For 25 years I worked as a carpenter and woodworker under all of the extreme conditions many of you are familiar with — breathing in clouds of dust, fiberglass, concrete, whatever, all with no problems whatsoever. About three years ago I tore my rotator cuff and temporarily (I thought) stopped working with wood — went through surgery, went back to school, got a desk job. Now I want to get back to work again, but have developed a serious problem. Whenever I breathe in any wood dust ( I made two bird houses last weekend and this happened), I develop a pressure in my head that builds into a migraine headache that lasts 2-3 days. Taking Zyrtec at first sign of a problem reduces the severity of it, but I do feel the effects for days, and it is making me rethink all of the plans for the rest of my life, including moving to a smaller house with a shop.
Has anyone else had this happen or could anyone suggest an alternative to living with drugs or giving up my life’s passion altogether? I remember an old article that had some sort of positive pressure respirator, but it didn’t apply to my needs at the time and it looked uncomfortable — does anyone have experience with one of those?
Any suggestions would be welcome.
Sue
Replies
I have used the Trend positive pressure mask whilst in the uk and turning rosewood .I found the motor vibration annoying but workable. There are belt mounted fan, 1/2 masks as well. As your allergy seems relatively mild (no rash, blisters ,swelling etc) why don't you try and find if it is species related and wether a N95 disposable with an exhalation valve would work(eg 3m 1810) before going the whole hog
Hi, Suzy just a suggestion, are there any cabinet shops or auto body shops close by?. They might be able to help you with a good set up, it’s worth a try. garyowen
Sue,
Are you sure that the cause of the problem is wood dust? Mold spores, some adhesives, and a number of finishing materials can all trigger the same symptoms, any of those could have also been in your shop. Some woods are also much more likely to be irritants, what type, or types, of wood were you working with? That you are already using Zyrtec suggests an underlying problem, this might be worth a doctors visit.
Cedar is a wood that has a high risk for doing harm. I would at least use a respirator when building cedar birdhouses. I use a 3M 7500 respirator, it has a very comfortable silicone facepiece. Also, get the correct size, S M L sizes are available.
http://www.gvwg.ca/docs/Articles/WoodToxicity.htm
Cedar and Walnut
Sue,
Cedar and walnut both contain quite a range of simply irritating chemicals so your reaction may not be an allergy in the medical sense.
Try using a few woods that rate low for irritation, maple, birch, pine if it isn't highly resinous, poplar, basically most light colored domestic species. Oak though light colored can be quite irritating.
Even if you saw an allergist and s/he prescribed you a drug that decreased your symptoms, you really should (IMHO) prevent the dust from reaching your nasal passages and any part of your respiratory system. You have developed a sensitivity that will do nothing but get worse, and you could end up in some real trouble -- with bronchial tubes, lungs, etc. Whatever the annoyance factor is with wearing a respirator while woodworking, it's nothing compared with dragging an oxygen bottle around 24/7l
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