Safe Gardening During the Summer Months

If you're like me, then you love to garden during those long summer months. Nothing says summer like digging in the dirt and experiencing the thrill of watching something grow under the loving care of our own hands. We absolutely love the smell of colorful flowers gathered from our yards, or the juicy taste of plump, ripe tomatoes picked right outside our own back door. Gardening is not only a way for us to get our exercise while growing our own fruits, vegetables and flowers, its also an amazing stress reducer. But you must be careful because, as much as we love it, it can be strenuous, especially for the elderly and disabled who will oftentimes work in there gardens for hours at a time. When gardening you must take precautions, use the tips below to maximize your well being when engaged in any outside gardening projects.

With all the bending and stooping you'll be doing while gardening, warming up those muscles is a necessity. Start by doing several sets of exercises before you begin. Taking the time to stretch out your muscles before starting will help ensure less soreness or injuries. A proper warm up before gardening allows your muscles to ease into the task and lubricates achy joints.

Gardening is an intense whole body activity. So if you find yourself getting tired or achy after a while, take a break and rest. Also, if youre still using those heavy, bulky gardening tools, consider switching to an ergomatic brand, their design makes gardening chores so much easier.

Make sure and drink plenty of water and take frequent rest breaks, this helps in combating dehydration and heatstroke, a common ailment which is brought on by being in the intense sun for to long.

Also an important consideration when gardening is your skin. Protect your skin at all times by using sunscreen with an SPF of 30 that shields against UVA and UVB rays, apply the sunscreen every 2 hours. Overexposure to the suns rays can cause skin cancer and premature aging, so make sure and take every precaution where your skin is concerned. You also must use a good quality insect repellent to protect your skin from ticks, mosquitos, and other insects. Research suggests that mixing sunscreen and insect repellent on your skin may cause your body to absorb more of the DEET in repellents. To be safe, spray the insect repellent on your clothing instead of mixing it with the sunscreen. Also, wear a hat with a brim at least 3 inches all the way around to keep the sun from burning the sensitive skin on your face. You might also consider wearing rubber boots, as ticks tend to stay close to the ground. When working with chemicals like fertilizers or pesticides also be sure and wear rubber gloves to protect your hands and safety goggles for the safety of your eyes. Your hands are also oftentimes neglected. A gardeners hands have it rougher than a cactus in Alaska, make sure and use an exfoliating scrub on your hands after gardening, followed by a hand cream with emollients. If you hate getting dirt under your fingernails, try dragging your fingers across a bar of soap. The soap will fill the crevices under your nails and keep the dirt out.

Washing your hands often is necessary but oftentimes forgotten when gardening. Accidentally ingesting contaminated soil, example: not washing hands after working in dirt and eating something fresh from your garden, can lead to a disease known as Toxoplasmosis. This is caused by a single celled parasite found throughout the world. More than 60 million people in the U.S. may be affected and not even know it, as this disease has no signs. Of course you will also need to get a tetanus shot as you will most likely be working with sharp tools.

Gardening is a wonderful creative experience. Enjoy the beauty and bounty it can bring. But always, as with everything you do, use precautions. To check out these and other interesting gardening tips visit:

www.cdc.gov
www.gardeningtips.com
www.safegardening.com