widely available (though not infallible). Only problem is that over time, you tend to end up with a collection of mint conditioned right-hand gloves.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Sawsicksteve

Chainsaw gloves are not designed for laying hedges! I only use them if I happen to be using a saw on a particularly overgrown section, even just wearing them for forestry work wears them out fast enough.
.:

I guess it depends on what sort of condition the hedges you lay are in - ours all seem to require considerable saw work (if we arent cutting too big to split blackthorns, then we are taking out dead elm)

and i've only gone through two pairs of c/s gloves in ten years (not counting the pair i set on fire by going straight from fueling the saw to rearanging the bonfire)