Reaction to Woods

[rcdooley]

Hello All,

I will start off by saying, "I know I need to go to the Allergist." But I don't want to take the time to go nor do I want to go, but I know I will have to.

Has anyone had any problems with breaking out with particular woods.

My experience has narrowed it down to Wenge, Cocobolo, Lacewood, Padauk, and Maple (which I highly doubt is the issue, but it is always in the mix when I break out).

I normally break out with rashes that annoy me worse than poisen ivy.
It starts behind my ears and the back of my neck. Then my chest and my forearms. Then it breaks out around my lips and my eyelids. Then I go get some prednizone from the doctor. But it doesn't spread like poisen, it is more of an allergic reaction which I know is only relative to each person. Just curious if any one else has been through this?

 

[Paul Dayton]

You may be facing an uphill battle. Wood allergies aren't all that uncommon especially to the woods with a high concentration of chemicals such as a lot of rosewoods including cocobolo. camatillo, african blackwood and others. Bocote and bloodwood are also possible culprits.

These woods and others might be fine for years but over time you build up a body burden of dust exposure and become increasingly sensitive to the point where you might have to stop using some of them. At this point in my long life I have gotten to where I have to be most careful with ebony. Any over exposure to the dust fills my already damaged lungs and it takes 2-3 days to get back to normal. I think Tad Kohara is also allergic to ebony.

You can use masks for your lungs and a combination of vacuums and long sleeved shirts. The itching comes from sensitive areas of your skin getting exposed to saw dust and if there is any moisture such as sweat it will be worse. It is also a good idea to wash your hands and arms after exposure. There are what are called barrier creams that you can use pre-exposure. Google them on the web.

Good luck.

 

[cueman]

Cocobolo is the main suspect although some of the others can cause problems. Cocobolo has put people in hospitals before. I breathed just a little of the left over dust in the air from cutting inlay pockets Friday night and developed a really runny nose all evening and it was still acting up a little the next day.

 

[Mr Hoppe]

MANY exotic woods are at least irritants. Cocobolo, in particular, seems to affect many people. Take a look at this table for many more.

 

[Mcues]

Hello All,

I will start off by saying, "I know I need to go to the Allergist." But I don't want to take the time to go nor do I want to go, but I know I will have to.

Has anyone had any problems with breaking out with particular woods.

My experience has narrowed it down to Wenge, Cocobolo, Lacewood, Padauk, and Maple (which I highly doubt is the issue, but it is always in the mix when I break out).

I normally break out with rashes that annoy me worse than poisen ivy.
It starts behind my ears and the back of my neck. Then my chest and my forearms. Then it breaks out around my lips and my eyelids. Then I go get some prednizone from the doctor. But it doesn't spread like poisen, it is more of an allergic reaction which I know is only relative to each person. Just curious if any one else has been through this?

Air filters, breathing systems, vacuum systems, good ventilation, Fans blowing away from you, if nothing works remain on the computer in the house. Prednisone will mask a lot of stuff but it doesn't mean that its not doing you harm.

Mario

Mario

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Hey Chris, now that you mention it, I was cutting some coco the other day. The next morning, I also woke up with a funny nose.
I hope it goes away.

Ah, you said runny. I thought you said Funny.

 

[scdiveteam]

Hi,

My friend is 88 years old and been around this stuff for fifty years. During the first part of his career Cocobolo did not bother him. When he is exposed to it now not only does he get a skin reaction but he says it feel like he is pissing razor blades for 2 days.

Paul's assessment about cumulative body burden is right on.

JMO,

Rick

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

As long as those aren't Irwin blades hes passing. Those are pretty sharp.

 

[Chopdoc]

That kind of reaction is not a cumulative burden. It is a sensitization.

It might be possible to desensitize, but one should see an allergist/immunologist for that.

The cumulative burden would come into play with something like a pneumoconiosis. That's when it gets in your lungs and you can't clear it. The same thing can happen with the dust from machining MOP, another danger in your line of work.

Allergy is nothing to fool with. One day it gives you an itch, but on another occasion it might close your airway....anaphylaxis......then you die.

 

[conetip]

Hello All,

I will start off by saying, "I know I need to go to the Allergist." But I don't want to take the time to go nor do I want to go, but I know I will have to.

Has anyone had any problems with breaking out with particular woods.

