Rose Thorns and Infection
·
Mycetoma
·
Takeaway
The beautiful rose flower tops a green stem that has sharp outgrowths. Many
people refer to these as thorns.
If you’re a
botanist, you might call these sharp outgrowths prickles, as they’re part of
the outer layer of the plant’s stem. They don’t meet the strict definition of
thorns, which have deeper roots in a plant’s stem.
No matter what
you call them, rose thorns are sharp enough to penetrate your skin and have the
ability to pass infectious material into the wound, such as:
- dirt
- fertilizer
- bacteria
- fungi
- garden chemicals
These
substances delivered into the skin by a thorn could result in a number of
diseases, including:
- sporotrichosis
- plant-thorn synovitis
- mycetoma
Read on to learn
the symptoms to watch for and how to treat infections from rose thorns.
Also known as
rose gardener’s disease, rose picker’s disease is the common name of sporotrichosis.
Sporotrichosis
is a relatively rare infection caused by the fungus Sporothrix. It
occurs when the fungus gets into the skin via a small cut, scrape, or puncture,
such as from a rose thorn.
The most
common form, cutaneous sporotrichosis, is often found on the hand and arm of
someone who has been handling contaminated plant materials.
The symptoms
of cutaneous sporotrichosis usually start to appear between 1 and 12 weeks
after infection. The progression of symptoms is typically the following:
1.
A small and painless pink, red, or purple bump
forms where the fungus entered the skin.
2.
The bump get bigger and starts to look like an
open sore.
3.
More bumps or sores might appear in the near
vicinity of the original bump.
Treatment
It’s likely
your doctor will prescribe a several-month course of antifungal medication,
such as itraconazole.
If you have a
severe form of sporotrichosis, you doctor might start your treatment with an
intravenous dose of amphotericin B followed by an antifungal medication for at
least a year.
Plant-thorn
synovitis is a rare cause of arthritis from
a plant thorn penetrating a joint. This penetration causes inflammation of the
synovial membrane. That’s the connective tissue that lines a joint.
Although
Blackthorn or date palm thorns cause most reported cases of plant-thorn
synovitis, the thorns of numerous other plants can cause it too.
The knee is
the most commonTrusted Source joint
affected, but it can also affect the hands, wrists, and ankles.
Treatment
Currently,
the only cure for
plant-thorn synovitis is the removal of the thorn through surgery known as
synovectomy. In this surgery, the connective tissue of the joint is removed.
Mycetoma is a
disease caused by fungi and bacteria found in water and soil.
Mycetoma
occurs when these specific fungi or bacteria repeatedly enter the skin through
a puncture, scrape, or cut.
The fungal
form of the disease is called eumycetoma. The bacterial form of the disease is
called actinomycetoma.
Although rare
in the United States, it often developsTrusted Source in
people who live in rural areas of Latin America, Africa, and Asia that are near
the equator.
The symptoms
of both eumycetoma and actinomycetoma are similar. The disease starts with a
firm, painless bump under the skin.
Over time the
mass grows larger and develops oozing sores, making the affected limb unusable.
It can spread from the initially infected area to other parts of the body.
Treatment
Antibiotics can often effectively treat
actinomycetoma.
Although
eumycetoma is commonly treated with long-term antifungal medication, treatment
may not cure the disease.
Surgery,
including amputation, might be necessary to remove infected tissue.
Rose thorns
can deliver bacteria and fungi into your skin and cause infection. To protect
yourself while picking roses or gardening in general, wear protective clothing
like gloves.
