Val_2 Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again for those new to gardening and in particular strimming great swathes of overgrown land. Please cover yourself from head to toe,not only with protective mask/goggles etc and gloves and good shoes but also your arms and legs and any bare bits of skin. Not only does the cut stuff really hurt when its flying about but there are some really nasty juices released from plants when cut this way. My husband is still covered in very large and painful burn blisters all over his throat and arms from two weeks ago and he should know better after all these years but the heat got to him and he had a teeshirt on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Excellent advice Val - for max coverage I wear my boilersuit, gloves, face protector and boots. Far too hot in this weather but flying stones etc really hurt.Johnnot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted June 19, 2005 Share Posted June 19, 2005 Can I just add that earlier this year John (dressed in his thick boiler suit and all the gear) was strimming quite some distance from us and a stone was thrown and hit one of our friends - not nice - so please insure that everyone keeps well clear of the worker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Have to agree. We have large areas of our property that cannot be mowed due to tons of rocks. Weeds still grow through, so I have to use the gas powered debrousailleur (have no idea how you spell that). This can take hours and hours and the machine is heavy ! After several years of this, I now have some very nasty big muscles in my upper arms - not attractive on a woman (at least not me).I seem to get bitten up by those tiny flies. Doesn't seem to matter when I do the cutting, they get me all over, arms, legs, neck, back. I cannot wear long pants, long sleeves, etc. in 35 degree heat. Also, I cannot get up at 5 am to do the work as we have guests and the noise would be an awful way to wake up at that hour.My current guests have told me about a spray called PIPOL. They bought it here in France several years ago. You spray it on your itchy insect bites and it takes the itch away. I read the ingredients and it is Menthol, Fermaldehyde ! and something else. They told me they thought it was no longer sold here. Anyone heard of it - or anything like it?????My arms are a mess ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantine<br><br><br><br>Susie Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 Also watch out for parked cars or windows in buildings etc as a few weeks ago friends of ours were using their powerful petrol strimmer and a stone went through the back window of his Merc - not a good start to his stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fantine<br><br><br><br>Susie Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 "My current guests have told me about a spray called PIPOL. They bought it here in France several years ago. You spray it on your itchy insect bites and it takes the itch away. I read the ingredients and it is Menthol, Fermaldehyde ! and something else. They told me they thought it was no longer sold here. Anyone heard of it - or anything like it?????"Haven't heard of it but I was reading an article in a magazine that said try to avoid itching bites in the first place as it's a substance that is produced in your body that creates the sensation of wanting to itch more and more - if I remember it said to gently rub the area with a cold flannel instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted June 20, 2005 Share Posted June 20, 2005 I always keep a 'cold pack' in the freezer and place this on nasty bites - for some reason ants seem to find my skin worth biting. This is very effective. You wrap the pack in a thin towel and place on the bite/sting. Frozen peas also work well but it is a waste of peas. I also use this for backache and other aches and pains. It works for stress headaches if you place on the base of the neck.For wasp and similar stings with poision I use one of the venom pumps - mainly produced in France and sold all over the worlds. I think Aspivenin is the name of one brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 21, 2005 Share Posted June 21, 2005 Went to the pharmacy yesterday and found the PIPIOL. It is manufactured in France and is said to have no side effects. You use it after you have been bitten and it calms the itch and sting. It was 6.55 Euros, so not cheap, but I find it works very well and you don't have to use much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 Have to agree. I strimmed a mound of nettles earlier in the year wearing gloves, face mask, a T-shirt, shorts and boots and got the inevitable nettle mush on my shins which vaguely irritated while I worked in the blistering sun, but when I finished, went indoors and showered it off (or tried to) it was HELL! Lori,Can you see the ingredients on the packet? Does it still contain formaldyhide? I had an idea it ws no longer available.p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Hi Gyn Paul - Here are the exact ingredients:PIPIOLSolution pour application cutaneeCOMPOSITION:Levomenthol .......1.87 gSolution de formaldehyde a 35% ......9.35gExcipients:Ethanol a 96%, eau purifieePour 100 ml de solutionMedicament autoriseno. 332057.3Laboratoire ZAMBON France13, rue Rene Jacques 92138Issy-Les-Moulineaux CEDEXFabricant:Laboratoire M. RICHARDRue du ProgresZ.I. des Reys de Saulce26270 Saulce-Sur-RhoneSorry I don't have all the accents on my keyboard. So, yes, the formaldehyde is still in the product. Sounds terrible to spray the stuff on my skin, but it WORKS.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Hey Paul - just read your profile. See you are a retired broadcasting type. Can you say where? I worked 12 years in the TV industry in the States. Do you miss it? Have to say I do...Lori Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Lori, thanks for that; I've printed it out and after I've done a lot of watering (since there was - and is - no sign of the thunderstorm which Meteo France promised for department 23) I'll take m'sself off to the Pharmacie.cheerspaul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gyn_Paul Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 [quote]Hey Paul - just read your profile. See you are a retired broadcasting type. Can you say where? I worked 12 years in the TV industry in the States. Do you miss it? Have to say I do...Lori[/quote]Sorry just noticed the later posting.... Yes, my wife and I both worked for the BBC for several lifetimes (30 years in my case) and, 'no' I think I'm now completely cured, I certainly don't miss the industry it now is. The corporation I joined in the late '60s was so different to the current one (thank you John Burt) that I had relatively few withdrawl symptoms when I finally left.That's not to say you don't find me yelling common abuse at the TV and the radio and complaining about standards from time to time: ludicrous, waving, dodgy-cams in reality shows, reporters doing walking shots for no apparent reason, reporters doing stand-ups in the rain as if the umbrella had yet to be invented. And I have been known to ruin other people's enjoyment of a drama by shouting, "..cut... cut... for the love of God, will you CUT!".People who are let loose in front of a microphone who are incapable of constructing a coherent English sentence....Oh look what you've done now... you've started me off now !!#paulWhat did you do in the states ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 I suppose we've gotten off track and the rest of the folks here will be bored with it all. So, I'll send you a PM so as not to drive them mad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgina Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 Well not to make light, as yes, you should cover up, but it is really sweaty work if you do, - I was strimming the outside of the garden and talking to a neighbour, I strimmed a dog poo, yuck, no protection for that but it went into the road. Well the neighbour whose dogs are to blame came out to talk to us and stood right in it. Oh well, that's karma.Georgina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted June 24, 2005 Share Posted June 24, 2005 We've found tiger balm to be good but its difficult enough to get in the UK never mind here. I applied an ammonia based after-bite remedy whose name escapes me but it comes in a pen shaped device to a wasp sting and it cured it immediately but apparently that works best putting it on right away - its not an itch releiver. There is also a product called "witch doctor" that we always carry that is good and based on witch hazel so its better for your skin (and clothes!) than formadehyde or ammonia. Again, haven't seen it yet in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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