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Wood allergies

Started by Texas Ranger, January 21, 2011, 12:44:23 PM

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Texas Ranger

Have just gotten over a three stint of lung congestion, coughing and misery.

I had decided to step into my shop and do some glass cutting to finish a project, but found the frame to be slightly too small.  The frame is old walnut.  So, without a thought to the fact I have an allergy to several woods that have developed over the years (most fruit woods and tropical woods), I enlarged the frame with a  multitool.  The next morning I awoke to chest congestion that lasted the above mentioned three weeks.

To new wood workers, and us old ones, remember to wear that mask, and keep the vacuum running. 

It only gets worse.
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Magicman

That is what put me out of my shop.  I loved building furniture and clocks.  Improper ventilation and sanding dust removal did me in.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Kevin

I have it too Tex, I use a mask and a nasal spray.

Woodwalker

Next time you get some of them nasty old exotic woods, give me a call and I'll get 'em out of there before you make yourself sick.
Just cause your head's pointed, don't mean you are sharp.

Texas Ranger

Ah hah, and wouldn't charge much for the service, would ja?  I have been burning scraps of wood in the shop stove, so far, the smoke has not been bad.  Mahogany gives good heat, walnut quick fire, cherry smells better, ash and oak to DanG dry for good heat.

Did y'all get any ice or snow over your way?
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

Woodwalker

I've got a buddy in the flooring business, he bar -b-q's with some of his scraps. Soaks 'em in water for a day or so.
Don't think we got any ice here, got sent out of town. We did get some badly needed rain.
Just cause your head's pointed, don't mean you are sharp.

Magicman

Here is the mask that I use while sawing, 3M 8511.  I don't use the one with the rubber straps.  The exhalation valve lets the moisture out.

I normally order through Amazon, but I also always shop for the best price.  Shipping can be a sneaky gotcha.  I just ordered 4 boxes (40) from these folks with $7.59 shipping = $1.18 each.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/mask8511-1.html
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Texas Ranger

I normally use a hazardous materials mask, but just skipped it for a few minutes.  I think I am getting dumber in my senior years.
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

doctorb

You guys have opened my eyes a bit.  I have never heard of allergies to wood, but, obviously, I have had my head in the sand.  It's easy for me to envision a reaction to fine particulates, like sanding dust.  I have a harder time understanding if you are truly allergic or just respiratory sensitive.  It may not make any difference in what you have to do to safeguard yourself from respiratory difficulties.  If you were really allergic, then even touching one of these wood products would send your skin ablaze.  Is there such a thing as skin allergy to wood, or is it only when working with the material and you inhale some of it?
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Jeff

Absolutely. Especially resinous woods.  I break out in a rash when handling Northern White cedar as well as Eastern Red Cedar or Balsam Fir.  If the lumber is dried, I don't have a problem.

  I could tell as soon as an ash log was debarked in our mill, it never had to get to me. I began to wheeze right away. Now that may be a particulate reaction, but the cedar is definitely a contact thing as I had the same problem with very dry maple logs, but not with green, but any ash log was a problem.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

jim king

doctorb:

I have read that 2 to 3% of wood workers have reactions to wood.  50% or more of men have had severe reactions to their wife resulting in a seperation from the offending material..

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

This photo is of one of my people who was allergic to Bloodwood.  The only time I have seen or heard of a person allergic to Bloodwood.



Fla._Deadheader


Just today, I cut down and limbed 3 fruit type trees. I was fine, until I wiped the sweat out of one eye. The VERY fine dust that touched my eye, set off a series of sneezes, and itching like Poison Ivy. Took my T-shirt off, turned it inside out, and dabbed at the eye. Had no water to flush out the eye, so, just let it water itself, with a multitude of tears.

Took 10 minutes before I dared to start the saw. Once the wood is down to 20% moisture I can work it just fine. Just don't get that wetness on your self.
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

SwampDonkey

I've been lucky so far, no allergies or reactions to woods or resins. I know some folks break out to just the smell of balsam in the air.

