Why You Should Always Wear Gloves When Gardening
Gardening is one of the most relaxing hobbies and is a great way to beautify your home and get some fresh air. While it is very hands-on, you should not garden bare-handed. Instead, using gloves is the best way to garden safely and protect your hands.
Reduce Bacterial Infections
When you are gardening, especially when you are cleaning out a new area of dirt, you never know what you might run into. If you have an open wound on your hand, you are at risk of an infection caused by the different kinds of bacteria. The infection could cause tetanus, or even some disease that could spread in your gastrointestinal, or respiratory tract, or skin, which is your largest organ. Either way, none of those bacterial infections are pleasant, even if they are treatable. The best way to prevent yourself from exposure is by wearing gloves.
Avoid Bites
Along with bacteria, soil and plants are often surrounded by insects, spiders, and small animals. With any of these creatures, a bite could be harmful. For example, while most are harmless, some species of spiders can pose risks to your health. Most of the time, you will not know if the bite was harmful with poison or venom until you accidentally put your hand somewhere you were not supposed to and the creature bites or stings you in self-defense. In some cases, your gloves could protect you from serious injury. Although your garden gloves are not invincible, they still provide an extra layer between you and the various species you might meet while planting flowers or removing weeds.
Protection from Chemicals
To keep your garden free of weeds or pests, you probably treat your garden with different chemical solutions. However, since most of these sprays are meant to kill things, they are also not something you want to sit on your skin. Many of these products encourage users to wear gloves because of this issue. If these chemicals touch your skin, it could cause dermatitis or other disorders. In extreme cases of long-term exposure, some pesticides could cause cancer. All of these are preventable risks that are no longer an issue if you wear good quality gloves when handling chemicals.
Wearing gardening gloves can prevent you from harm while landscaping and planting in your garden. Instead of worrying about what might be lurking behind a bush or under a rock, you can instead worry about if your tulips are getting too much sun or if you remembered to water your garden.
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