Potting soil & Legionnaire’s Disease

Apparently, handing potting soil without respiratory protection, can kill you. Sad story from NZ.

substratum said:

Apparently, handing potting soil without respiratory protection, can kill you. Sad story from NZ.

Stuff

i.stuff.co.nz

Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. This is wanting bell for everyone of us!
I have always been wearing the surgical mask , rubber gloves and eyeglasses while handling the soil. Quite a bit of problems which we could get from soil. We could get respiratory, eye and infectious problems ! I have been observing the percentage of bonsai people don’t have this kind of protective practice for at least 10 years. I would say it is 0.5%!!!!!!

Be protected! Primary prevention is always much better than secondary prevention !
Thụ Thoại

Kinda scary. I opened a bag of dry sphagnum yesterday and inhaled quite a bit of it by accident. I've had this happen before with no problems but I should probably be more careful.

I regularly get ringworm from handling soils. Usually it doesn't need treatment and disappears after a week. Still sucks though.
There's a big chance to get legionaires disease from spraying your water hose. Bigger than when handling soils.

Still, it's always better to have moist media when mixing it. Perlite contains asbestos and I'm sure most pumice and lava rock does as well.
Nowadays I wet everything as soon as the bag is at home, that way I can't forget about it. The risk is smaller, but never absent. Just like with regular tap water unfortunately. 90% of legionella infections are still caused by something like sprinklers or showers.

I shred sphagnum only when it's moist too. I think it can cause something that I vaguely remember being called 'rose gardeners disease'.

Nitrile gloves guys, they come in black, blue and rocking purple. Worth the money!

I've been gardening, usually without gloves for 50 years or more. (I'm 65 now). I've never had a problem. It is important to not get over anxious about these things. Legionnaire's disease is fairly ubiquitous, and primarily hits those with compromised immune systems. IF you are healthy, you really don't have much to worry about. Similar with the fungus. For most healthy people, it is simply not a concern.

So know your own health. If you have immune issues, then take precautions.

Leo in N E Illinois said:

I've been gardening, usually without gloves for 50 years or more. (I'm 65 now). I've never had a problem. It is important to not get over anxious about these things. Legionnaire's disease is fairly ubiquitous, and primarily hits those with compromised immune systems. IF you are healthy, you really don't have much to worry about. Similar with the fungus. For most healthy people, it is simply not a concern.

So know your own health. If you have immune issues, then take precautions.

Click to expand...

While I agree it's good to not be too anxious about those things, I think that precautions are always better. It doesn't hurt to spend 3 dollars on 100 gloves and a dollar on a dust mask. If it saves you a hospital treatment, you save roughly 40K in the US on healthcare expenses. Over here the system takes care of the unfortunate for less than a dinner for two a month, in the US not so much.
Most people learn about their immune issues by getting an infection. I believe it's better if they never have to find out.

I hate wearing gloves, the loss of tactile sensitivity is annoying.
I will continue, naked hands, without fear.

I have a supply of disposable gloves and masks in my workshop, that I use primarily in woodworking, and handling finishes or garden chemicals. Use a mask while sifting non-organics, too, but it has never occurred to me to put on gloves or a mask while opening bags of soil (used frequently to supplement garden beds or pots to grow veggies). It's crazy the stuff that can kill you.

I actually wear dust masks more often than I wear gloves.

And when handling chemicals I do use proper chemical resistant gloves and a respirator with cartridges designed to adsorb pesticides. When I am spraying something stinky, like Mavrik or Malathion, I smell nothing, because the chemical cartridges do work. If you smell the sprays, your mask is either not on correctly or your chemical cartridges are not rated for the chemical you are spraying.

I do rate certain risks high enough to wear protective gear.