Banksia/Banksia Pod Allergies anyone?

[limited60]

I went to the hospital last night because I was itchy from head to toe, coughing, sneezing, had an itchy throat and labored, wheezy breathing.
This was following a few hours in the shop making pens from the following:

Blackwood/Holly/Bloodwood
Macassar Ebony
Stabilized Spalted Maple
Stabilized Redwood Burl
Banksia Pod

I was in on Saturday as well prepping the pens.

I wear a Trend Airshield, have a DC hooked up to my lathe, and a 1200 CFM air filter....

Any ideas what I may have been allergic to?
I thought perhaps the Banksia because it seems to be the odd ball material.

Thanks

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Spalted is the word that jumps out at me - that means spores...

Otherwise, it could be from CA fumes (arsenic?)...they wouldn't be captured by your filter either...

 

[rjwolfe3]

Bloodwood, Blackwood, or Ebony have given some people problems. I doubt the spalted since it was stabilized. Could be the chemicals in the stabilization process depending on if this was homebrew or commercially done. I'm just trying to figure out how since you were wearing all that safety equipment that you are using. Most threads I have read said that if you are wearing that stuff you shouldn't have a reaction.

 

[talbot]

Youre reasonably safe from the dust as long as you wear the helmet and dust mask but many turners forget that the dust is airborne for a long time after they finish turning and sanding and take off their helmet and dust mask while still in the workshop thinking its safe to do so.
Thats when it gets you!
Just check some surfaces the morning after and you'll see what wasn't caught by the filter and extracter. Chances are you've had a few lungfulls as well.
Im sure damage isn't permanent but it could be you're developing an allergic reaction to dust,dont ignore it.
regards, Bill

 

[TellicoTurning]

Chances are you've had a few lungfulls as well.
Im sure damage isn't permanent but it could be you're developing an allergic reaction to dust,dont ignore it.
regards, Bill

Damage may not be permanent, but it could take a while to clear the lungs... when I was a teen back in the '50's, I cleaned a lady's attic for her... I swept up many years of accumulated dust, without using any kind of respatory protection. I coughed and hacked for about 6 months before I finally got over that... I had dust in the air that looked like a brown fog and my skin and inside the nose was coated with dust... I'm sure I took a lot into my lungs as well....

I would vote for the Bloodwood as the culprit... it's a member of the rosewood family I think and many of the rosewoods can cause problems. I've been told that you don't really adapt to the allergens in woods .... they only get worse. Take every precaution you can.

 

[Stick Rounder]

All of the Above...

I went to the hospital last night because I was itchy from head to toe, coughing, sneezing, had an itchy throat and labored, wheezy breathing.
This was following a few hours in the shop making pens from the following:

Blackwood/Holly/Bloodwood
Macassar Ebony
Stabilized Spalted Maple
Stabilized Redwood Burl
Banksia Pod

I was in on Saturday as well prepping the pens.

I wear a Trend Airshield, have a DC hooked up to my lathe, and a 1200 CFM air filter....

Any ideas what I may have been allergic to?
I thought perhaps the Banksia because it seems to be the odd ball material.

Thanks

I work in an emergency department and have been seeing patients for the past twenty years. Any of the listed items could have been the offending agent or something you have not listed. I find that one of the most frustrating problems with allergic reactions is pin pointing the cause.