The cut: react according to the extent of the wound
If the wound is superficial, pass it under cold water and wash it with Marseille soap. Rinse thoroughly and disinfect with gauze and a skin antiseptic solution based on chlorhexidine (Hexomedine ® ). The wound will heal better if it is covered with a dressing that also protects it from secondary infections.
If the cut is deep, go to the emergency room or call the emergency services. Ditto if it is located in front of a joint, on the path of a tendon or a nerve.
If the finger is severed, pick up the amputated part and put it in a clean airtight bag (freezer type) to be placed in another bag filled with ice. Finger contact with the ice must be avoided (risk of frostbite). Call 15, which will direct you to a service SOS hands.
How to prevent cuts?
Switch off and unplug an appliance (mower, hedge trimmer) before handling it.
Hold your hedge trimmer with both hands and switch on the ignition before climbing the ladder.
Never remove security systems gardening devices.
The bulb: Protect without delay
If it is not pierceddo not touch it.
Apply a dressing that forms a second protective skin. The blister will heal in 8 days.
If it is pierced, disinfect it with an alcohol-free antiseptic, then protect it with a hydrocolloid dressing that gels on contact.
How to prevent blisters?
Choose a light and handy material.
Maintain your toolsin particular the blade of the shears, in order to provide less effort.
Change activities regularly.
Painful wrist or shoulder: Take a “real” break
If it is not a stiffness, it is probably the beginning of tendinitis (inflammation of a tendon) following repetitive and prolonged work with secateurs or hedge trimmers. Unless it’s due to cherry picking!
Apply cold pack (in pharmacies) 10 minutes on the painful area, once or twice a day, for 8-10 days.
Massage with a cold gel (arnica gel), or apply a green clay compress (ready-to-use strip or pad) for one hour before going to bed.
Wait a week before starting to garden again.
How to prevent pain?
Take his time and not wanting to finish your garden at any cost during the day.
Buy suitable equipment to his build and remember to oil his tools regularly.
Avoid working at arm’s length, take care of your shoulders, especially when trimming hedges. Stand at the right height, elbows against the body, with the legs slightly apart and the chest straight.
When should I consult?
If you notice swelling or redness around the cut, the wound becomes hot or festering, a yellowish crust forms on the wound, you feel small glands in your neck, or you have a fever, see a doctor. doctor. Ditto if you continue to suffer after 2 or 3 days of rest.
A splinter in the finger: Remove it and disinfect
The risk is superinfection, which can reach the inside of the finger and the tendons.
Extract the spine with tweezerswhich will have been disinfected beforehand.
Avoid pressing the thorn (or the splinter), at the risk of pushing it deeper into the skin, or breaking it.
Apply a compress antiseptic on the wound.
Monitor the appearance of the finger. If it becomes red, painful, consult quickly.
And to prevent the splinter in the finger, it is necessary to think of wearing gloves (rather leather) to protect yourself while preserving the agility of the fingers.
Onset of lumbago? take a hot bath
This pain in the lower back is often linked to poor postures or excessive mechanical pressure on the spine (need to lean towards the ground and carry loads).
stop gardening from the first pains and take a hot bath which relieves the muscles and releases lumbar tension.
Lie down and take an ibuprofen tablet.
How to prevent lumbago?
Always keep your back straight to the work we do.
Bend knees, feet apartback straight to lift or rest a load.
Squat down and put one knee on the ground (garden bench, small cushion) for planting or weeding.
Wear a flexible lumbar belt, if we have already had low back pain alerts.
Watch out for tetanus!
This disease is due to a very resistant bacterium, present in the soil, which superinfects the wound. Vaccination is the only protection against tetanus, which still causes deaths every year in France. After the 5 childhood injections (DTCaP), remember to get vaccinated every 20 years from the age of 25, then every 10 years from the age of 65.
Our experts: Dr Jacky Laulan, head of the SOS hands service at Tours hospital (37); Alexa Rosenkrantz, osteopath
and Stéphane Aubert, gardener in a local authority
For further
How to Heal a Wound Naturally
To live 100 years, cultivate your garden
6 healthy reasons to start gardening
