allergic to sawdust???

[jmouton]

    so last sat we cut up a bunch of logs at the customers location,   black cherry ,oak, ash, chinese elm, ,   so  it was windy and i got a fair amount of saw dust in the face all day long ,  anyway  monday night i noticed i started to itch all over  and i got hot , and as of today i still have the itchyness ,  this never happened to me before ,  so i am  thinking ,maybe   there was some mold  or  poisen oak or sumack  on it , but no vines were on them ,,  it wasnt poisen ivy  cuz i know what that feels like ,,,   so   i am trying to figure it out since we have to go back there again this sat ,,,     any thoughts  would be helpfull


                                                                                                         thanks  jim

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

We're you messing with the customer's goat?  :D :D :D

[jmouton]

    oh you are so funny poston,,,

[cutterboy]

Some people are highly allergic to black cherry sawdust. It makes my nose run but doesn't make me itch. My sister-in-law watched me saw cherry a few years ago and her whole face swelled up and she had trouble breathing.

[customsawyer]

I used to saw what ever I wanted with no trouble. I then developed a reaction to popular. I would say you need to avoid one of those you were cutting but which one? I started out using over the counter stuff to keep it at bay but ended up going prescription. When I cut popular now I make sure to blow all sawdust off with the air hose then wash of with soap and water. This keeps it under control.

[loggah]

I would think it was the black cherry ! I had a whole pile about 5 trailer loads of Cherry tops i chipped one time,the dust and smell just about drove me nuts, sneezing and headaches,to this day Cherry sawdust gets me going.

[jmouton]

    ya  , i am leaning towards the black cherry too,,,  everything else  i have cut before  many times ,  but not the black cherry ,,   but i have cut cherry logs before   so i will have to see,,,,

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

I was (or maybe a better statement is that I become) highly allergic to sawdust--skin reactions and breathing issues.  Back in1970s, I finally had to give up working in my shop in the basement and sell my lathe, etc.  (The Wood Doctor was allergic to wood!)  Of course, even in my job as an extension wood products specialist (a state/federal-paid consultant to the wood manufacturing industry), I was exposed to wood dust in various wood manufacturing plants.  The anti-allergy medicine worked but made me very sleepy--not good when meeting with a customer or driving.  So, an allergy doctor suggested I try allergy shots to de-sensitize me to wood dust.  I do not know what was in the shots, but I got them in 1985 weekly for many months and they did work.  I have no problems with dust reactions (other than sneezing) anymore.

[EZ]

ash is what gets me. it makes my nose run faster than I can eat it. ;D

[Ron Wenrich]

I was at a guy's mill a couple of decades ago where he told me they used to sell black cherry bark to the cough drop industry.  Must be the little bit of cyanide in there.  Maybe your dosage is too much.  The itching is probably due to dermatitis. 

Tulip poplar is known to give problems to some people.  It may give a case of dermatitis.  Poplar sap is a great cleaner.  It's thought to produce a natural benzene from the readings I did.  There are also a bunch of alkaloids in there.

Black locust always gave me problems.  But, a lot of that could be the finer sawdust.  Or it could be those nasty alkaloids.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I was at a guy's mill a couple of decades ago where he told me they used to sell black cherry bark to the cough drop industry.  Must be the little bit of cyanide in there.

Now this is interesting. I know wilted Cherry leaves will kill a horse.

[Swatson]

They kill cattle as well.  My dad to this day will cut any cherry tree down he finds on his 200 acres (always cuts in winter when trees are dormant) but they are rare now.  When I was very young he lost 5 dairy cows to them munching on some fallen cherry leaves.  I dont blame him for cutting them as cows are extremely valuable and that is his income, but it does make me wish I could find a few now.  He is very thorough. :-\

[hunz]

I sawed a bit of white oak a couple weeks back(with no face mask) and ever since I have had an itch in my upper lungs and dry cough. I attribute it to possible inhalation....who knows. That will be the last time I saw without some form of a mask. Does anyone else  have issues with coughing from milling?  Is it pretty much common practice to wear breathing P.P.E.?

[Mark W]

I know in the UK wild cherry's leaves and pips are noted  that they contain hydrogen cyanide so I would expect that there must be something in the wood as well. It just makes you think what nature has up it's sleeve .

[Kcwoodbutcher]

I've had horses debark a few cherry logs with no ill effect and a few trees down by the creek were a favorite of the beavers so I doubt there is any cyanide in the bark or wood.

[Andries]

Hunz asked:

I sawed a bit of white oak a couple weeks back(with no face mask) and ever since I have had an itch in my upper lungs and dry cough. I attribute it to possible inhalation....who knows. That will be the last time I saw without some form of a mask. Does anyone else  have issues with coughing from milling?  Is it pretty much common practice to wear breathing P.P.E.?

I wear em all the time.

I think it was Poston that saw a photo of MagicMan with his PPE gear on and wrote: " looks like a possum chewing on a sugar cube".

[Left Coast Chris]

Has anyone had any issues with domestic cherry leaves and livestock?    I planted a Rainer cherry tree next to our horse arena.....yikes     : ???

And here's another one:  we grow rhubarb in the garden and the leaves are supposed to be deadly.   The deer got into the garden several times and the rhubarb leaves are what they ate.  They returned a second time so did not seem to suffer ill affects.  Interesting.

[Dave Shepard]

Sawing black locust makes me really sick if I can't keep out of the dust. The last time I did a bunch of it I set up a 42" barn fan behind me and that kept it away. I really like my wireless remote control, I can get away from the dust. inhaling black locust would give me heartburn, and it would taste like pickles and pepperoncini peppers.

[Swatson]

This is from the USDA plant database for wild cherry:

The leaves, twigs, bark, and seeds produce a
cyanogenic glycoside. Most livestock poisoning
apparently comes from eating wilted leaves, which
contain more of the toxin than fresh leaves, but
white-tailed deer browse seedlings and saplings
without harm. The inner bark, where the glycoside is
concentrated, was used historically in the
Appalachians as a cough remedy, tonic, and sedative.
The glycoside derivatives act by quelling spasms in
the smooth muscles lining bronchioles. Very large
amounts of black cherry pose the theoretical risk of
causing cyanide poisoning.

Here is the link:
LINK

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

So would it be safe to say that smoking meat with Cherry Wood is no way harmful?
I would think it is safe.....I smoke with Cheery a lot.

[drobertson]

During a heat wave a few years ago I had a reaction to SYP, mainly on my arms,  I started using long sleeve shirts which helped in many ways, keeping me cooler in fact.  Now, it may not be an allergy, but walnut just stinks to me, never have got use to the smell, nor do I like it, but it sure saws out fine,   

[Gideon_70]

I buy bandannas and wear them when I'm cutting.  Sawdust in your lungs is not a great thing.  I cut some oak and had no problems at all, but then I cut some loblolly pine and it was interesting how sticky my lips got after a day of sawing, but then I got some longleaf pine, and the wind was in my face all day, and I was sick for two days trying to breathe.  Now, I wear a face mask, or bandanna over my mouth.  It's safer, and smart.

[Magicman]

I use one similar to this with an exhalation valve.  Dust Mask

They cost $6-$8 each in most local stores.

[tractorman44]

Fine walnut sawdust gives me a splitting headache.  I just about HAVE to wear a dust mask if any quantity of walnut at all is to be planed or sanded.  Hmm...I thought it was just ME.  However, it was never a problem until sometime in my mid-forties. 

[backwoods sawyer]

Dry Walnut is bad stuff for your lungs.

When milling Myrtle wood the mask get worn to.

WRC is another.