Allergies

[miket in stl]

What exotic woods are known to give persons with allergies problems?

I recently cut a board of Australian Lacewood into blanks. Withing hours I was puffy around my eyes and was itching all over. It has taken weeks to get past the itching, etc. I heard the Rosewood also is difficult for those with allergies.

And yes.......the blanks are for sale in the classified section!

Many thanks,

MikeT in STL

 

[Lenny]

It was cocobolo that set me off! :frown:

but I still love it :tongue:

 

[ersRFP]

Lacewood is known for skin and eye reactions. There is a really big list of woods, both exotic and domestic that can cause rashes, breathing problems or even worse long term problems. The list is really too big to post here. I have a book that lists some of the woods that can cause reactions. If I can find it, I'll post the name.

 

[knifecut]

http://www.woodturner.org/resources/toxicity.htm

 

[ldb2000]

Try doing a search of the site for hundreds of hits on "allergies" you will find answers for questions you haven't even thought of yet . Everything from mild reactions to "I have to give up woodwoking/turning" and how to help to reduce the problem .

 

[mick]

I haven't found any exotics I'm allergic to.....yet,( notice I say YET) But I can cut up some plain old walnut and the fine, fine dust will close my sinuses up for hours.

 

[TellicoTurning]

A while back I got a skin rash all over my upper chest... never was sure what set it off, but I itched for 3 weeks... finally decided I was doing Paduak when I got the rash... I now do anything with wood in a smock, knit cuffs, velcro band at the neck and zipped tight... haven't had any problems yet... sanding dust of any kind will clog my sinuses so I try (note try) to remember to use a mask anytime I'm sanding.

 

[RussFairfield]

There are a lot of toxic species of wood, and it isn't just Cocobolo and the other species in the Rosewood family. The linked chart will help you sort them out.

http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/roche/rec.wood.misc/wood.toxic

 

[miket in stl]

Thank you for your replies.

Mike

 

[Fred]

I haven't found any exotics I'm allergic to.....yet,( notice I say YET) But I can cut up some plain old walnut and the fine, fine dust will close my sinuses up for hours.

You my friend are having the early signs of becoming "sensitized" to Walnut. Others species reactions will follow.

Becoming sensitized to wood DUST and SHAVINGS is far, far worse than being allergic to the substance in the first place. Once your system is sensitized then just about always ANY AND ALL contact will be terrible for you and each and every contact after that will increase in reaction by your system. You become more and more sensitive and there is just no end to the damage done to your system.

This is EXACTLY why dust control is so damned important. Collect all the dust and other waste products at the closest point of where they are being generated. Wearing the proper protective clothing will help.

Sweeping up the floor and cleaning the work bench off is too late for many wood workers. It must be done at the source.

You just cannot go to enough expense to collect the waste at the source.Once you breath the fine dust it is too late for you. Getting the dust and other debris on your skin is one thing, BUT breathing it is the kiss of respiratory failure soon thereafter. Inhalation of dust - or anything that your are allergic to - is akin to injecting poison INTO your body. If you find dust on your glasses or face mask, then I would advise that you immediately put a vacuum hose as close to your cutting tool as is humanly possible.

Just think, you can wash your hands in gasoline, but you danged sure can't drink it. Well, you can BUT YOU ARE NOT GOING TO REACT WELL WITH IT!

Why don't folks listen? I guess they continue to think, "It can't happen to me!" Want to take a $100.00 bet? Oh yea, onamma-care ain't going to help you one bit either!

 

[Padre]

Fred, you are absolutely right. I have a Clearview cyclone and have run it to both of my lathes, and every other tool I have in my shop. I also have a Jet suspended air filter. When I am at the lathe I also use a Trend Air Shield pro helmet. I wear a AAW smock. I shop-vac my shop every night, so there is no dust left over, no shaving lying around, etc. In the shop-vac is a hepa bag.

That being said, just his past week, and as I am sitting here now, I have one hell of a rash on my arms, neck and head that itches like crazy. I turned some bottle stoppers out of some wood I never used before: padauk, cocobolo and zebrawood. I think one of them is the culprit.......I'm leaning towards the cocobolo. BUT: I was in a hurry and did not wear my smock, gloves or helmet. I now have this really itchy, frustrating reaction. It could be I got it from drilling on the drill-press. Or when I was gluing in the tubes, or when I was turning without the smock, gloves and shield.

Whenever I sand, I do so on the lathe with the cyclone and Jet on. No exception this time. Same for any other tool in my shop. I think this is what saved me from a more severe reaction this time.

Folks, what Rich said is the absolute truth. Follow his advice.

1. Get excellent dust filtration.
2. Tune up your clean-up routines and make them more frequent.
3. Get suspended dust filtration and point-of-tool dust/chip/shaving collection.
4. Wear a smock.
5. Wear a filtration mask, if not a filtration helmet.
6. Consider gloves (I use the Dewalt ones that have two fingers open)

I could only imagine, with my arms, head and neck looking the way they do, what would have happened to me if this stuff had gotten into my lungs.