Alergies

[Whittled Thumb]

Everytime I carve I really get bugged by alergies. My eyes burn, get red, water, my nose stops up and I always have to take a benydrill afterwards.

Does anyone else have this problem?

[Paul_Guraedy]

I have a son with severe allergies. One of his is peanuts and even the most minute amount can be life threatening. The sad thing about them is that each exposure can increase the severity of the next attack.

I have a woodcarving friend who is allergic to basswood!! She is ready to experiment with sugar or white pine to have something to carve in addition to the tupelo she is presently using.

My advice would be to pay attention to the type of wood being carved. If you find that you sometimes carve this wood without an attack then look further for the source of irritation. My Father took a while convincing his allergist that he was allergic to benadryl. He was told this is impossible. They were both right....he was allergic to the dye in the benadryl. Can you imagine that putting red dye (the one more people are allergic to than any other) into allergy treatment medication!

You may want to consult an allergist. They do marvelous work these days and do not automatically find something wrong. I was having a problem a couple of years ago and they thought it was an allergy. Went to an allergist and he said, "I don't know what your problem is but it is not an allergy." The other Doc's finally found and treated my problem.

Good luck. Allergies are strange!

[Just Carving]

Paul is right. Go to an allergist. Allergies to wood may not be the whole problem.

If you are carving, and the wood dust is bothering you, you need to know which woods to stay away from. If you have other mild allergies such as dust, dust mites, even a food, etc., and very mild allergies to the wood shavings/dust, than you will react as if you have a bad allergy to one thing. You might have had mild allergies all along and never really paid attention because the symptoms weren't that obvious or annoying--or you weren't exposed to the offending agents simultaneously. You'd be surprised how many people think they get a lot of colds in the Winter when their "cold symptoms" are really a reaction to an indoor allergen.

An allergist will test you, identify what allergies you have, their severity, and prescribe an antihistamine or maybe just a course of action that will reduse or eliminate the symptoms you get when you carve.

Rather than prescribing meds, he may just tell you that you need to avoid whatever's causing the problem for a while, or at least reduce the amount of exposure to it. You might just have to wear a dust mask while carving, and wash any exposed skin, and change clothes after carving.

Keep this in mind: your allergic reactions are taxing your body's immune system. So, if you're exposed to a virus or bacteria, your immune system may not protect you as well while your allergies are in full swing. So with the flu season in full swing, and all the bugs going around, it's really a good idea to see an allergist about your reactions. Besides, you'll feel better just knowing what's going on.

Take this from one who knows--I've had allergies all my life and I have them year round both indoors and outdoors.

Bob L

[Robby]

Cedars and woods from other countries can a problem as already stated. If your carving basswood, then you should get checked out because I've never heard of anyone being allergic to that. It will cost you, but you should get it looked at so as to avoid the woods that are bothering you, longtime exposure to the things that bother you could worsen the situation. If your power carving and you have known allegies or sinus issues, the dust is gonna drive you nuts. I've developed breathing issues after all the years of being a cabinetmaker and working in places where the dust is just horrible. When I get a sinus infection, I'm miserable and it can take months to get rid of it because of the dust I deal with. At my age and the way the economy is, I don't have much choice but to deal with it. But, in your case, where you are doing this as a hobby, you need to take precautions to minimize what is aggrevating you. You minimize the effectiveness of the Benadryl taking it that often, what happens if you really need it for say a bee sting?? If you enjoy carving and want to keep on doing it, get checked out.

[Just Carving]

Robby

I know they're a hassle, but you might want to look into wearing a mask. I hear the Dusk Be Gone does a pretty effective job.

Need Dust Mask Recommendations

Bob L

[brent]

Yep!
Mahogany= sinus infection
Walnut (dust)= dry throat
So far, that is all I know of.

[Whittled Thumb]

Well I know for sure its the bass wood, since its all I use anyway. Never flares up till carving time and I start cutting into the wood

Thanks guys

[Eddy-Smiles]

Before seeing a specialist try a respirator, either the one recommended by Just Carving or even a canister type as sold at Home Depot or Lowes made by AO Safety. If your allegy is from dust...vapor...etc then a mask should solve your problem. If it's from handling and physical contact, then you've got a bigger problem that may or may not be medically fixed in which it's like Paul said, you're going to have to find a different kind of wood to work with.

[Cordless]

I googled wood toxicity list, this was the first that came up. Black locust really bothers me, makes me nauseous.

Toxic Woods List

[Cottonwood]

If you are like I am, you must wear a mask before cutting into bass wood. Just carving it seems to give no problems but the saw dust sure does!