How to Protect Your Hands From Injury When Gardening

Whether you do it for business or leisure, there's no denying the fact that gardening is a fun and rewarding activity. It allows you to work with your hands to grow and nurture plants. However, this also means that gardening carries an inherit risk of hand injury. From cuts and scrapes to insect bites and wrist sprains, gardeners are susceptible to a variety of hand injuries. As a gardener, though, you can protect your hands from injuries such as these by following some simple steps.

Wear Gloves

Working in the garden with your bare fingers is never a good idea. A rose bush may prick your finger, or you may accidentally cut yourself with a tool. To reduce the risk of cuts and other common gardening-related hand injuries, wear gloves when working in your garden. You can purchase special gardening gloves that are designed with a thick, heavy-duty material. They'll keep your hands clean and protected from injury when gardening.

Keep Fingers Away From Blades

Whether it's a pair of pruners, plant scissors or any other bladed tool, be sure to keep your fingers away from the sharp edge of the blade. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says that nearly a half-million Americans visit hospital emergency rooms each year because of injuries involving gardening tools. While this figure includes injuries to all body parts, many involve the hands. In addition to wearing gloves, keeping your fingers away from the blade or blades of your gardening tools can protect against injury.

Stretch Wrists

Try to get into the habit of stretching your wrists before and after working in your garden. Gardening forces you to make repetitive movements with your hands. Over time, this repetition can lead to wrist and joint pain. You can reduce the risk of such pain, however, by stretching your wrists. Perform a light stretching routine with your wrists before and after gardening. this will loosen up your wrists so that they are less susceptible to repetitive strain injuries (RSIs).

Wear Insect Repellent

If you discover insect bites on your hands after working in your garden, consider wearing insect repellent. Mosquitoes, ants and gnats are a real nuisance to many gardeners. To protect against insect bites, apply a liquid-based insect repellent to your skin. In some cases, you might be able to repel insects by burning a citronella candle near your garden while you work.