Protecting green fingers

GARDENERS may have green fingers, but many also suffer from swollen joints, rashes, tender skin, allergies and breathing difficulties due to handling plants and weeds associated with their hobby.

In recent studies, almost a quarter of all gardeners questioned had developed allergic reactions to plants or substances (chemicals and stimulants) at one time or another.

Cases include a three-year-old girl who developed severe blister-like burns, and needed a week in hospital after crawling through a bed of rue. Another case involved a young lady who volunteered to remove the dead-heads on a neighbour’s patch of ornamental primula. Her good deed brought on a painful rash which saw the skin on her hands ‘peel’ like someone removing a pair of gloves.