Another woodworker recently told me that my sinus troubles might be wood dust related. He claimed that a famous woodworker has had lots of sinus trouble in the past few years. He added that he heard wood dust is connected with sinus infections.
Has anyone else heard of this? Any of you other dust makers have this problem?
I’m going in soon for my second sinus surgury in a year and a half to finish the job the first one only helped. It’s a very serious problem because I’ll miss the best powder snow months in the Sierra Nevadas.
Oh well, there’s dust masks, dust collection, and spring skiing in shorts, tee shirts, and tele gear. I’ll be damned if I’ll quit making sawdust!
Replies
Any particulates can increase your chances of having sinus infections. If you're having such serious problems, a top-notch dust collector and air filtration system (plus a tightly fit dust mask) would be crucial, IMHO. Chronic inflammatory conditions are something to avoid subjecting your body too. And, that dust can also be setting you up for other problems down the road, involving your lungs, bronchial tubes, any part of your respiratory system.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yeah, that famous woodworker is a guy named Norm Abram. He had surgery years ago to correct sinus problems caused in part by dust. So next time you see him sanding something, remember the joys of surgery. That's part of why I ONLY use handplanes and scrapers.
The coal miners get Black Lung disease and among woodworkers it is termed Brown Lung. A good dust collection and air filtration systems are generally cheaper than doctor's bills. They are necessary just like exhausting spray booths for finishing. Dust masks should be considered as a secondary method of protection.
The dust is an irratant. Certain woods can be more problematic than others and allergies can develop over time from continuous exposure. Generally it is the extractive compounds that are the problem. If the woods are decay resistant, you are inhaling organic biocides which the tree produces to suppress infestations of yeastie-beasties. Individuals can also react to the dust from woods infected with bacteria, molds and fungi. I have heard of several individuals developing real difficulties requiring hospitalization from working with spalted maple. Inhalation of dust from treated woods (eg CCA) is dangerous and not recommended. And if you are using panel products, the adhesives (especially Urea-Formaldehyde resins) can be sensitizing.
You should also become aware of nasal saline solutions. You can purchase these for several dollars at most drug stores and with practice you can irrigate all eight sinus cavities. I have found this to be helpful "washing" 'em out, keeping them moist and therein minimizing sinus discomforts/infections. It is surprising how effective nasal saline can be. I try to use it regularly (at least a couple of times per day) or as is needed when doing especially dusty work.
I also carry it with me when I fly and therein get less in flight headaches and post flight infections. Well I did before all the new stipulations; I hope I still can!
As I heard it brown lung refered to a condition of textile mill workers in the cotton industry mostly in the areas around Greenville SC. Resulting from breathing cotton dust.
Philip
Yep -- them too! The attributes are similar as cotton is almost pure cellulose while wood is about 60%. Medical professionals use brown lung disease as the generic title and it was especially prevelant among the woodworkers on the furniture industries in both the US and Britain (from whence the nomenclature originated).
Cotton dust is a problem in healthcare. We build to ten turns an hour for air filtration but you can't do that in a patients room. Actually, changing the bed linens every day for the patient causes more harm (potential) than good..but patients would feel they had poor care if you did'nt do it....sigh...
I´m a cabinetmaker from Denmark, and I also experience problems from inhaling sawdust. Especially Araputanga Mahogany gives an allergic reaction, causing a runny nose.
I, too, have had great results in flushing my nose with a saline solution.
The mixture should be 1 teaspoon of salt to one litre of water. Make the water as warm as you can stand, and don't use warm tapwater, boil it.
If you look up your local yoga-school they'll probably have a special 'can' for the job.
Good luck.
Ask
When I work in the shop I have taken to wearing a dust mask (type with two straps) I also use dust collection as much as possible. I can say for sure I feel much better after a day in the shop than I did before I started to "dust prevention" when cutting drilling sawing.
