Alergic to chalk?

Gerry

Gerry

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm in the process of doing an experiment to see if I'm having a reaction to Masters chalk, or just chalk in general. About 2 years ago after putting a table in the house I started to notice my hands getting cracked/dry/irritated in a strange pattern on my bridge hand. The pattern is the same as the dirt marks on your hands after you play for a long time on a filthy table.....ie pads of your palm, side of thumb that touches the table, index finger pad. about a year ago I also noticed the same thing on my cue hand right where I hold the cue.....linen wrap holds chalk?

Now, I quit playing for about 6 or 8 weeks and it really got better, but not gone...maybe 60% better. I have been playing my whole life!!! WTF?

I might have to call Earl to see where to get some sweet pool gloves?! :sorry:

Anyone have any ideas?

thanx, G.
 
Doesn't sound like an allergic reaction to me and maybe it's just the linen and the cloth sapping the moisture from your hands. Have you tried putting lotion on and rubbing it in good before you play and then washing up and really moisturizing afterwards? Just a thought.
 
I dunno guys? today I played with a standard bridge hand glove, and a golf glove on my cue hand. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. I managed a 53 ball run, but it will take some getting used to.

I'm just puzzled as to why it took so long to appear?

G.
 
Do you by chance clean the table with that foam stuff?

That stuff is like battery acid to my hand.

Whenever some tournament would clean the table with that junk, my hand would be all blistered and cracked and peeling. Not peeling in thin layers, but rather, chunks would be falling out.

It was nasty.
 
SUPERSTAR said:
Do you by chance clean the table with that foam stuff?

That stuff is like battery acid to my hand.

Whenever some tournament would clean the table with that junk, my hand would be all blistered and cracked and peeling. Not peeling in thin layers, but rather, chunks would be falling out.

It was nasty.
Click to expand...


nope, this is my home table and I just vacuum it and wipe it down with windex which I have done for EVER!? I thought maybe it was an accumulation thing and I just had too much chalk exposure over the years?

worst case I"ll be labeled Gerry 2 gloves....like the golfer Tommy 2 gloves....cept I'll make 1/11123492359347th the money he does!


G>
 
Could be certain powders. Maybe try and change chalk. When I used to work in a funeral home, they bought rubber gloves that were powdered on the inside. My hands were constantly the same way. Try Jergens skin firming lotion and see if that helps. Two applications and your hands will be back to normal.
 
Gerry said:
I'm in the process of doing an experiment to see if I'm having a reaction to Masters chalk, or just chalk in general. About 2 years ago after putting a table in the house I started to notice my hands getting cracked/dry/irritated in a strange pattern on my bridge hand. The pattern is the same as the dirt marks on your hands after you play for a long time on a filthy table.....ie pads of your palm, side of thumb that touches the table, index finger pad. about a year ago I also noticed the same thing on my cue hand right where I hold the cue.....linen wrap holds chalk?

Now, I quit playing for about 6 or 8 weeks and it really got better, but not gone...maybe 60% better. I have been playing my whole life!!! WTF?

I might have to call Earl to see where to get some sweet pool gloves?! :sorry:

Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Gerry, the same thing happened to me about 10 years ago. I was practicing a lot at home, and I just started getting a rash on my grip hand. I finally realized it was the chalk, since I chalk with my right hand. I'd occasionally get a little rash on my bridge hand, but it was rarer.

I started wearing a golf glove on my grip hand, which seem to lessen the problem quite a bit. Funny thing: I was playing the Reno Open in '98. Earl saw me practicing, and walked up and asked me why I was wearing a glove on my bridge hand. I told him, and it wasn't too long later that HE started wearing a glove on his grip hand.

When I moved to Mississippi, I didn't play too much at first. When I did, I didn't use the glove; and so far the rash (more of an eczema) has never returned. My best guess is that I had a temporary allergy or sensitivity to the silica in the chalk.