My experience has narrowed it down to Wenge, Cocobolo, Lacewood, Padauk, and Maple (which I highly doubt is the issue, but it is always in the mix when I break out).

I normally break out with rashes that annoy me worse than poisen ivy.
It starts behind my ears and the back of my neck. Then my chest and my forearms. Then it breaks out around my lips and my eyelids. Then I go get some prednizone from the doctor. But it doesn't spread like poisen, it is more of an allergic reaction which I know is only relative to each person. Just curious if any one else has been through this?

For me, the oil from the Cocobolo sets me off into a reaction.As a result I can not even handle it without gloves.
I am ok with maple as long as it does not have any mold or breaking down. I can not work with spalted maple.So quite a few woods I just have to avoid all together.
No point making yourself sick.
I have been having alot of allergy type reactions this year. Prednisone does not do much, but fennigan which puts me to sleep does help. I have had to be away from the shop to see what it is I am allergic to. It now seems it is a food allergy.But no one knows for sure. The sensitisation thing is not something to ignore.

A great chart about woods and their states.
Neil

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Hey Doc, I will be starting Medical Terminology shortly with any luck.

You just gave me two big ones there that I will have to look up.

 

[weegee3]

I had a bad reaction and it cleared up, never to be seen again (hopefully) when I was steered away from Cocobola.
Weegee

 

[moccabee]

I have not had a reaction to any wood except a piece of Bocote that I recently started turning. My face feels like it is on fire and I have to scratch it off to relieve the irritation. When I know it is time to work on that piece I sweep up the shop but on my goggles, respirator and gloves then start. As soon as I am done I sweep up the shop again to ensure I get as much dust and particles as I can.

 

[qbilder]

I snot & sneeze with any rosewood, including cocobolo. Never broke out before. My dust control/collection is pretty good at catching almost all the fine stuff. Ebony is my cryptonite. That stuff screws my sinuses up for days, even I barely breathe any. I usually breathe it when squaring & sanding point squares, not during turning. Not all the dust gets sucked down from my belt sander. Some gets air born & that's what gets me.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

I know it might be a long shot but if your face is itchy, you may be able to cool it down with a little after shave balm. Anything with Aloe in it will soothe
itchiness.

I have some prescription salve with cortisone in it. Good but prolonged use of anything with cortisone in it is probably not good.

You can also get some over the counter salve. The stuff I have is called Proctosone. And no, with Procto as a pre fix, its not for that either.

Here I am practicing Medicine without a license. Doc might give me heck.

 

[Mase]

Cocobolo is the only one that gets me. I break out in a rash from using it.

 

[Chopdoc]

These oily woods have a lot of oily chemicals that protect the wood in nature from insect, fungi, etc. It's the same stuff that makes finishes often difficult.

If you look at the situation, I'll bet that the woods that most often cause the reactions are also the woods that tend to be the most difficult to get a finish to stick to. Not always, but more often than not.

 

[VernQ]

allergy treatment

This is probably not everyones choice but it is interesting. http://www.woodturner.org/resources/WT_WoodDustAllergies.pdf

 

[DanO]

I thought I was allergic to a few woods but it turned out to be EPOXY. Read the MSDS. REAL bad for you. OK to breath but not to touch. Like you, I was fine for years and then bang. You touch your face or neck or woops. Now I wear thin rubber gloves when glueing and no problem ever since.

 

[scdiveteam]

Hi,

I think a good point here concerning health and safety issues that should be noteworthy is that dust collection systems should be located outside of your shop because of the micron size particles that pass the filters or micron bags become airborne after passing through the media.

When I set up my new shop last year I bought an old 5 1/2 x 12 enclosed trailer and set up my two big units inside it. I ran the suctions through he walls of the shop and the trailer and use the remote control unit to turn them on. A few isolation blast gates and no more fine particulate in the air.

Coal Miners and deep sea diving habitats used canaries to monitor air quality as a crude telltale in the old days and was later improved with instrumentation equipment. We just check the TV screen for dust. Before we got the trailer isolation thing going out side, that screen was disgusting in short order. Now a days one paper towel and a little windex every couple of weeks so we can enjoy our shows on a clean screen. Before the stuff on that screens was a pretty good telltale of our lung exposure.

Be safe.

Rick G