Anyway, allergies take away a little bit of fun from your life.  :-\
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

doctorb

Another new trick for this old dog.  Thanks
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Jeff

Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 22, 2011, 05:40:40 PM
I've been lucky so far, no allergies or reactions to woods or resins. I know some folks break out to just the smell of balsam in the air.

Anyway, allergies take away a little bit of fun from your life.  :-\

Thats because of a predetermined condition I discovered in the U.P.

YOU ARE AN ALIEN! ;)
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

SwampDonkey

Woods, bugs, peppers , gotta do better'n that. :D :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WDH

I knew something wasn't right  :).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

doctorb

Ill bet the reactions take all forms.  The redness on Jim King's loggers arms can be an allergic response.  But ive seen stuff like that many times, especially when handling wood in warm climates without sleeves.  Tiny, microscopic defects and cuts in the outer skin expose the deeper layers, that then react to the resin or dust or whatever.  It you ever want to see poison ivy gone wild, check out the arms of some poor allergic soul whose been carrying firewood without sleeves still covered with PI.  In cases like that, it's more than just being allergic, it's imbedding the allergens into your skin.  That's a formula for some skin slough!

The respiratory reactions to dust make sense.  It's the whiff of certain resins that is most unusual to me, as theres usually more contact between the host and the allergen than that to start the reaction.  Pretty interesting.  I'll bet the docs in the logging communities see this a bunch.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

SwampDonkey

Doc, if you can smell it, then there is something present in your airways that's not normally there.   What I'm getting at, something is carrying that smell, a molecule of something. ;) Take red cedar, it has an aroma, over time it disappears. Where to? and how? Something was given up. ;) Yellow birch, has a mint taste on fresh broken green twigs, so does the sap. Boil it down and it tastes now like molasses. The volatile oils evaporate into the air and disperse. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WDH

The aliens must have took it.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

jim king

Wood is a rare creature.  We have a wood here called Pink flame, it was first discovered in 1794 by a German explorer on the Brazilian/Peruvian border on the river Javari and I rediscovered it a few years ago and finally identified it after publishing it in scientific journals all over the world as is now required for a new species.  After waiting 2 years as is the limit for naming a new species arrived a letter from a German bioligist telling me that he found the old documentation on the wood from 1794.  He was correct.  The drawings and detail work from the explorer were in fact the perfect detail of what I thought was a new species.

At that time there were only 6 specimines in existance in the world in collections.  Now it is in hudreds of collections.  To make a long story short we still don´t know what is in the forests of tropical areas.  This wood is part of the little flower ,the common violet that is all over northern North America.

In the last few years it has been confirmed that Cocobolo from Central America is part of the poisen Ivy family, thus the reactions.  This wood is one of the most wanted woods in the world and causes a lot of people severe problems.

We are just starting to learn.  Here is a note from a scientist about the Pink flame wood when we were working on it..

QuoteIt appears we have finally identified a species we have been studying for well over a year.   I thought someone may be interested in this and seeing that we have a long way to go in the wood ID ares but at least for the short time we have one very happy biologist.   The USDA Tropical Forestry Lab gave up on this species some time ago.

Attached you will find a note verifying the   species name from our mad scientist friend in the U of SC.   He was so excited he wrote part in Spanish and part in English.

QuotePara: "james king" <jameskingpe@yahoo.es>
Asunto: RE: pink flame has a name
   
Jim,

A short note, which I will expand later:

I have dissected the flowers, took pictures, and compared the data to all but two books (the report on the Explorama flora and the other one on the Leticia site) I just requested these books from interlibrary loan.

Pink flame hembra keys out clearly to the Rinorea subgroup IIa.1. 'Haughtii' Multivenosa complex. It only contains two species which have so far been known to science only from a handful of collections from southern Colombia and SW Brazil from Acre (Acre is the Brazilian state across the border river).