Doc
 
That's just a lie girls tell you so that you don't wear a condom. Oh wait, that's latex, never mind.
 
It can happen

Gerry,

It can happen. I have been around dogs literally from birth. I owned about half a dozen when I became allergic to them in my mid-thirties. Took me a long time to figure out I was allergic to dogs since I was looking for something new in my life.

The first thing I would do is change chalk colors. If using green or blue which probably use some of the same ingredients in their dyes, try tan. Swap the other way if you are using tan. You are more likely to be allergic to the dye than the chalk itself but of course anything is possible.

Hu



Gerry said:
I'm in the process of doing an experiment to see if I'm having a reaction to Masters chalk, or just chalk in general. About 2 years ago after putting a table in the house I started to notice my hands getting cracked/dry/irritated in a strange pattern on my bridge hand. The pattern is the same as the dirt marks on your hands after you play for a long time on a filthy table.....ie pads of your palm, side of thumb that touches the table, index finger pad. about a year ago I also noticed the same thing on my cue hand right where I hold the cue.....linen wrap holds chalk?

Now, I quit playing for about 6 or 8 weeks and it really got better, but not gone...maybe 60% better. I have been playing my whole life!!! WTF?

I might have to call Earl to see where to get some sweet pool gloves?! :sorry:

Anyone have any ideas?

thanx, G.
Click to expand...
 
ShootingArts said:
Gerry,

It can happen. I have been around dogs literally from birth. I owned about half a dozen when I became allergic to them in my mid-thirties. Took me a long time to figure out I was allergic to dogs since I was looking for something new in my life.

The first thing I would do is change chalk colors. If using green or blue which probably use some of the same ingredients in their dyes, try tan. Swap the other way if you are using tan. You are more likely to be allergic to the dye than the chalk itself but of course anything is possible.

Hu
Click to expand...

He brings up a very good point.

Allergies can happen at any time.

But it could just be a contact dermatitis from repeated contact with the cloth, or the chalk and not a true allergy.
 
A few possibilities for the "sudden" onset of allergies or sensitivity: Age. Your whole body chemistry changes as you age, so things that didn't bother you for 20,30,40+ years will start to affect you in different ways.

Also consider other things you've come into contact with, you could become hyper-sensitive from added exposure from somewhere else. For example, maybe there is some ingredient in the chalk that alone hasn't been a problem for you, but somewhere else in your life you are also coming into contact with it. Like doubling up on it. Formaldehyde is a hidden component in a lot of stuff and for some people it doesn't take much exposure to have a reaction. Sometimes there's such a small amount that it isn't even listed in MSDS sheets, but people will still have an adverse reaction to it. Maybe you've been working with coolants or lubricants (which have formaldehyde) or wood (which usually has formaldehyde)? I knew a guy that worked in a machine shop and his machine used a certain cooling agent that had a small amount of formaldehyde and his hands would get severly dry and cracked. He went to dermatalogists and trying all different kinds of goop and eventually the company changed the coolant and it got better.

My best guess though is that the chalk is sucking the moisture out of your skin and your body chemicals have changed enough so that it's more noticable now. Wash your hands after shooting and apply good lotion periodically throughout the day, not just when you're playing. Careful using gloves too, because not only does it seal OUT the offensive stuff, but if you're not careful it could possibly seal it IN and trap it against your skin (happened to the machine shop guy when he tried using gloves, his hands just got worse!).

Good luck
 
Together with a glove, you should consider regular use of a creme like Nivea. The long use of a glove, together with dust or grime can itself be irritating for your skin. Those products are often considered un-manly, but it's definitely not a woman's thing :rolleyes:

Best regards,

Detlev
 
thanx for all the ideas guys. I have been trying all friggin kinds of lotions before and after play....it helps some. I really think it's the chalk because of the almost perfect pattern left behind. I thought maybe it was the cloth, but then why would my cue hand be affected?

so, I guess I'll change chalk colors, clean the table real well, and see how it goes.

G.
 
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