- Author: Edie Warkentine
Did you know that more than 400,000 gardening injuries are treated each year in the emergency room? If winter ever ends, we will all be spending a lot more time in our gardens. The following gardening safety tips may help you avoid becoming one of the 400,000.
- Set realistic expectations for the work that you need to get done and plan rest breaks;
- Take time to stand and stretch between tasks;
- Take time to check in and listen to your body. Don't push through pain during tasks. You can always come back to the job at a later time after stretching and resting your muscles and joints;
- Wear gloves while working outside to reduce blistering and protect skin from fertilizers, pesticides and prickers;
- Avoid prolonged repetitive motions. Try alternating between activities that work different muscle groups or joints;
- Use the right tool. Good gardening tools can be especially helpful to reduce risk and pain associated with repetitive use injuries;
- Use proper ergonomic posture. “Posture” refers not only to your whole body position but also to the angle of your wrist while using hand tools.
These gardening safety tips were compiled by Northern Inyo Rehabilitation and shared with the Master Gardeners.
- Author: Carmen Kappos
Lit candles, sparkle lights, pine boughs, flowers and festive plants; all things we may add to our homes as the days darken and we celebrate the holiday season. It is fun stuff but possibly dangerous too. The American Veterinary Medical Association cautions that “risky temptations” like these could be dangerous to pets. Small children could be affected as well.
Some flowers and festive plants that can be dangerous, poisonous, or just troublesome include amaryllis, mistletoe, pine, holly berries, balsam, cedar, lilies and daffodils. They are so beautiful at the holidays, just make sure they are out of reach of both pets and small children and collect any pieces that fall to the floor. Many plants we purchase may have also been treated with pesticides that can cause problems if eaten.
If you have a live tree don't add anything to the water as that can be dangerous to pets if they can manage to drink the water. It can also develop bacteria and mold that could make a pet ill.
Christmas trees can be an irresistible temptation to some cats who love to climb, shake, eat tinsel, break ornaments, well you get the idea; the Internet is full of cats & dogs creating their own fun with our decorations. If your furry friends tend towards holiday mayhem consider securing the tree to a post, doorway or the ceiling. Fishing line is strong and pretty unobtrusive for this task.
When you've gotten all your holiday chores done, food planned and decorations up; I hope you can also put up your feet for a bit. Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season!
In Case of Emergency:
- Poison Helpline: (800) 222-1222
- ASPCA Poison Control Helpline: (888) 426-4435