I've been reading responces on this subject of dust in the shop and the affect it has on the sinuses so I figured it's about time I jumped in with both feet so here it goes. I've been working with wood for way more years than I care to reflect on with all the joys I've had building and creating furniture and misc projects I've always thought of sinus problems as an unfortunate anoyance more than any thing else until a few years ago when I started to get severe bloody noses they were so bad that they would soak a shop rag or major ammounts of klenex I kept battling bronkitus and last year I had a bout of neaumonia.
The doc's told me I'd have to give up woodworking or use a oxygen tank while in the shop.Instead I upgraded to a better dust collection system along with a filtered air cleaning system this seemed to do the trick for the lungs but I was still having bloody noses with further tests they figured out I had a lot of wear and tear on the bone and flesh that seperates the nostrils they figured the abrasion from the dust was slowly but surely wearing away the lining in my nose and sinuses but not only did the dust do a job on my sinuses but after I installed the filtration system then the air was to dry so that caused some more bleeding. So the cure since the shop has to be kept as dry as possible is a small bottle of saline solution I buy at the pharmacy when I start to feel my nose start to burn or it starts to feel real dry I just squirt a few shots up the old nose and my problems gone and the best thing is no more bloody noses.
Well fellow woodworkers I hope this maybe some sort of eye oppener if your having any problems at all get some help so we can all live many,many years without those anoyances so we all can continue doing all the things we enjoy doing.
THANK YOU and good luck on all those projects you're all working on
JIM C (the "PUTTERIN YANKEE" woodworking shop)
P . S
Here's a saying my Granddad use to use I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did but with him passing on several years ago what I wouldn't give to hear it from him again.........In Loving Memory Of My Granddad Leland E. Clark
"There's a lot more to it than just talking about it"
Rosewood has the same affect on me as does poison ivy. I wear rubber gloves, face shield, a thick apron, and have every tool hooked up to a large DC. Some of the larger chips escapes the lathe, but no dust escapes any of my DC hookups. I also use Ivy Block skin cream. Also, I itch and scratch a lot!
PlaneWood by Mike_in_KatyPlaneWood
Hi
I have alergy problems and thought it could have had something to do with the wood dust. Turns out it was a few different things besides the wood, I had mold in the walls of my garage and my dust collecter spewed fine dust into the air.
I was worried about it so I bought a 1.5 hp Oneida, It great and gets all the dust like an air scrubber, I also use my Jet air cleaner and a mask too while I'm making alot of dust. About a minute after making alot of dust the air is clear. I sealed the places whare water was coming in and cleaned the affected areas and now the conditions are much better.
Better to be on the safe side,
john g
Do this before they put the 1/2 inch bit up your beak. See an allergist. The regular doc will have to refer you if you are in some HMO or other. I for 40+ years sounded like Mr. Magoo in the fall thru the winter. Box of kleenex in the car and craving Hot Thai or Mexican food to get the sinuses to open up. Regular colds and just a full head feeling was a way of life. Frankly you don't know any better. I actually went to the emergency room cause I couldn't breath.
The Allergist will get you a test that puts 40 or better drops of stuff on your skin. They pinpoint what bugs you. Skin is like your sinuses in terms of allergic reaction. Then come the drugs. In my case Allegra and Flownase. Life is different and much better. I never get head colds! I used to get 3 or more per winter. I suppose roots berries and saline would help as well, but consider you just might be allergic to something as simple as a cat. You could spend all your life not knowing how "Normal" feels just because you don't know what to avoid.
Consider what kind of wood you work with as well. For example Zebrawood is one of those toxins that builds up over time and then you can't be in the same room with it. The easiest dust collector is a box fan $17.00 that you point out the window when you are sanding or doing a lot of cutting or planeing.
There certainly is a large assortment of options listed in this thread. Try some of them. I also had the option of the nose reaming. After he threaded the 6" boreoscope up inside my head I realized that surgery was a rotten option.
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