Wood Allergies - treatment options

[Jim Becker]

I don't know why I saved what I have instead of burning it. Maybe to carve a spoon or toothpicks or make a ring for someone I don't like. (JK!)

Given that it has the same irritant as poison ivy...burning wouldn't be a good idea. Bury it or something. Maybe the goats will eat it.

[Andrew Hughes]

John that wood reminds me of Chechen. I bought some smalls from Rockler to turn I didn’t get very far till the stuff hit me. I don’t use the word hit lightly
Very poisonous for me at least.

[John K Jordan]

Given that it has the same irritant as poison ivy...burning wouldn't be a good idea. Bury it or something. Maybe the goats will eat it.

I'll send it to you. Maybe it will keep mites out of Dr Professor's bee hives.

I no longer have goats but llamas and alpacas love to eat poison ivy leaves and vines. When I do school programs and talk about what llamas eat the kids are shocked when I tell them that.

Fortunately, burning or even touching poison ivy doesn't seem to bother me as much as some people. My sister's eyes would swell up if she even stood on the edge of a field containing poison ivy if the wind was blowing the wrong way. If I wash my hands within a reasonable time after handling poison ivy leaves or vines I'm not affected. I USED to be very susceptible when younger. Maybe I've become desensitized through mild contact - my sister had to take desensitization pills for a long time. Each little pill had a 3-leaf imprint on one side!

As an aside, I can't believe how many people in this area think virginia creeper is poison oak and are terrified by it - nearly everyone! People gasp and nearly faint when I rub virgina creeper leaves on my face and chew on a leaf (for educational purposes). I'm sure they expected to see a ambulance at my place the next day or read about my stupidity on Facebook.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

Please don't send it here, John...Professor Dr. SWMBO is super allergic/sensitive to poison ivy! It's literally the only thing I will ever put evil chemicals on because of that. Oh, we have a ton of Virginia Creeper here...it competes with the poison ivy.

[John K Jordan]

Please don't send it here, John...Professor Dr. SWMBO is super allergic/sensitive to poison ivy! It's literally the only thing I will ever put evil chemicals on because of that. Oh, we have a ton of Virginia Creeper here...it competes with the poison ivy.

I'll send llamas instead. They will flat clean out every leaf and twig of poison ivy. It must be like candy to them.

I've been cutting vines off the trees since I moved here in 2003. I found a few vines in about 4" in diameter. Some dead pine trees had so many horizontal poison ivy "branches" all the way up that at first glance the trees look alive and healthy.

Now with the track hoe I grab such vines (both poison ivy and wild grape) and pull them up by the roots for the burn pit.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

Some of the poison ivy here on our property has "trunks" that are 5+" in diameter up a host tree. I can only imagine how old those plants are! I keep the stuff that routinely sprouts up in our landscaping at bay, but in the wooded areas...not a battle that can be won. Apparently, our honeybees enjoy it a bit. And the honey doesn't suffer for it, either.

[John K Jordan]

... Apparently, our honeybees enjoy it a bit. And the honey doesn't suffer for it, either.

When people ask me what kind of honey I have I tell them it's mostly ragweed and poison ivy. They laugh, but it's rare heekeeper who knows exactly what nectar and pollen their bees are bringing in. I think most of them who label there honey with a flower type just make up something.

JKJ

[Jim Becker]

True dat, John. When I'm asked that question, I simply state that it's from a wonderful mixture of local flowering trees, crops, wildflowers and other sources that the bees seek out and enjoy. Which is true. The "local mix" here really does produce some outstanding honey flavor! We had some frames that were bright red even this year...it was really weird to see that when we were extracting.

[Randall J Cox]

Mark, I remember when you came back to the states years ago and was planning to build your dream shop. Lots of water under the bridge since then. Glad to hear you found something that finally works. I sanded our front door (outside side) that had many of my coats of spar varnish on it, my eyelids swelled up. Tried to finish the last of the sanding weeks later, just a 8" square patch, eyelids swelled up again... Not fun. Anyway, good luck. Randy

[Kent Cartwright]

If someone is reading this post in 2021, post a comment and ask me how I am doing. It will be interesting to see how long this turbinate crush and regular sinus rinses lasts, but today I am a very happy woodworker.

As someone who has suddenly, like in the past year, begun to show sensitivity to wood dust after 25 years in the hobby, how has your treatment plan worked out long-term? How are you doing?

[Alan Lightstone]

Okay Mark. I'll bite. How are you doing now in 2021? I've been lucky in that I haven't been sensitive to any woods that I've used so far, but one never knows.

I'll refrain from warnings regarding Neti Pots. Hopefully those who use them have gotten some good safety warnings. Here's a link to an FDA post regarding them, from 4 days ago: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consum...neti-pots-safe

Since retirement, I've become even crazier regarding air filtration in my shop. I am a huge believer in using a good P100 respirator when working with wood that generates dust, with several air cleaners (one recently homemade discussed in another thread) going and a high quality cyclone. I've just seen way too many patients with bad COPD.

The air quality in parts of the country now due to the wildfires out West is frighteningly bad. I have a good friend in Reno, and the AQI he sent me from a local monitoring station is 730!!!!!! Another friend is on vacation in Jackson, Wyoming, and the AQI on Friday was 170. Imagine spending days outdoors, trying to enjoy a well-deserved vacation and breathing that dangerous air.

I've also had a good HEPA air cleaner in our bedroom for the past couple of years. So at least nighttime hours our air quality is outstanding.

Well, circling back to the reason for my post here. If you are unlucky enough to be sensitive / allergic to some of these woods, besides the medical treatments you are describing, there are other environmental things that you should do to help yourself. Personally I have a Dylos meter, and I don't take off my P100 respirator until the small particle count is less than ambient. And lately, I wear it until it gets somewhat below ambient. I also have a timer on that runs my homemade MERV13 filter for 30 minutes, 3 times a day. The Dylos meter reads incredible low levels of dust when doing that, and it uses only a few pennies of electricity a day. So the ambient air in my shop is now far cleaner from those antigens.

[mark mcfarlane]

As someone who has suddenly, like in the past year, begun to show sensitivity to wood dust after 25 years in the hobby, how has your treatment plan worked out long-term? How are you doing?

Hi Kent. I've mostly been allergy symptom free since my turbinate crush surgery 20 months ago. I've had a few occasional 'bad days' but nothing like before the surgery where the majority of days were bad. Other's experience will vary.

I take a generic Claritin or Zyrtec every day. I inhale a low dose steroid on days when I remember (e.g. flonase) and I use the Neil Med nasal rinse with distilled water as needed a few times a month, e.g. after dusty shop days or being outside on a bad polen day. I also try to remember to wear a surgical mask in the shop on days when I'm making a lot of dust, particularly when cleaning with my leaf blower . So far these moderately intrusive precautions are working and it is great to breathe well.

I can't say whether the turbinate crush was necessary but I think it did help jump start my recovery providing instant relief and giving the other treatments a chance to work.

The post-surgical treatments that are working so far:

1) daily allergy pill
2) almost daily low dose steroid spray
3) occasional sinus rinse with sterilized water and Neil Med pH balancing powder

For me the ongoing treatments are worth the nuisance, I feel so much better every day.

I hope you find something that works well for you.