CF Parenting IRL: Assessing the risks - Compost, manure and animal stables

Today’s post is a list of things to 100% avoid at all costs. That’s because this post essentially centres around dirt and poo! 💩

Compost heaps and purchased bags of compost that are found in a lot of gardens are pretty high risk and it’s advised to avoid these at all costs. This is because purchased bags of compost and compost heaps are made up of decayed vegetation and enriched soil so can contain multiple fungi, including Aspergillusspores as well as bacteria such as Pseudomonas species.

Manure should also be completely avoided as animal faeces is an important source of PsA (although I don’t think the avoidance of manure is just a CF thing as I don’t think there’s any parents who would be totally unphased by their child playing with manure!)

It’s recommended that compost and manure are not used in gardens of families with a baby/child with CF, especially if your little one is keen to help with gardening.

If you did want to keep your vegetable patch then you can always cordon off areas of the garden as ‘no-go zones’ that you won’t allow your little one to go into and then be very strict around your own hand washing after gardening as well as taking care when it comes to the tools used to tend to any composted areas (e.g. be careful with gardening gloves etc.)

Mouldy stable environments are especially bad for potential contamination with Aspergillus and if the right warm temperatures are present then it’s also a breeding ground for PsA. The CF Foundation in the US recommends that people with CF avoid cleaning stalls as well as pens and coops that contain other animals - so this recommendation applies to many animal enclosures including small cages.