secateurs injury

jrs.idx · July 2021

I am not skilled with secateurs. I managed to dead-head some flowers Ok, but to do so one must sometimes cut where one can see neither one's fingers nor the blades. Result: trail of blood through the house while one tries to find a dressing (which one has to apply using injured finger). What am I doing wrong?

Lyn · July 2021

I think what you’re doing wrong is not looking where you’re chopping carefully enough.
you could wear thicker gloves.

jrs.idx · July 2021

I suppose I am trying to do it quickly and not appreciating how dangerous the work is. One could wear thick gloves, depriving oneself of the sense of touch. Perhaps I had better not use secateurs.

Dovefromabove · July 2021

I hold the tip of the branch I'm going to cut with my left hand and the secateurs in my right (I'm right handed). This means that my two hands are always at least a few inches apart. You don't need to hold the branch where you're going to cut.

Hostafan1 · July 2021

secateurs should be banned, along with all knives and scissors.

Dovefromabove · July 2021

No @Hostafan1 ... if I remember correctly it's fencing mallets and water butts that cause you the most damage and you're not to be trusted with

KT53 · July 2021

Don't cut where you can't see or, on occasions where that is not possible, don't put your other hand anywhere near where you are trying to cut.

TheGreenMan · July 2021

Try being a little more mindful: 'this hand is here.....fingers are here....the blades are there...am I safe to cut?'

Nollie · July 2021

Dove has it 😊 Hold the tip of the dead flower with one hand, then trace down the stalk of the dead flower bud with the point of the secateurs, off the safety catch but blades closed, then open the blades of the secateurs and cut at this point lower down, near the leaves. Close the blades with your hands then withdraw. You should deadhead in this way anyway, rather than just cut the flower off at the top, it looks neater than leaving a lot of topless stalks and saves your fingers!

Try not to cut anything or anywhere you can’t see, but if you have to, if you do it by touch, using the above technique, it should be safe enough.

Fire · July 2021

I keep a first aid kit in the kitchen for such emergencies, so that I don't trail blood through the house to the bathroom. I did a similar thing and reached into an ivy hedge to prune and nearly took my finger off on old (inherited, hidden) rusty wire. The result was a very deep cut and blood that gushed over the carpets and walls as I rushed up stairs.

I now say, don't ever garden or bake in a hurry (mental note to self). Whenever I try to do either it goes wrong. Don't cut where you can't see. You should never stretch out when you're on a ladder (a major cause of accidents) - you should move the ladder or find a different kind better fitted to the job. Likewise, when pruning, use a ladder or short steps instead of reaching where you can't see.

I have long loppers and a tree cutters which are useful.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/q5/cg4trfe4l2uw.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/yu/1cab2qqmorio.png

Topbird · July 2021

I've been gardening now for over 40 years and I still manage to nick a finger at least once per season🤭
I wear gloves now - which significantly reduces the likelihood of breaking the skin - so it usually happens when I'm having one of those "Oh - that bit needs cutting off" moments - often whilst enjoying an evening G&T. Then I tend to just grab the (razor sharp) snips but not the gloves. At least the G provides a bit of anaesthesia....

On a more serious note I hope @jrs.idx has up to date tetanus jabs.

secateurs injury

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