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Rose thorn arthritus!

Gilly23Gilly23 Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Last autumn I was grubbing around under some hedging roses, no gloves. About three weeks later my finger and knuckle joint became sore, then very sore and my finger and hand swelled up. Doctor initially baffled but about 3 weeks later it was diagnosed as rose thorn arthritus. I had a tiny fragment of thorn in my knuckle, which was then successfully removed.  Moral of the story - it’s that pruning season again.... DO wear your thorn-proof gloves when rummaging around in your roses! 
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  • LynLyn Posts: 22,884
    edited February 2019
    Ooh ! Never heard of that. Must take care.  Trouble is with thick gloves you can’t feel so well. 
    Just googled this, it’s  not just rose thorns, but any thorn, bits of twig or anything that can puncture the skin between the joints. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Gilly23Gilly23 Posts: 3
    I agree, so much better without gloves, and you feel more connected to the earth and plants.But it’s a sacrifice I’ll be making around all things thorny this spring! 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 10,965
    Gilly23 said:
    I agree, so much better without gloves, and you feel more connected to the earth and plants.
    Sometimes gardening without gloves you can get a bit too connected to the earth and plants :)
    After a bramble clearing session - I bought some gauntlets the same day!


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    The trouble with gloves is that if they are tough enough to protect you, you can't bend your fingers!
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 11,672
    I've recommended these before, but Tough Touch gauntlets really are good for pruning any spiny plant. They are made of leather so are supple enough on the fingers and comfortable to wear. The ladies size fits me well as I have small hands so the larger mens size might be better for some. They are expensive but should last - and they're bright yellow so difficult to lose!  (I've got no connection to the company by the way).
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,653
    edited February 2019
    Not in my joint but in my thumb.  Got a splinter which Ii couldn't get out and my thumb swelled and swelled and was ever so painful so, as my GP was pregnant, went to her replacement who is supposedly a sports injury specialist but doesn't think gardening is a sport.  

    Anyway, he gave it a local anaesthetic and went digging and pulled out the teeniest pin head spec of wood, cleaned it all up and muttered about such a lot of swelling and pus for such a teeny speck.   Told me to bathe it regularly and squeeze to get out any more pus so I did.   3 days later, out popped an enormous splinter.   Went and told my husband it was a centimetre long.   "Don't exaggerate!" so I measured it.  13 mm that the bloody sports specialist had missed!

    Thumb healed up in no time after that.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    Ouch!
  • FlinsterFlinster Posts: 883
    I had similar when renovating a hawthorn hedge, removing ivy, could barely make a fist and was quite painful! 
  • DampGardenManDampGardenMan Posts: 1,054
    I'm staying inside from now on ...
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,653
    No wussing!  The fun far outweighs the occasional pain.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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