Hembra is distinct from macho, but I can only judge hembra because ony hembra came with flowers. Hembra is clearly distinct from both species in the multivenosa complex, and unless it matches some new species that might be revealed in the above two books, we are dealing with a new species of a rare genus. Rare because rarely encountared, nevertheless the tree may be locally common. You can tell me how common it is on your sites.

Therefore the name will have to revised from Rinorea aff. multivenosa or R. aff. longistipula to Rinorea sp. nov. #1.

Exciting!

Mihaly

One of the few woods that are female "hembra"and male "macho".









SwampDonkey

Jim, instead of the code tags, use the quote tags, as you can see the words go off the page to the right of the post. :D ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

tyb525

I don't have any (known) allergies to any woods that I've worked with, however I have noted that sawdust on the skin is irritating in general, especially in the summer, no matter the species.

If I had anything close to a problem with a species, it was when I milled a bunch of small northern white ceder logs, and I think that was just cause I hate the smell of the stuff.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

tyb525

SD, what browser are you using? I'm using Chrome and it's all on the page for me.

Interesting...
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

jim king


SwampDonkey

replace the <code>    </code>   with  <quote>   </quote>

I can see the words, but they go off the screen so a scroll is in order. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

SwampDonkey

Quote from: tyb525 on January 22, 2011, 06:59:19 PM
If I had anything close to a problem with a species, it was when I milled a bunch of small northern white ceder logs, and I think that was just cause I hate the smell of the stuff.

I never knew it was that pungent. Everyone usually likes the smell. Oh well, it is what it is. :D ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

jim king

I am using Quote.  I don´t know what is the problem.

Jeff

Quote from: SwampDonkey on January 22, 2011, 07:08:33 PM
replace the <code>    </code>   with  <quote>   </quote>

I can see the words, but they go off the screen so a scroll is in order. ;)

I got it. :)  Jim, you had one set of code tags.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Burlkraft

I am allergic to Bocote.

I got a big chunk of it at least 10 years ago and it's still a big chunk!

I break out in a rash just like Jim's guy does.
Why not just 1 pain free day?

doctorb

My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."


doctorb

Nice!  I can see why you know all about it, given your place of residence, but how can Burlkraft been around it enough to be allergic.  Burlkraft, did you spend some time in the tropics?
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

jim king

It is a very popular imported wood for turners.  Available at Woodcraft, Rockler and dozens of other sellers.

SwampDonkey

Global trade doc, you'd be surprised what you can buy in the USA. ;)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

tyb525

I'm not sure why, I like the smell of ERC but not NWC ???
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

pineywoods

I love the smell of ERC, but the dry dust from it gives my sinuses fits, sneezing, hacking. I saw some of it, but I have 3 fans and the wind blowing in the right direction.Walnut sawdust on my bare skin causes a rash somewhat like poison ivy.
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

SwampDonkey

Love the smell of walnut in the planer, with that chocolate brown color, I think I'm in Hersey's chocolate factory. :D :D :D

Sniff'n too much walnut dust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q7mjoxHzm4
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Burlkraft

Quote from: doctorb on January 22, 2011, 08:37:12 PM
Nice!  I can see why you know all about it, given your place of residence, but how can Burlkraft been around it enough to be allergic.  Burlkraft, did you spend some time in the tropics?

No time in the tropics, just a lot of time turning without proper dust collection.

Bocote is very available here like Jim said.

I like the look of it and I have turned a lot of it, but we don't use it anymore.

If anybody wants to try it I have a hunk that looks like a piece of weathered fire wood  :D :D :D
Why not just 1 pain free day?

Kevin

White cedar is one of the worst species I work with.
The doc prescribed a saline nasal wash and another product fluticasone furoate nasal spray.
My advice to anyone not using a mask is to start using one.

Magicman

Yup.  See Reply #6.  That is the cheapest price that I have ever found on the disposable mask that I always wear.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

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